Washington Football Team: Does this offense have staying power?

Does this offense of the Washington Football Team have the staying power to compete?

The Washington Football Team has undoubtedly been playing better in recent weeks. It started all the way back in Week 6 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite the fact that they lost that game 31-13, it felt like the defense had turned a corner.

Then in Week 7, that same defensive unit had their best performance of the year, holding the Green Bay Packers to just 24 points and 304 yards of total offense. That was outdone in Week 8 when they held the Denver Broncos to 17 points and 273 yards of total offense.

It was great to see the defense playing better, but Washington lost all three of those games. And the reason for that was the offense. They were completely stagnant – couldn’t get anything going.

Washington Football Team offense turning the corner?

After a bye week came possibly their toughest test – the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A certain loss according to basically anyone you asked. Instead, Washington played a pretty dominant game. They won 29-19. The defense held Tampa to under 300 yards and picked off Tom Brady twice. Meanwhile, the offense showed some serious life.

This past week against the Carolina Panthers, the offense of the Washington Football Team took another big step forward. They scored 27 points and had 369 yards of total offense. That included 95 rushing yards from Antonio Gibson (190 total team rushing yards). It also featured a strong game from Taylor Heinicke that saw him go 16-for-22 for 206 yards and three touchdowns, compared to zero interceptions.

Washington’s now won two games in a row. They are 4-6 with a defense that is starting to play to their potential and an offense that is showing signs of life. There is reason to trust the defense after their dominant performance last season. What about the offense though? Is there staying power here?

Let’s break it down.

Heinicke has been playing better lately. The quarterback had a number of perfect throws that led to big plays. Terry McLaurin is a legitimate superstar. Cam Sims is back and can make some plays, and DeAndre Carter has shown he can be a spark plug. John Bates has stepped up recently as well. Most importantly though, Logan Thomas is close to returning. Once the tight end is back, that gives Washington another legitimate threat in the passing game.

Meanwhile, Gibson doesn’t really have the best overall numbers this season and fumbles have been a bit of a problem. But he’s been a lot better recently. We’re seeing longer runs and more consistency. J.D. McKissic is a phenomenal secondary-back, and Jaret Patterson has had some nice moments.

Now admittedly, it’s not like I just rattled off some elite offense. There’s McLaurin as your lone superstar. Gibson has the potential to be elite and is playing better, but it’s far too early to be throwing any tags around him. Thomas is a great tight end but still doesn’t have much going on in the stat department outside of last season. Being injured most of the year makes you wonder what Washington will be getting when he returns.

The other receivers aren’t going to break any defense. Sims has had big games in the past, but it’s absolutely not something you should be banking on to win a game. Adam Humphries is a solid veteran but it’s unlikely he’ll be the guy to break a defense. Carter’s speed is great but counting his 14 receptions this year, he has just 48 receptions in 53 career games.

Of course, Heinicke has proven he’s more than just a fun quarterback to watch. He seems to be very knowledgeable, plays hard, and isn’t afraid to make tough throws. Those throws won’t always work out, but it’s great to have a QB that isn’t afraid of failure. His legs are also a plus.

So overall, a pretty underwhelming group. There are a few potential pieces there that could bump that up though. And maybe that’s what does it, but it really does feel like they can perform throughout the rest of the season.

Maybe Washington’s offense won’t put up dominant performances, but they’ll find ways to score. And if the defense continues to be strong, that might be enough to keep racking up the Ws.

Surprisingly, the Washington Football Team isn’t out of the playoff race just yet. This is especially true considering their last five games of the season are all against NFC East opponents. So if they can find a way to get there with a 6-6 record, we could be in for a wild ride.

To do so, the offense needs to keep finding ways to score. The return of Thomas should help. And the progressions of Heinicke and some of the other weapons (Carter, Bates, Patterson Dax Milne, Dyami Brown) could prove massive. Gibson finding his footing could sway things as well.

The main takeaway here is that it’s a team effort. It can’t all fall on McLaurin to get this Washington Football Team offense going. He’s great, but when teams start hyper-focusing on him, there need to be others that make them pay for that.

If Heinicke and the rest of the offense can deliver, there are a lot of reasons to believe they have the staying power to help fuel Washington to a postseason push.