LAS VEGAS — The late Al Davis would love this Washington Football Team.
When Davis owned the Raiders in various NFL cities, one of his pet phrases became part of the league lore: “Just win, baby!” The meaning, beyond the opposite of not losing, invoked a level of grit and gamesmanship he sought on game day from his team. Forget pretty. Winning ugly counts just the same.
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Washington embodied that whatever-it-takes attitude against the Raiders Sunday afternoon. The 17-15 victory at Allegiant Stadium was no one-off, but rather a fourth straight triumph in “Just win, baby” fashion. Even after several backups and random parts contributed stats and spirit during the post-bye surge, this group offered even more pluck.
This wasn’t Taylor Heinicke’s finest effort. The quarterback often threw high to receivers, including an opening-drive touchdown pass to leaping tight end Logan Thomas. Heinicke later tossed a fourth-quarter interception that led to a Las Vegas go-ahead score. Yet the perpetually overlooked player who laughs in the face of fear directed his fourth late-game rally of the season.
This one was capped by Brian Johnson, a kicker raised in Maryland suburbs so new to the roster several players didn’t know his name.
What else would anyone imagine after turning a dismal 2-6 record entering its bye week into the conference’s sixth seed despite a lengthy list of injuries and doubters?
“This is one of those ones that you look back to about grit,” defensive tackle Jonathan Allen said. “It wasn’t perfect. We have a lot of mistakes to clean up, but, damn, if you do something like that as a team, that’s special.”
What’s meaningful about this journey is how this push that felt random and cute, including the part where head coach Ron Rivera invokes the David versus Goliath story with literal rock throws postgame, now seems purposeful and consequential. Ordinary teams don’t win four consecutive games in this league. Like it or not, it’s time to take Washington seriously.
“Understand this more than anything else: We can do what we want, can be what we want,” Rivera passionately told his players in the postgame locker room. “Nobody dictates to us! We decide!”
Listen to the players roar upon hearing the head coach’s words or when this week’s rock-thrower, defensive coordinator and former Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio, delivered a strike. That’s not just noise. For a group that went through a similar turnaround last season, that’s the sound of belief.
IT'S UP TO US
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— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) December 6, 2021
“The speaker is going. Strobe lights. Feels like Vegas,” receiver Adam Humphries joked of the locker room celebration. “It was a great, great team win.”
No opponent proved capable of stopping Washington since the Week 9 bye when it reshaped the offense around the ground game while the defense eliminated constant gaffes. The wonder heading into Sunday’s game was whether attrition would be an unbeatable adversary.
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Athletes and coaches in team sports pridefully proclaim a next-man-up mentality when injuries strike. That’s noble and often imperative, but at some point, there’s no overcoming a lengthy list of absentees and key missing pieces.
Even with Thomas suffering a potential ACL tear in the fourth quarter, Washington hasn’t reached that marker yet.
With six Week 1 starters already on the injured reserve list and other contributors sidelined, Washington landed in the desert with new names ruled out with aches and pains.
The short-term list of absentees included safety/linebacker Landon Collins, who went from a coverage liability to a defensive playmaker since the bye to not playing Sunday with a foot injury. Washington used a combination of linebacker Khaleke Hudson, safety Deshazor Everett and cornerback Danny Johnson to fill in.
Even though Washington is already mixing and matching to overcome the absence of injured pass rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat, Las Vegas struggled to connect offensively.
With Washington’s defensive front harassing Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, the secondary focused on limiting big plays. A game plan centered on disguising coverages held Las Vegas to only six points entering the fourth quarter.
“They were very active,” Rivera said of his defense. “Had a good feel for really what we were game planning all week and you could see it through the week … I thought they handled it very nicely.”
The Raiders entered the week as the league’s second-most penalized team, and the officials flagged them six times. Two came on Washington’s second touchdown drive, a Heinicke four-yard sidearm toss to running back Antonio Gibson, who continued his bulldog work on the ground with 88 yards on 23 carries.
Washington also committed six penalties. Three came during a four-play span that set up Raiders running back Josh Jacobs’ one-yard TD run with 10:57 remaining. Carr missed on a potential game-tying two-point conversion, keeping Washington in front, 14-12.
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Near disaster struck on Washington’s next drive. Heinicke looked for receiver Terry McLaurin running a dig route despite several defenders in the area. On the throw, Raiders defensive lineman Maxx Crosby struck the quarterback’s arm, and the pass “just kind of fluttered out,” Heinicke said.
Las Vegas defensive back Nate Hobbs intercepted the pass. The Raiders took over at their own 39, drove 43 yards, and took the lead on Daniel Carlson’s 37-yard field goal with 2:26 remaining.
As usual, Heinicke didn’t blink.
He remembered the Week 2 win over the Giants when he threw an interception with 2:22 remaining only to see New York kick a go-ahead field goal. In his first start of the season, Heinicke drove Washington down the field for a game-winning field goal. In start number 11 of the 2021 campaign, that experience and his innate gumption paid off.
Yes, he nearly threw another interception, but Heinicke completed four passes on the next possession as Washington drove 44 yards in less than two minutes. Rivera knows Heinicke “will try and force the ball every now and then. But when he settles in and gives himself a chance to make plays, he does.”
Forget whether Heinicke is this team’s long-term answer at the sport’s most important position. It’s these moments that make it clear his teammates believe in the player who symbolizes their “just win, baby” spirit.
“Heinicke, what can you say about him,” Allen remarked. “He keeps showing why he needs to be our quarterback.”
As the season progresses, Heinicke recognizes that faith in him.
“You can feel it from the guys,” Heinicke said. “If I make a mistake, they are there to pick me up. …. Everyone in there is resilient, everyone is a warrior. We were at a 2-6 record and we could have easily folded and the season could have gone totally different but the guys went into battle and here we are 6-6.”
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They are 6-6 because Johnson made the kick five days after Washington signed him off the Bears’ practice squad following Joey Slye’s hamstring injury in Monday’s win over the Seahawks.
The Bethesda, Md., native made all eight of his field goal attempts for the Saints earlier this season. Johnson trotted out onto the field for his first try for Washington with the game on the line and his teammates anxious.
“Hell yeah, I was nervous. I didn’t even know his name,” Allen admitted. “We just brought him up.”
Then the kick soared through the goalposts with 42 seconds remaining. “It was insane,” Johnson said.
“Kudos to our kicker,” Heinicke said. “He made a name for himself today.”
Washington’s defense held off Carr from there. In hindsight, Johnson’s poised kick seems obvious. Washington is receiving contributions from all corners of its roster. Five regular-season games remain and all are against divisional opponents starting with Dallas on Sunday at FedEx Field. There’s a collective belief that what’s happening is no illusion. Even the newest member grasped the confidence.
“You know, I felt it,” Johnson said. “I felt it once I walked in and everything. It’s an awesome locker room to be in. They’re probably still learning my name. But it’s awesome to be here.”
Imagine anyone just arriving saying such things earlier this season. It’s amazing what winning can do.
(Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
