The Washington Post - USA (2021-10-26)

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26 , 2021. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D3

professional football

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York Jets rookie quarter-
back Zach Wilson has a sprained
posterior cruciate ligament in his
right knee and will be sidelined
for two to four weeks, Coach Rob-
ert Saleh confirmed after Wilson
had an MRI exam Monday.
To help fill in for Wilson, the
Jets acquired veteran Joe Flacco
from the Philadelphia Eagles for a
conditional sixth-round pick in
next year’s draft. The 36-year-old
Flacco started four games for New
York last season, then signed with
Philadelphia in the offseason.
Wilson was injured in the sec-
ond quarter of the Jets’ 54-13 loss
to the New England Patriots on
Sunday. A PCL sprain was the
best-case scenario.
Saleh said the team will gather
more information during the
week before deciding whether to
place Wilson on injured reserve,
which would force him to miss at
least three weeks.
l BROWNS: Q uarterback Bak-
er Mayfield sat out practice, and
there are signs that he won’t face
the Pittsburgh Steelers this week.
Mayfield has a torn labrum and
a fracture in his left, non-throw-
ing shoulder. Backup Case
Keenum started Thursday
against the Denver Broncos.
Coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t
say much about Mayfield, other
than that “he’s feeling better” af-
ter the long weekend.
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry,
safety John Johnson III, tight end
David Njoku, defensive tackle Ma-
lik Jackson and center JC Tr etter
were also not on the field. Stefans-
ki said Johnson, Njoku and Jack-
son will return Wednesday.
The Browns did get some good
news: Running back Nick Chubb
(calf ) practiced for the first time
since missing his second straight
game. Starting right tackle Jack
Conklin (knee) and w ide receiver
Odell Beckham Jr. (shoulder) also
took part in practice.
l PACKERS: Green Bay will
probably have to face the unbeat-
en Arizona Cardinals on Thurs-
day without all-pro wide receiver
Davante Adams and defensive co-
ordinator Joe Barry, who have
been placed on the covid-19 re-
serve list.
Coach Matt L aFleur said Barry,
who is fully vaccinated, could join
the Packers by Thursday if he tests
negative Tuesday and Wednesday.
“But I’m not going to hold my
breath on that,” LaFleur said.
l BRONCOS: Injury-riddled
Denver acquired inside lineback-
er Kenny Young from the Los
Angeles Rams.
The teams swapped 2024 draft
picks, with the Rams receiving a
sixth-rounder and the Broncos
getting back a seventh-rounder.
Drafted by the Baltimore Ra-
vens in 2018, Young was sent to
Los Angeles in 2019 as part of a
trade for cornerback Marcus Pe-
ters. Young started all seven of the
Rams’ games this season, a career
high, with 46 tackles and a team-
leading six tackles for losses.
l 49ERS: San Francisco is on a
four-game losing streak and quar-
terback Jimmy Garoppolo i s com-
ing off the worst game of his
career, but Coach Kyle Shanahan
is sticking with him — even if
rookie Tr ey L ance is healthy.
While Garoppolo had three
turnovers in Sunday’s 30-18 loss
to the Indianapolis Colts, Shana-
han said he will be the starter
when the 49ers head to Chicago
this week.
l TEXANS: Veteran quarter-
back Tyrod Taylor will practice
Wednesday for the first time since
injuring a hamstring in Week 2.
Coach David Culley said he wasn’t
sure when Taylor will play again.
l BEARS: Coach Matt Nagy,
who is vaccinated, tested positive
for the coronavirus. With Nagy
isolating, special teams coordina-
tor Chris Tabor will run meetings
that Nagy c an’t c onduct virtually.
l FALCONS: Starting right
tackle Kaleb McGary came off the
covid reserve list after missing
Atlanta’s 30-28 win over the Mi-
ami Dolphins on Sunday.
l MISC.: Carl Madsen, who
worked as an NFL on-field umpire
and then as a replay official, died
Sunday after working the Kansas
City-Tennessee game. He w as 71.
Madsen was driving home to
Weldon Spring, Mo., when he had
an apparent medical issue on In-
terstate 65. He w as taken to Nash-
ville’s S t. Thomas Midtown Hospi-
tal, where he died.
Madsen joined the NFL offici-
ating staff as an umpire in 1997
and worked on the field through
the 2008 season. He worked in
replay from 2009.

NOTES

With Wilson

sidelined,

the Jets bring

Flacco back

BY TIM BOOTH

seattle — Brian Johnson

kicked a 33-yard field goal with

1:56 remaining in his NFL de-

but, and the New Orleans Saints

took advantage of a string of

mistakes by the Seattle Sea-

hawks for a 13-10 win M onday

night.

