Instant analysis: Washington beats the Panthers for second straight win
The Washington Football Team defeated the Carolina Panthers, 27-21, to improve to 4-6 on the season. The win was Washington’s second straight after a four-game losing streak.
This was a back-and-forth game throughout until Washington seemingly took control in the third quarter when quarterback Taylor Heinicke found wide receiver DeAndre Carter for a touchdown to give Washington a 21-14 lead.
Washington maintained that lead until the fourth quarter when Carolina quarterback Cam Newton found running back Christian McCaffrey for a touchdown to tie things up again.
Heinicke and Washington’s offense went back to work. He led another impressive drive that went deep into Carolina territory, but a negative play got Washington behind, and head coach Ron Rivera decided to kick the field goal. Kicker Joey Slye nailed it, giving the WFT a 24-21 lead.
Washington’s defense held the Panthers on fourth down in Carolina territory when McCaffrey came up just short of the first down, thanks to an outstanding tackle by safety Kam Curl.
With a chance to put the game away, Washington was conservative on offense, with running back Antonio Gibson taking the third-down carry to the left side. However, instead of going down, Gibson is pushed out of bounds, saving the Panthers at least 40 seconds after they’d used their final timeout.
Washington would settle for another Slye field goal, and the defense would have to stop Newton and the Panthers one more time.
That’s precisely what happened as Washington’s defense brought Newton down around midfield on fourth down to ice the game.
Next up for Washington is the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football.
