LAS VEGAS, NV — After Washington’s Monday Night victory, they had to travel across the U.S. in a short week to take on the Las Vegas Raiders. Washington enters at 5-6 and the Raiders at 6-5. Both teams are fighting for their playoff lives today.
This Washington Football Team seems to go the way of their defense with three consecutive wins coming against Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Seattle. Today they face a tough Raiders’ team led by quarterback Derek Carr. Their team lost their top receiving target in Henry Ruggs after he was arrested in early November and formally charged in a fatal DUI case in which a 22 year old woman and her dog were killed. Carr is now relying on Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller as his top receivers and running back Josh Jacobs. On defense, it is the former Maryland Terp defensive end Yannick Ngakoue who leads the Raiders defense with eight sacks.
It will be the Washington offensive line that must keep Ngakoue from getting close to their quarterback Taylor Heinicke. In the past three weeks, Heinicke has been one of the best quarterbacks, and he is now No. 21 overall and almost tied with Dak Prescott in QBR for the season. Heinicke now has a 67.2 completion percentage for the season and ranked 14th in fantasy rankings for quarterbacks.
On Heinicke having a higher completion percentage in the last three games:
“I think one of the things has been he’s had time to set and find that guy. I think a lot of it has to do with being able to run the ball successfully because then it really adds to the play action. It really adds to slowing down the pass rush as opposed to them just going all out. So, that I think has really helped us, especially with him.”
— Head coach Ron Rivera
Today, as part of the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats campaign, Heinicke and more than 70 of his Washington Football Team teammates and coaches have created custom cleats to raise awareness for their initiatives and causes that they are passionate about. Players will have the opportunity to wear the cleats during in today’s game.
Cleats will be unveiled throughout the week and fans can learn more about their passions beyond the game and the stories that inspired their cleat designs as well as how to bid on their cleats at www.WashingtonFootball.com/MyCauseMyCleats. Bidding is now open online and will close at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 13. All proceeds will benefit the charity featured on the player’s cleats.
The My Cause, My Cleats initiative is a collaborative effort between the NFL and players across the league to raise awareness for philanthropic organizations and movements by wearing unique cleats. The Washington Football Team will showcase their cleats at Allegiant Stadium when they face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Dec. 5. Cleats will continue to be added to the silent auction page leading up to Washington’s My Cause, My Cleats game.
The extra added value in these cleats has a lot to do in how the players perform in them. Score a touchdown, record an interception, and make a key play will enhance the value. Yes, it is all about winning.
On the team gaining momentum:
“Confidence. It’s when you’re confident in what you’re doing and how you do it. You tend to do it fast. You tend to play fast. You tend to react rather than think. And sometimes that’s a very, very good thing. You want to be able to play fast and that’s probably, I think the other word that I could use would be confidence as opposed to just momentum. Sometimes because of the momentum, because of the confidence of playing fast, it covers up a lot of mistakes as well. And that’s one of the benefits to us being successful right now. Hopefully we can sustain it and continue.”
— Head coach Ron Rivera
The team’s momentum has to be turned into more wins to say in the Wild Card hunt and possibly win the division. As of yesterday if the season ended, Washington would have a Wild Card berth. They are looking for a lot more if you ask Rivera and his players.
Today is a real big test on the road against an inconsistent Raiders team. The stadium will be loud and that might give a slight advantage to the home team, otherwise they are closely matched.
What: Washington Football Team (5-6) vs. Las Vegas Raiders (6-5)
When: Sunday, December 5 at 4:05 p.m. E.T.
Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
Radio: The Team 980, WMAL 105.9 FM, and ESPN 630 DC (Bran Weinstein, DeAngelo Hall, Julie Donaldson)
TV: FOX
TV Announcing Crew: Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen
Betting Odds: The Raiders are 1.5-point home favorites against Washington. Las Vegas is -110 to cover the spread, while Washington is -110 to cover as a 1.5-point underdog. The over/under is at 48.0 points.