Alvin Kamara carried the load

for New Orleans, and Jameis

Winston made a handful of

plays when needed, but the

Saints escaped Seattle thanks

largely to blunders by the home

team, led by backup quarter-

back Geno Smith.

Two of the Seahawks’ biggest

mistakes came on New Orleans’s

deciding drive when Seattle was

flagged for roughing the passer

and jumping offside on a long

field goal attempt. Both penal-

ties gave the Saints first downs,

and Johnson’s field goal coming

out of the two-minute warning

put them ahead.

Johnson, a rookie from Vir-

ginia Tech, made an extra point

and both field goal tries, con-

necting from 21 yards in the first

half.

Smith hit DK Metcalf for an

84-yard touchdown in the first

quarter but went nowhere when

the Seahawks had a final chance

to tie or win. Smith was sacked

on consecutive plays by Mal-

colm Jenkins and Demario Da-

vis. On fourth and 28, Smith was

pressured again, and his throw

to Metcalf was nearly intercept-

ed by Davis.

Smith went 12 of 22 for 167

yards and was sacked five times

as Davis, Cameron Jordan and

others made his night uncom-

fortable. The 31-year-old lost his

second straight game starting in

place of Russell Wilson, who

injured his right middle finger

in a defeat to the Los Angeles

Rams three weeks ago and is out

until at least mid-November.

The Seahawks lost their third

straight game for the first time

since 2011 and fell to 0-3 at

home.

Kamara finished with 10

catches for 128 yards and a

13-yard touchdown reception

late in the first half. It was his

fifth career regular season game

with double-digit r eceptions. He

rushed for 51 yards.

Winston was 19 of 35 for 222

yards and added 43 yards rush-

ing. He also made enough plays

— and got enough h elp from

Seattle penalties — to get the

Saints in range for the winning

field goal.

Seattle appeared to get a stop,

but Marquise Blair was called

for roughing the passer on a

third-down sack after hitting

Winston with the crown of his

helmet. Kamara then sprinted

past a blitz for 12 yards on third

and 10, and the Saints were in

field goal range.

Al Woods jumped offside as

Johnson lined up for a 43-yard

attempt, allowing New Orleans

to burn another 90 seconds off

the clock before Johnson made

the shorter try.

Seattle’s Jason Myers missed a

pair of field goal attempts from

44 and 53 yards — the second

into the open end of the stadium

after Smith took another costly

sack. Myers made a 50-yarder.

Kamara had 21 touches on

New Orleans’s 39 offensive plays

in the first half. He was mostly

ineffective on the ground, but

Seattle couldn’t slow him down

in the pass game. He a lready had

108 yards receiving by halftime.

Four of Kamara’s receptions

came on the final drive of the

half, when his 31-yard catch-

and-run out of the backfield set

up his 13-yard scoring catch and

a 10-7 halftime lead.

Former Seahawks quarter-

back Matt Hasselbeck was in-

ducted into the team’s Ring of

Honor at halftime. Hasselbeck,

who played for Seattle from

2001 to 2010, held most of the

franchise passing records until

Wilson’s arrival in 2012 and led

the team to its first Super Bowl

appearance.

— Associated Press

Saints

capitalize

on Seattle’s

miscues

SAINTS 13,

SEAHAWKS 10

BY SAM FORTIER

green bay, wis. — Late Sunday

afternoon, Washington Football

Team Coach Ron Rivera and a few

players strode through the depths

of Lambeau Field, into a cramped

room and up to a wooden lectern

to preach a familiar message.

They insisted their disappointing

defense had just had its best

performance of the year, that it

was close to fulfilling its poten-

tial. Despite the 24 -10 loss to the

Green Bay Packers and despite

the obvious need for consistency

and polish, the evidence suggest-

ed this was indeed progress.

Washington still had its famil-

iar lapses. It missed tackles and

lacked discipline, surrendering a

first-quarter touchdown on

fourth and three. But the line

generated consistent pressure,

derailed several drives and

stepped up in tough situations.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodg-

ers took advantage of the cover-

age at times, particularly against

cornerback Danny Johnson, but

Rivera thought the defense as a

whole showed improvement.

“Especially against this quar-

terback,” Rivera said, noting the

difficult-to-defend back-shoulder

pass Rodgers threw to beat John-

son for a touchdown before half-

time. “This is one of the elites,

man, and he showed it. [Rodgers]

read us a couple times perfectly,

and he threw the perfect ball.”

The bar for progress was low.

