Commander Country

Sean Taylor Day: Washington Not Inspired Enough in Chiefs Blowout

The Kansas City Chiefs were the NFL Week 6 visitors to FedEx Field, and this Patrick Mahomes-led team, despite its early-season struggles, is a frightening force. Washington, though, was inspired ...

Mike Fisher

The motivation for the Washington Football Team, as a franchise, to use Sunday as a way to pay tribute to the late, great Sean Taylor may have been dubious - "the black cloud,'' and all of that.

But the team's honoring of Taylor is sincere.

And so is the way some members of this year's edition of Taylor's old team seemed sincere as well.

The Kansas City Chiefs were the NFL Week 6 visitors to FedEx Field, and this Patrick Mahomes-led team, despite its early-season struggles, is a frightening force. The Chiefs showed much of that in a 31-13 win that drops the WFT to a disappointing 2-4.

Said WFT Coach Ron Rivera: "I thought we would've handled the adversity a little bit better.”

But Washington - also burdened by early-season struggles and here, playing in too many ways just as sloppily as Kansas City played - certainly performed with effort ... and with at least one very obvious desire to tip the hat (and the helmet) to Taylor.

That obvious gesture came courtesy of the team’s young defensive star, Chase Young, the defensive end who wrapped his facemask in tape in the the unmistakable pattern that Taylor wore during his playing days. 

Different helmet. Different team name. Different color of facemask.

But a tape job that was identical.

Taylor’s No. 21 was retired at halftime of this game against the Chiefs. And yes, the lead-up was "screwed up,'' as team president Jason Wright conceded.

But the spirit of Taylor - the star safety of the 2000's who was murdered in a 2007 burglary of his home - was present here.

Is that enough? Not on the scoreboard, of course.

Mahomes was 32 of 47 for 397 yards and two TDs. There were the two interceptions, but that didn't help the WFT enough. Darrel Williams had two rushing TDs, and Travis Kelce (eight catches, 99 yards) and Tyreek Hill (nine catches, 76 yards and a score) ran free in the Washington secondary.

Young and the defense sacked Mahomes three times, but that wasn't enough. Nor was QB Taylor Heinicke throwing for just 182 yards. Nor was a running game keyed by Antonio Gibson, playing with a nasty shin injury while gaining just 44 yards.

Said Heinicke: "It's frustrating. We just didn't execute well. We felt like we had a good game plan. We just didn't execute it well."

In addition to a “good game plan”? Young's gesture. Gibson's effort. It counts for something. 

"Sean Taylor Day'' isn't going to fix any Dan Snyder problems or any Jon Gruden scandals. But a losing team has to keep trying. At least coach Rivera's fellas do that.

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983, is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.

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