Talk Commanders

Win or go home. It is that simple. A win today by the Washington Football Team would clinch the NFC East Division crown. Washington controls their own destiny in this 2020-2021 season because if they win — they are in! If there is some good news, quarterback Alex Smith, running back Antonio Gibson, and wide receiver Terry McLaurin are all expected to play in this evening’s game. Head coach Ron Rivera will have his team on primetime tonight on the NBC Sunday Night game. Originally, this game was scheduled for 1 pm, and the NBC and the NFL flexed it to the game of the night.

Alex ✅
Terry ✅
Gibson ✅https://t.co/DbpOLH1KAe

— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) January 3, 2021

Earlier in the week, the team made the decision to release Dwayne Haskins after a series of team infractions and after head coach Ron Rivera said, “don’t make what’s interesting important” because Haskins was once again punished for rules violations and poor decision making. Haskins was given the start last week and failed miserably and was replaced by a quarterback who was out of football until recently. Because Taylor Heinicke looked so good in his 19 pass attempts as compared to Haskins in the same game, it just showed the football world how far Haskins had fallen. Heinicke had not thrown a pass in a football game in over two years! When Washington contacted Heinicke, he was back in college and finishing up his engineering degree. Unfortunately for Washington, they were not able to trade Haskins and have to eat the rest of the guaranteed portion of his $14,416,611 contract.

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While the Washington Football Team controls their own destiny in the NFC East race, they have another tough opponent today in the Seattle Seahawks. A big change today is the team goes back to Dwayne Haskins as their starting quarterback with Alex Smith out with a calf injury. Washington brings their 6-7 record into this game which was good enough for sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

Opportunity is knocking for Haskins who had dropped off of the active roster at one point this season as he found himself behind both Kyle Allen and Smith on the depth charts. When Allen suffered an ankle injury six weeks ago, Haskins moved to the backup to Smith. Head coach Ron Rivera could have gone back to Haskins but chose the veteran Smith as his starting quarterback for five weeks. Smith had led Washington to four straight wins including a big upset of the formerly undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers.

For Washington, Haskins, as a starter, is 1-3 this year with his only win in the season opener against Philadelphia. The first round pick from 2019 is 3-8 as a starter in his career. But never has first place been on the line for Haskins as a starter.

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Washington has a 5-7 record which is the same as the New York football Giants at the top of the NFC East. But a tie with the Giants would mean the Washington Football Team would not make the playoffs because the Giants’ two wins against Washington this season would break any tie if they finish with the same W/L record. The Giants play the 6-6 Cardinals while the WFT plays the 49ers today.

For Washington, they will face some familiar faces like the 49ers head coach, Kyle Shanahan, who was the former offensive coordinator for Washington. Also in 49ers uniforms are Trent Williams and Jordan Reed. We all remember how Williams sat out last year in a contract dispute and then demanded a trade. Reed, 30, was a 3rd round pick with Washington back in 2013. The 32-year-old tackle was a 1st round pick by Washington and 4th overall. There are former 49ers on Washington like Alex Smith who San Fran drafted 1st overall in the 1st round of the 2005 NFL Draft.

Once again, Dwayne Haskins will be Smith’s backup after Kyle Allen suffered an ankle injury five weeks ago. Head coach Ron Rivera went with the veteran Smith as his starting quarterback. Smith has led Washington to three straight wins and Monday’s upset of the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers.

The injury bug hit Washington as rookie runner, Antonio Gibson, won’t play today because of a toe injury. He was officially ruled out by the team Friday after he suffered a turf toe injury in Monday’s game against Pittsburgh. With Gibson out, Washington will have to rely on both veteran Peyton Barber and versatile back J.D. McKissic. Barber, who has mostly been Washington’s short-yardage back this season, will get much of the work today. This season, Barber has 26 of his 73 carries coming in situations that were either goal-to-go or with the team needing 2 yards or less for a first down. Because 36% of Barber’s work in short yardage situations, it has distorted his stats as he averages 2.68 yards per carry and only 0.86 yards after contact.

Washington last played on Thanksgiving Day and have seen their schedule changed to accommodate the Steelers after their schedule was changed last week due to a COVID outbreak on the Baltimore Ravens team. With the Giants upset win yesterday against the Seahawks, the Washington Football team is a half game off the pace now in the NFC East with a 4-7 record. With two losses against the Giants this season, Washington cannot win the NFC East if they finish tied with the Giants. Today’s game against the undefeated Steelers has Washington as steep underdogs.

For Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger has statistically been in the Top-5 of all quarterbacks this season and a key reason why they are undefeated this late into the season. Big Ben has been playing with a stiff knee issue that has been bothering him for over four weeks. Washington will once again start veteran Alex Smith this week, but he has not faced a defense as good as Pittsburgh. The 2020 Steelers defense is said to be the best in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.

Once again, Dwayne Haskins will be Smith’s backup after Kyle Allen suffered an ankle injury four weeks ago. Head coach Ron Rivera went with the veteran Alex Smith as his starting quarterback, and this game today will be a true test against a top of the NFL team.

Washington rookie runner, Antonio Gibson, was named the top offensive rookie last week. Some are thinking he is a very special player, and he has shown to be a top playmaker for this Washington team.

Another week, and this time it is a necessity that the Washington Football Team would have to replace a starting quarterback due to an injury. After Kyle Allen suffered an ankle injury, head coach  Ron Rivera could have gone back to Dwayne Haskins as his starter, but he chose to stick with Alex Smith in this game against the Detroit Lions. Is Washington at the point of trying to win to make the playoffs or are they trying to evaluate this team for the future? It would seem Rivera is choosing the former as he will stick with the veteran Smith as the best option to win this game. Up until now, Smith had been only taking reps in practice as the backup and for the first time this season, he was able to practice as the team’s number 1 QB. Now we have to see if it will make a difference. Haskins will be the backup in this game.

The Washington Football Team gets another bite at the Big Apple. Okay, it is a “Small Apple” these days as the 1-7 New York Giants visit FedEx Field against the 2-5 WFT. Yes, the Giants only win this season was over Washington on a failed 2-point conversion with time running out. This is a chance for a Washington team to show they are learning together and progressing with Kyle Allen who gets his fourth start for the Burgundy and Gold. For the first time this season, Washington will have some fans in the stands numbering nearly 3,000 per Prince Georges County waivers after the State of Maryland last month signed-off on allowing up to 10% of capacity. Previously it was a “family only” crowd with a few hundred in attendance.

The Dallas/Washington rivalry goes back to the days when George Allen was the football coach for Washington and Tom Landry wore his fedora on the sidelines for Dallas.  The first game took place in Griffith Stadium on October 9, 1960 and was won by Washington. Over the years a rivalry was created with some of the greatest finishes in NFL history. But more recently, the Washington Football Team has not been a great team, and the rivalry faded. Maybe the old days of Diron Talbert who was from Texas and hated the Cowboys can return.