Redskins 19, Falcons 13
Taylor Heinicke has been begging to implode on a weekly basis, as he has thrown horrible downfield floaters that are nearly intercepted each time. He was penalized for this against the Vikings, but has been fortunate otherwise. That appeared to change in this game, with Heinicke throwing an interception right to a Falcons linebacker over midfield right before halftime, spoiling a potential scoring opportunity.
As a result of this pick, the game was tied at 10 going into the half, and Heinicke continued to make mistakes following intermission, when a pass of his toward Terry McLaurin appeared to be intercepted as well when A.J. Terrell ripped the ball away from the receiver. The ball was ruled to hit the ground, however, which allowed the Redskins to establish a six-point lead heading into the final couple of minutes, which was a wild roller coaster for both teams.
Washington appeared willing to give this game away when it made a huge mental mistake by giving the Falcons a free first down in the red zone with 1:09 remaining. However, it was Marcus Mariota’s turn to screw up. He threw an interception, as his pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Da’Ron Payne and picked by Kendall Fuller. The Falcons still had three timeouts remaining, and they managed to force a punt. Yet, they never got the ball back because they were flagged for running into the punter.
Heinicke survived yet again, going 14-of-23 for 138 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. This was not the sort of production the Redskins should have seen from a quarterback battling one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL. As mentioned, Heinicke was very fortunate not to be picked twice.
