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MONDAY, OCTOBER 25 , 2021. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D
JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POSTA heap of trouble
BY NICKI JHABVALAgreen bay, wis. — Taylor Heinicke stood on the
sideline with his arms raised as he looked up at the
Lambeau Field video board. He believed he
crossed the goal line on his dive toward the end
zone, and he believed he did on his second
attempt, too — on a quarterback sneak.
But as he stood hopeful, the official confirmed
he was close but not close enough, prompting
Heinicke to toss his helmet in frustration and pace
the sideline. The fall from euphoria was steep — as
was the jump down after his premature Lambeau
leap — but that has become a familiar feeling for
the Washington Football Team in recent weeks.
Despite a strong showing from its defense,
especially in the first half, Washington frittered
away multiple scoring chances with turnovers and
failed red-zone opportunities to lose to the Green
Bay Packers, 24-10, and fall to 2-5.
SEE WASHINGTON ON D9Heinicke’s up-and-down day
The quarterback commits some
key miscues at Lambeau Field. D7
Week 7 takeaways
Woes in the red zone hurt,
but the defense improves. D10
Washington at Broncos
Sunday, 4:25 p.m., FoxPACKERS 24,
WASHINGTON 10:
Quarterback Taylor Heinicke
reaches for the goal line but
comes up short in the third
quarter Sunday in Green Bay,
Wis. The play was one of three
fourth downs that Washington
couldn’t convert. It outgained
Green Bay 430 to 304 but went
without points on three
consecutive trips to the red zone
in the second half to fall to 2-5.Black excellence is
more than words.
It is visible, and
on Saturday
afternoon at
Howard
University, you
could find it in the
beaming faces
representing the homecoming
royal court. The women made up
like starlets, their Bison blue
dresses accented by the shine
from their tiaras, and the men
embellished by white satin sashes
over their sweater-and-plaid-tie
combos with gray khakis.
But it was also evident in the
huddled masses in the tent
encampment constructed just
outside the university’s social hub.
The students, wearing oversized
hoodies and foam Crocs, have
been sleeping outdoors for almost
two weeks to protest their housing
conditions at the most prestigious
historically Black university in
America.
The pageantry of Howard’s
biggest day of the fall — a packed
cheering section on the home side
of Greene Stadium, the marching
band that lived up to its
SEE BUCKNER ON D4
At Howard homecoming, both sides of Black excellence
Candace
Buckner
CANDACE BUCKNER/THE WASHINGTON POST
The pag eantr y of Howard’s game against Norfolk St ate on Saturday was counterbalanced by protests.weekend of the regular season
and used Scherzer in relief to
close out an epic NL Division
Series. But his message applied
broadly to the way his franchise
navigated its World Series
defense. The Dodgers have
greater financial resources and
more brainpower than any
franchise in baseball. Somehow,
they managed to transform those
advantages into burdens.
The Dodgers used their
financial might last offseason to
sign Trevor Bauer. Their
organizational depth added
undue pressure on young players.
Their innovative approach to
pitching led them to overtax
pitchers and deploy their best
arms in unconventional ways
that diminished their abilities
rather than amplifying them. The
Dodgers assembled the most
talented team in baseball, and
their own decisions managed to
SEE ON BASEBALL ON D2Mookie Betts, one
of baseball’s most
effervescent
players, sat behind
a microphone
Thursday
afternoon and
explained why the Los Angeles
Dodgers were doomed. They were
on the brink of elimination in the
National League Championship
Series, down three games to one
to the relentless Atlanta Braves.
They had been in the same spot
last October, but Betts admitted
this year felt different.
“We were kind of behind the
eight ball from the start,” Betts
said.
The Dodgers’ bid to repeat
ended Saturday night with a
whimper, a 4-2 loss in Game 6, on
yet another night in which they
cobbled together a p itching plan
with duct tape and baling wire.
Walker Buehler pitched on three
days of rest after Max Scherzer
could not get his arm loose.
Betts alluded to the Dodgers’
pitching attrition — t hey had lost
Clayton Kershaw on the finalIn October, Dodgers turned
advantages into burdens
On
Baseball
ADAM
KILGOREBASEBALL
A new podcast revisits an
old rumor tying Cal Ripken
Jr. to Kevin Costner. D2
HOCKEY
Rookie Martin Fehervary
hasn’t looked out of place
on the Caps’ blue line. D3
PRO FOOTBALL
Week 7 in the NFL: The
Chiefs lose ugly, and the
Ravens falter at home. D5-6
BY AVA WALLACEMontrezl Harrell was dressed
for light work.
On the morning before his
first game at Capital One Arena
with the Washington Wizards, he
wore a short-sleeved T-shirt lay-
ered over a l ong-sleeved one, a
towel tucked into his shorts. This
was not an outfit meant for
intense movement or heavy
sweat. The Wizards’ backup cen-
ter was mostly trying to stay
warm while getting a few shots
up in a nearly empty gym.
But Harrell is who he is, so
intensity was unavoidable. He
rotated around the three-point
line, and if the ball went in, he
cursed. If the ball clanked off the
rim, he cursed. He cursed him-
self, he cursed the ball, and he
cursed the rim, huffing and puff-
ing all the while. Eventually,
assistant coach Joseph Blair
joined in on the cursing, so
Harrell at least had a l ittle atmos-
phere beyond three bug-eyed
reporters watching him swear.
He probably didn’t need the help.
“He plays with a different
energy,” Wizards Coach Wes Un-
seld Jr. said.
Through four preseason
games and two wins that actually
counted, the 6-foot-7, 240-pound
big man who arrived in Washing-
ton this past summer from the
Los Angeles Lakers via a multi-
team trade has separated himself
from the rest of the roster not
only with his defensive presence
— as the slightly stockier, more
in-your-face alternative to rangy
starter Daniel Gafford — but
with his inescapable ferocity.
This year’s Wizards are a natu-
rally low-key, quieter bunch,
from Unseld and franchise cor-
nerstone Bradley Beal on down.
They are generally the type of
players who, if they get dr awn
SEE WIZARDS ON D3
Harrell is
a leader
Wizards can
swear by
Newcomer immediately
has impact with voice
and fiery, physical playWizards at Nets
Today, 7:30 p.m., NBCSW, NBA TV
Chiefs 3Falcons 30 Jets 13 Panthers3Bengals 41 Eagles 22 Lions 19 Texans 5Bears3Colts 30 Saints 8:15
Titans 27 Dolphins 28 Patriots 54 Giants 25 Ravens 17 Raiders33Rams 28 Cardinals 31 Buccaneers3 84 9ers18Seahawks ESPN
World Series
Game 1: Braves at Astros
Tomorrow, 8 p .m., FoxFourth-down failures,
missed chances are costly
green bay, wis. — It was the
perfect, disastrous letdown to
illustrate the first seven games of
this season, or really, the past two
decades of Washington Football
Team seasons. Taylor Heinicke, a
quarterback who grew up loving
the Green Bay Packers, thought
he had scored a t ouchdown late in
the third quarter. He spotted a fan in a white
No. 17 Terry McLaurin replica jersey and decided
to go for it: a playful Lambeau leap. A lifelong
dream fulfilled, even though it came as a foe.
There was one problem, though. He didn’t
score. After a lengthy review and discussion, the
officials overturned his joyful moment. Outside
of the context of his childhood fandom, the play
now looked like a taunt that spoiled too soon.
Guess the cliche “Look before you leap”
deserves a lifetime contract.
SEE BREWER ON D8When a two-TD loss feels
passable, that’s a problem
Jerry
Brewer