Washington in the hunt after Bengals victory

Ten games played in the NFC East and Washington could be top of the pile if they defeat historical foes the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.

Of course, that would equate to only the four victories, but reasons to be thankful should not be sniffed at when you are a fan of the football team in Washington.

Would many of us envisaged the burgundy & gold being in the hunt for the NFC East divisional title? OK, it is entirely due to the division containing four of the worst teams in the entire NFL, but from a fanbase point of view, and for the development of a young roster, a play-off berth would bring at least one genuinely exciting Sunday to look forward to.

In this hellish year of 2020, I think joy should be welcomed wherever it might spring forth.

Against the Bengals, Washington continued to do many of the bad things it has done this season. The burgundy & gold failed for the tenth game in a row to score on an opening drive and this was followed by Cincinnati seemingly moving the football at will.

The prodigiously talented Joe Burrow looked every inch an NFL star for many a year to come as he cut up the Washington backfield with the touch of an artist.

However, for all their dominance in yardage, the Bengals were failing to hit the end-zone and kicker Randy Bullock was also doing his upmost to keep Washington in the game.

Washington took full advantage of this gift when Antonio Gibson (who now has 8 TDs in his rookie season) ran in from the one-yard line after Alex Smith had connected with Scary Terry McLaurin for a 42-yard pick-up big play.

Burrow responded with another long drive and this time the Bengals did score with the veteran AJ Green putting up six. Alas for Cincinnati the Randy one failed with the extra point, although he did show huge balls to drill a 53 yarder and the Bengals led at HT by 9-7.

This game changed on the Cincinnati 10 around three and a half minutes into the third quarter. Many might now be suggesting that the very turf at FedEx Field is cursed as it was genuinely sad to see rookie sensation Burrow carted off with a season ending injury following a tackle from Jonathan Allen.

It was almost two years to the day that Washington QB Alex Smith suffered an injury that led to the 2018 on-field slump (from 6-3 to 7-9) and the subsequent off-field revolution that we are seeing in D.C.

I will put my hand up now and confess I wanted Smith to retire and double downed on that after watching the stunningly emotive Project 11 documentary.

On Sunday Alex got his first win post-injury whilst wearing a throwback uniform as in 2018. And it was very Alex Smith of 2018, game managed and controlled, some good and some bad, but with a feeling he would keep Washington competitive.

The unfortunate exit of Burrow galvanised the Washington front-line who dominated the second year Ryan Finley with the Bengals only putting up 25 yards in the second half. And offensively Washington were competent enough to take advantage of the situation and register 13 unanswered second half points.

Next up are Dallas. A 25-3 win for Washington in Week 7 was as straightforward as you can get, but the Cowboys surprised the odds with a Sunday victory vs Minnesota. They still have an assortment of riches in the WR core and this match-up is likely to be a lot closer at the AT&T.

Who would bet against Alex Smith leading the WFT to a narrow win to set up an NFC East title shot? I’ve learnt my lesson to cast doubt on a guy who is essentially superhuman.