Reality has a funny way of interfering with a good story. For two and a half quarters, Alex Smith was writing a Hollywood comeback story. Cecil B. DeMille, David O. Zelnick, Louis B. Mayer; none would have green-lighted this pitch. NFL quarterback breaks a leg and almost dies, takes two years to come back, wins job on the roster, gets a chance to win division game when the starter goes out.
Smith responded by completing 22 of his first 26 passes. He threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin, his first in more than 730 days, by the way, and led the Washington Football Team as it cut a 20 point deficit to just 3. With less than 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Smith and the offense had the ball and the game in their collective hands.
And then it all went south. Two straight interceptions, the last one with less than 1:45 left in the game, sealed Washington’s fate. Final score 23-20. Washington falls to 2-6 overall and 2-2 in the NFC East.
The game once again swung on a few key plays, all of which Washington was on the wrong end. Especially noteworthy was the two first-quarter fumbles that lead to 10 Giants points. Chalk up another learning experience for a young team.
“The first thing we learn is we can’t spot teams 20 points in a half and expect to win,” Head Coach Ron Rivera said after the game.
Aside from the two 4th quarter interceptions, Smith seemed to be able to run the offense better than either Kyle Allen – who left the game with a dislocated ankle and is most likely out for the rest of the season – or Dwayne Haskins.
“I was very pleased it was exciting to watch him get out there and do the things he did,” Rivera said. “He tried to make things happen, tried to force things, and bad things happened this time. But there will be times when he forces things, and good things will happen, and we’ll be happy about that.”
Smith was the last player to appear at the podium in the teams’ post-game zoom meeting. He said his first thoughts were with Kyle Allen, who left the game on a cart, his ankle wrapped in an air cast. From his first snap, Smith looked much more comfortable than he did when he came on to relieve Allen in the Rams game a few weeks ago.
“We had a chance without those (interceptions) two. The second one really hurt. I felt we really rolling moving the ball there had them on their heels,” Smith said.
Smith and the offense got the ball back with less than 5 minutes left and moved to within five yards of a potential Dustin Hopkins game-tying field goal. That’s when disaster struck.
“I saw JD there, and kind of escaped and tried to get him as fast as possible, and the ball just came out high just inaccurate you know just a better football there,” Smith went on to say. “Had a chance for points if it didn’t come out high.”
The last gasp drive with 1:45 left also ended with an interception.
There were some bright spots. Wide receiver Cam Sims had the breakout game many have been expecting for two years. He had a career-high 110 yards on three receptions. Terry McLaurin continued his pro bowl caliber season with seven receptions and 115 yards, and one touchdown.
Rivera said Smith would start next Sunday against the Lions with Haskins as his back up.
Washington is now officially at the halfway point of its roller-coaster season. With eight games left, Rivera still thinks his team is heading in the right direction. Sunday may have been a microcosm of 2020 so far. There was no reason, coming off a bye week, for the team to have played the way it did in the first half.
“But the way they came in played the second half is indicative of what this team can be, in my opinion,” Rivera said.