In the first six weeks, Washing-

ton’s d efense was one of the NFL’s

worst by almost any metric. Yet

the difference between this game

and the others, including Wash-

ington’s wins, was the defense

made Green Bay earn its points.

Washington didn’t have any glar-

ing busted coverages and didn’t

allow a gain of 40 or more yards

for the first time since the season

opener. The Packers’ longest play

went for 26.

If quarterback Taylor Heinicke

hadn’t fumbled deep in Washing-

ton territory on the first posses-

sion of the second half, leading to

a short-field Green Bay touch-

down, the defense might’ve been

able to give the team a chance to

win.

The growth started up front.

The linemen impressed, sacking

Rodgers three times, hitting him

six times, batting down a pass and

blocking a field goal. One of those

players, tackle Jonathan Allen,

dismissed sacks as a reflection of

the defense’s improvement —

“They’re a misleading stat,” he

said after notching two — but

praised the process of generating

pressure. He noted the defensive

line is communicating more on

the sideline about the offensive

line’s strategy and coordinating

rushes to find the weak point.

“[We] understand that it’s four

rushing as one,” he said, acknowl-

edging part of the line’s s low start

was its penchant for freelancing.

“We still have a long way to go, but

it’s just chopping it down little by

little and getting better each

week.”

As usual, though, the defense

didn’t s tart fast enough. Washing-

ton allowed an opening-drive

score for the sixth time in seven

games, and the final play typified

the defense’s s truggles. Even after

the game, as Rivera and Allen

spoke hopefully of the future, the

Packers’ touchdown on fourth

and three still made them smol-

der.

On the play, Rodgers scram-

bled right, drew defenders to him

and threw across his body to hit

wide receiver Davante Adams

short o ver the middle for a 17-yard

touchdown. There’s no shame in

getting beaten by two future Hall

of Famers, but the frustration

seemed to be that Washington’s

lack of discipline made it easier.

Rivera insinuated defensive tack-

le Tim Settle should have con-

tained the right side, keeping

Rodgers in the pocket, but that he

used the wrong technique. John-

son also was caught flat-footed as

the only cornerback who didn’t

plaster a receiver when Rodgers

began to scramble.

“It’s a little discipline, a little

consistency,” Rivera said of why

the defense hasn’t been able to

put it all together. “They fought,

though. They played hard. They

gave themselves a chance.”

Perhaps the most encouraging

signs came in the progress of two

rookies: linebacker Jamin Davis

and cornerback Benjamin St-

Juste. Davis, the first-round pick,

missed a few tackles, including

one on third down during the first

drive, but he hit holes more deci-

sively, making a solid stop on first

down just before the two-minute

warning. St-Juste, a long third-

rounder who reminds Rivera of

former Chicago Bears standout

Charles Tillman, said he has

made a “big change” s ince Week 1,

when the Los Angeles Chargers

picked on him in critical situa-

tions with a big-body receiver.

To illustrate his growth, St-

Juste pointed to his approach

against Adams and fellow Pack-

ers veteran Randall Cobb. This

past week, St-Juste saw on film

that many cornerbacks give Ad-

ams space, which lets him have

“time to do all this wiggle stuff.”

St-Juste tried the opposite ap-

proach — more press coverage,

using his long arms to stay with

Adams — but knew that strategy

wouldn’t work against Cobb,

who’s patient at the line of scrim-

mage. If St-Juste tried to press, he

said, Cobb would swipe away his

hands, so he gave him more space.

“That’s the growth that you

want to see as a corner,” St-Juste

said, “being able to understand

that different receivers will have

different releases and different

tactics for your technique.”

Rodgers sometimes ensured

these small steps forward didn’t

matter. Rivera said Johnson

“didn’t h ave a chance” of stopping

the touchdown before halftime

because of Rodgers’s experience

and touch, and he didn’t blame

Davis for not breaking up a well-

placed high ball to tight end Rob-

ert Tonyan for a 20-yard score

following Heinicke’s third-quar-

ter fumble.

Washington left Green Bay

with another loss, its third in a

row, but neither Rivera nor his

players seemed as exasperated as

they did in weeks prior.

St-Juste was, as a rookie, the

most optimistic.

“One game,” he said, “it’s going

to start clicking and” — he

snapped his fingers — “we’re go-

ing to be good.”

[email protected]

Despite a loss, WFT points to progress on defense

BY NICKI JHABVALA

Taylor Heinicke’s hold on the

starting quarterback job for the

Washington Football Team is

good for a bit longer.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, who suf-

fered a partially dislocated hip

in the season opener, is sched-

uled to undergo an MRI exam in

two weeks, after which he’ ll be

evaluated to determine his sta-

tus, Coach Ron Rivera said Mon-

day.

