Commander Country

Late TD From McKissic Allows Washington To Escape With 34-30 Win

Washington Football Team rallies late to beat Atlanta in a messy game

David Harrison

Facing the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday had all the makings of the Washington Football Team getting on track after three weeks of struggles.

It wasn't pretty, but it happened as WFT improved to 2-2 after getting past the Falcons 34-30. Running back J.D. McKissic flew through the air in the final minute for the game-winning touchdown. 

READ MORE: Curtis Samuel Returns

The Falcons opened the game with the ball and, after 14 plays, had the ball down to the Washington 7-yard line on third-and-goal. What likely would have been a touchdown in recent weeks was instead a short field goal by Younghoe for an early 3-0 lead. 

WFT lost tight end Logan Thomas for the game with a hamstring injury on its first possession. 

After a failed fourth-down conversion by WFT, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan capped off a four-play drive with a 42-yard touchdown pass to running back Cordarrelle Patterson.

Down 10-0, Washington quarterback found receiver Terry McLaurin on pair on long plays, including a 33-yard touchdown to trim the Falcons' advantage to 10-7 with just under eight minutes left in the half. 

Washington's defense followed by forcing a three-and-out. Heinicke had a 20-yard scramble on the ensuing drive that helped set up running back Antonio Gibson's short TD run. 

Kicker Dustin Hopkins missed his first of two extra points, keeping the game at 13-10 in favor of WFT. 

Patterson scored again before the half and the Falcons took a 17-13 lead into the locker room.

READ MORE: Logan Thomas Leaves Game in First Quarter

The second half started with a bang as Washington returner DeAndre Carter took the kickoff back 101-yards for a touchdown. Hopkins missed the PAT.

Eight plays later, the Falcons answered back on Patterson's third touchdown to put Washington back in the hole at 23-19.

Hopkins followed with a field goal to get WFT within a point.

The Falcons pushed the lead back to eight (30-22) early in the fourth on a Mike Davis score after Chase Young was flagged for an illegal hit on Ryan to keep a drive alive. 

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READ MORE: DeAndre Carter 101-Yard Touchdown

With about four minutes left in the game, Heinicke threw a prayer into the end zone on first down that was hauled in by McLaurin brought for a 17-yard touchdown. The two-point try failed. 

Washington's defense forced another three-and-out, and Heinicke got the ball back with just under two minutes remaining and two timeouts at his disposal. 

On second down from the Falcons' 29-yard line, Heinicke scrambled, met resistance and found McKissic. 

After avoiding Falcons linebacker Deion Jones, McKissic went about 20 yards and flew through the air to give WFT the lead with 1:14 left.

Ryan couldn't dial up any magic and the Washington got the win.

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David Harrison
DAVID HARRISON

David Harrison has covered the NFL since 2015 as a digital content creator in both written and audio media. He is the host of Locked On Commanders and a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. His previous career was as a Military Working Dog Handler for the United States Army. Contact David via email at david.w.harrison82@gmail.com or on Twitter @DHarrison82.

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