FLOWERY BRANCH — The Washington Football Team is waiting for its vaunted pass rush to show up.
Washington (1-2) is off to a disappointing start and will look to get things turned around when it faces the Falcons (1-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Washington Football team was shredded 43-21 by Buffalo on Sunday. They would be 0-3, but for a late penalty that allowed a re-kick of a missed field-goal attempt in a 30-29 win over the Giants. The Falcons are coming off a win over the Giants.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” Washington coach Ron Rivera said after the loss to Buffalo. “The truth of the matter is that we got beat. My expectations were for us to play better than we did, to be honest.”
The Falcons plan to check in with cornerback Fabian Moreau, who spent the past four seasons with Washington.
“For sure, you know we’re going to ask advice from teammates who played there,” Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley said. “We just watched the game from last week, haven’t watch much of them yet, but I do know that they have a great (defensive) line. So, we’re going to have to play some hard football and move the ball pretty well.”
Washington won the NFC East last season and was defeated by Tampa Bay in the playoffs.
Washington went into the season with longtime journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starting quarterback. After he suffered a hip injury, Taylor Heinicke, who played at Collins Hill High, took over.
Credit: Adrian Kraus
Credit: Adrian Kraus
The plan was to have Heinicke, who started in the playoff game last season, manage the offense while Washington’s vaunted defensive line dominated and carried the team.
The defensive line of four first-round picks is led by defensive end Chase Young, who was the second player taken overall in the 2020 NFL draft. Washington also has defensive end Montez Sweat (Stephenson High), defensive tackles DaRon Payne and Jonathan Allen.
Young had 7.5 sacks last season and was named the NFC’s defensive rookie of the year. He has zero sacks through three games. Allen has three sacks, Sweat has two sacks and Payne, who’s been disruptive, also has zero sacks.
Washington did not sack Buffalo’s Josh Allen, but had six hits on his 43 dropbacks. Washington did have 20 hurries, according to Pro Football Focus, but Allen managed to complete 74% of his passes.
Against the Bills, Young was on average 5.3 yards away from the quarterback when he threw the ball, according to Next Gen Stats, which is higher than the league average of 4.52 yards.
Rivera has pointed out that Young and Sweat, who had nine sacks and 20 quarterback hits last season, are receiving more double teams and chip blocks this season.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“They got a really good front. Everybody knows Chase Young. Payne is in there, and those guys are tough -- and Sweat,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “They can make life hard for you.”
Washington linebacker Cole Holcomb led the defense with 14 tackles against Buffalo.
“Their ‘backers can run, sound scheme,” Smith said. “Ron Rivera, he’s been doing this a long time. (Washington defensive coordinator) Jack Del Rio (is) over there, so now we know we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Heinicke, who once passed for 730 yards in a game at Old Dominion, has completed 59 of 89 passes (69.4%) for 670 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. He has a passer rating of 97.7.
Running back Antonio Gibson, who played at Eagles Landing High, is Washington’s leading rusher. He has 45 carries for 190 yards. Washington also has wide receiver Terry McLaurin and former Falcon J.D. McKissic.
“Right now, we’re not where we are supposed to be, far from it,” Gibson said after the Bills game. “But it’s a long season. Long season. We just got to go to work next week and fix the things we need to fix.”
Washington fell behind 21-0 against Buffalo.
“I feel like we need to come out stronger,” Gibson said. “I don’t feel like there is a game where we had the lead starting off. I feel like if we come out stronger that changes up their play-calling and how they play. … If we start out stronger, we can do way better than what we are doing now.”
McKissic, after starring in training camp in 2016, was on the Falcons’ practice squad for most of the 2016 season. He was cut in December and signed with the Seahawks. He’s since carved out a nice career, playing in 54 games and making 12 starts.
“They’ve got speed at wideout, good athletic tight end in (Logan) Thomas. Gibson’s a problem. McKissic – they have got a good football team,” Smith said. “So, we have our work cut out for us as we get on to that. We’re moving on to Washington.”
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Atlanta Falcons Schedule
Washington FT at Falcons, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m.
New York Jets vs. Falcons in London, Oct. 10 at 9:30 a.m.
Bye week
Falcons at Miami Dolphins, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.
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