In t wo weeks, Washington will

be preparing for its Week 10

matchup against the Super Bowl

champion Tampa Bay Bucca-

neers, who defeated Washington

in the first-round playoff game

last season that propelled Hein-

icke to a bit of stardom.

When Fitzpatrick, 38, is

deemed healthy enough to re-

turn to practice, the team will

have a 21-day activation window

in which it can add him to the

53-man roster or leave him on

injured reserve for the rest of the

season.

Fitzpatrick was initially ex-

pected to miss six to eight weeks

after avoiding surgery, accord-

ing to people close to the situa-

tion at the time. But the injury, a

subluxation of his hip, is signifi-

cant, and recovery times can

vary depending on any damage

to surrounding tissue.

“The ball and socket is a very

stable, constrained joint, and so

the amount of force that is

necessary to get the hip to sub-

lux or dislocate is significant,”

said William R. Volk, an orthope-

dic surgeon at the Centers for

Advanced Orthopaedics in

Bethesda, Md., who is not in-

volved with Fitzpatrick’s treat-

ment.

“... Y ou can see when [Fitz-

patrick] is being tackled, his

right knee plants into the

ground and the player on the

back of him [the Los Angeles

Chargers’ Uchenna Nwosu] forc-

es his body onto his thigh bone

and onto his knee,” Volk added.

“That would be akin to, if you

can imagine, driving and hitting

the car in front of you, and the

dashboard hits your knee and

drives your leg back.”

Fitzpatrick was injured in the

second quarter of Washington’s

loss to the Chargers when

Nwosu slammed him to the

ground as he looked to throw. He

was placed on injured reserve,

and Washington turned to Hein-

icke as its starter.

Kyle Allen, who started four

games in 2020 before suffering a

season-ending ankle injury, is

Heinicke’s backup and remains

the only other quarterback on

the active roster. Washington

signed Kyle Shurmur to the

practice squad after F itzpatrick’s

injury, but he has yet to play in a

regular season game.

Whenever Fitzpatrick re-

sumes practice, the team prob-

ably will ease him back in to

avoid risking further injury. But

other factors will have to be

considered, too — namely the

status of the team, which is 2-5

after losing to the Green Bay

Packers on Sunday, and the play

of Heinicke.

The 28-year-old has led Wash-

ington to a pair of comeback

victories, and his mobility and

knack for extending plays have

at times ignited the offense. But

his inconsistency has often been

a detriment.

“I think that shows his inexpe-

rience because there are a couple

of things that when you watch

some of the tape and you see

some of the plays as they break

down, you sit there and say,

‘Wow, now I think he’ll under-

stand that he’s got to throw it

this way,’ ” Rivera said. “... Some

of his inexperience is showing.

But I think obviously he has the

skill set that you’re looking for,

he does have the ability to lead,

but he’s still young in terms of

actual opportunities and experi-

ences as a quarterback in the

league so far.”

A noticeable trend in recent

outings is Heinicke’s inaccuracy.

Many passes come in high, ei-

ther missing his receiver com-

pletely or putting him in harm’s

way — such as his pass to

running back J.D. McKissic on

third down late in the second

quarter of Sunday’s loss. McKiss-

ic ran a crossing route, and the

ball was thrown slightly high,

forcing him to leap to try to

catch it just as a Packers safety

dropped down for a bruising hit.

Rivera said he believes those

misses are tied to Heinicke’s

mechanics (specifically the

transfer of weight from his back

foot when he throws) and the

quarterback overthinking and

“trying to be too perfect.”

After the loss in Green Bay,

Rivera described Heinicke’s play

as “gutsy” and “courageous,” but

he has stressed that he is looking

for consistency from the entire

team. With injuries piling up

and the schedule expected to

become increasingly difficult,

Washington has 10 more games

to try to get things right.

“Again, what I’m hoping for

and looking for is for us to start

playing consistent football, bet-

ter football,” Rivera said. “I get it.

I know the expectations were

high coming into this year, and

the truth of the matter is we

haven’t lived up to those. The

thing that we have to do more

than anything else is continue to

work hard, continue to prepare

and take it one game at a time,

focus in on that one game — and,

quite honestly, win.”

[email protected]

Fitzpatrick out until at least Week 10

Washington at Broncos

Sunday, 4:25 p.m., Fox

JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST

Taylor Heinicke (4) will lead Washington’s offense for at least one more game as Ryan Fitzpatrick continues to rehab his i njured hip.

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