Patriots 22, Washington 13: QBs and Chase Young Shine
The Washington Football Team lost to the New England Patriots on Thursday night at a rainy Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, 22-13.
The Washington Football Team has used eight different starting quarterbacks since 2016. But on Thursday night newly acquired signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick had some early success and some impressive throws, including a 22-yarder early to wide receiver Terry McLaurin and a 24-yarder to tight end Logan Thomas.
"That Fitz, that's my dog,'' said defensive star Chase Young in a postgame visit with NFL Network. "He's a real dude. He makes plays. We're glad he's here.''
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Fitzpatrick completed five of eight passes for 58 yards, including completions to four different receivers. Head coach Ron Rivera said he just wanted to see Fitzpatrick show that he could command the offense and be able to read the defense in the season opener.
Fitzpatrick did just that before leaving the game in the hands of backup Taylor Heinicke - and then in the hands of another QB, Steven Montez.
Heinicke had success against the Patriots' defense too, leading WFT to a touchdown just before halftime, then yielded the field to Montez in the third quarter. Heinicke finished the night completing nine of 15 passes for 86 yards, and Montez tossed a late TD pass to Lamar Miller.
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The running game showed up for WFT as eight players ran the ball 31 times for 122 yards, including Jaret Patterson, who carried the ball 10 times for 40 yards, and had 10 catches for 30 yards.
Fifteen players caught passes from Washington quarterbacks for 252 yards, including Patterson, who was the leading receiver on the night.
Montez finished the night completing 17 of 24 passes for 108 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
On the defensive side of the ball, second-year defensive end Young picked up where he left off 2020 with a sack of Patriots starting quarterback Cam Newton.
Not all was great for WFT as kicker Dustin Hopkins missed two field goals and Montez threw one interception.
Rivera insisted after the game that "there's not a concern'' over the field-goal struggle, which was an issue in the 2020 season.
During regular-season play, the Football Team is 1-20 in games with a negative turnover differential since 2017. The defense also surrendered a 91-yard touchdown run as time ticked down in the fourth quarter.
On a night where the score did not matter, but progress and continuity were keys, Washington showed flashes of brilliance, and showed why they could be contenders to repeat as champions of the NFC East in 2021.
Washington next hosts the Cincinnati Bengals on August 20 at 7 p.m.
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