Washington defeats Cincinnati 17 – 13
August 21, 2021
By Noonefromtampa
This was the first home game with fans since 2019.
Washington started on offense after a nice 30 yard return by DeAndre Carter. The first play was a 28 yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to a wide-open Logan Thomas. That was the highlight of the series because Washington was forced to punt after a short Antonio Gibson run and two incomplete passes.
On Washington’s first defensive series, the Bengals opened with a nice pass to Joe Mixon that was called back on holding. The defense stopped Cincinnati with a short run and two incompletions, forcing them to punt. The defense looked in pretty good form.
Second offensive series stalled after a nice run by Gibson and a short pass to Terry McLaurin. After losing a challenge on a spot of a third down run, Ron Rivera elected to go for it on fourth down, but the team did not convert.
In Washington’s second defensive series, the defense was outstanding, allowing only one yard gained and forced a three and out.
The next offensive series was a disaster, with a Fitzpatrick sack and a fumble by Cam Sims on third down.
Starting deep in Washington territory, the Bengals got an 11 yard reception by Tee Higgins and a 5 yard run by former Washington running back Samaje Perine before being stalled by the defense, which forced a 37 yard field goal.
Steven Sims Jr. then had a poor 16 yard kickoff return, but the offense has its best series to that point in the game. Gibson had 12 yards rushing plus a 14 yard reception, and then Fitzpatrick hit Dyami Brown for 29 yards. Washington took a couple of shots into the endzone but was unable to score a touchdown. Dustin Hopkins converted a 34 yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3.
The Washington defense kept up its strong showing holding the Bengals to another 3 and out with Jimmy Moreland tipping away a pass intended for Trent Taylor on third down.
The Washington offensive starters then gave way to the backups. Taylor Heinicke was unimpressive in his first drive, fumbling on third down but luckily recovered by WFT.
Washington’s defense had a mix of starters and select backups for the next series, they also held the Bengal to another three and out.
The offense looked better in the next series with Jaret Patterson gaining 14 yards on a run and Antonio Gandy-Golden catching a 17 yard pass from Heinicke. While moving 44 yards, the drive stalled out at the Cincinnati 47 yard line.
The defense with many backups now playing, the defense was able to hold the Bengals to yet another 3 and out on the next series, holding them to 6 yards gained.
Washington’s offense then went on a 10 play, 56 yard drive. The highlights included a 12 yard scramble by Heinicke and 21 yards receiving by Patterson. Another throw to Sims in the end zone failed to produce a score, so Hopkins kicked a 31 yard field goal for 6-3 lead going into halftime.
The Bengals opened the second half with an 8 play, 69 yard touchdown drive. Key plays included an 18 yard pass from Brandon Allen to Auden Tate Irwin, a 17-yard run by Chris Evans, and a 19 yard pass reception by Trenton Irwin. Allen scored on a one quarterback sneak, making the 10-6.
In Heinicke’s last series of the night, he led the team on an 11 play, 49 yard drive for the third Hopkins field goal of the evening. That made the score 10-9 with the Bengals leading. During the drive Patterson had 20 yards rushing and Gandy-Golden caught a 16-yard pass. On the next series, the defense was able to force a fumble after a short Bengals drive of 27 yards. William Bradley-King had a strip sack of Kyle Shurmur which was recovered by Daniel Wise at the Bengals 32-yard line.
Kyle Allen came in at quarterback in the fourth quarter and led Washington on a touchdown scoring drive. Patterson had 25 yards rushing, including the touchdown score, while Isaiah Wright had a 7 yard reception. Allen threw the 2-point conversion to Gandy-Golden who made a nice contested catch over the defensive back’s shoulder to make the score 17-10.
The last score of the night was a Bengal 50 yard field by Evan McPerson after an 11 play, 41 yard drive led by quarterback Eric Dungey. That made the final score 17-13 with Washington taking the win.
Player Watch
Jaret Patterson – 71 yards rushing, 1 TD, 25 yards receiving, 37 return yards (133 all-purpose yards)
Antonio Golden-Gandy – 3 catches on 3 targets for 38 yards
Dyami Brown – 2 catches on 4 targets for 33 yards
Adam Humphries – 0 catches on 3 targets
Benjamin St-Juste – 1 PD and played well in coverage