Advertisement

Washington Football Team beats Seahawks for third win in a row

Washington Football Team quarterback Taylor Heinicke runs against the Seattle Seahawks.
Washington Football Team quarterback Taylor Heinicke runs against the Seattle Seahawks Monday in Landover, M.D.
(Daniel Kucin Jr. / Associated Press)
Share

Kendall Fuller intercepted Russell Wilson’s pass on a last-minute 2-point conversion attempt, and Washington held on to beat the Seattle Seahawks 17-15 Monday night for the team’s third consecutive victory.

Wilson led the Seahawks on a 10-play, 96-yard touchdown drive in the final three minutes. He connected with Freddy Swain on a 32-yard TD pass with 15 seconds left but came up just short of leading a memorable comeback on his 33rd birthday.

Seattle (3-8) was called for an illegal formation penalty on the first onside kick attempt and failed to recover the second. Wilson was 20 of 31 for 247 yards and two TD passes, but he lost three consecutive games for the first time as the Seahawks’ starting quarterback, with his team’s playoff hopes fading in the process.

Advertisement

Washington (5-6) moved into the final NFC wild-card spot with the win. J.D. McKissic caught a touchdown pass from Taylor Heinicke, ran for another and accounted for 56 yards from scrimmage against the team he broke into the NFL with.

Heinicke and Co. had to do it all in the second half without the possibility of a field goal after kicker Joey Slye injured a hamstring late in the second quarter on an extra point attempt that was blocked and returned for two points. Heinicke evaded a couple of potential sacks and outdueled Wilson in a matchup of mobile QBs, going 27 of 35 for 223 yards with the TD throw to McKissic and an interception.

A departure from each team’s typical results in prime time, Washington won at home on Monday night for the third time in 20 tries since FedEx Field opened in 1997. Seattle, which entered with the NFL’s best winning percentage on Monday night, fell to 11-4 in these situations in Pete Carroll’s 11 seasons as coach.

Carroll’s Seahawks have fallen out of playoff contention over the past three weeks. They were right in it against Washington when Rasheem Green blocked, recovered and returned the extra point attempt late in the first half to tie the score at 9, but the offense went cold after halftime.

Washington outrushed Seattle 152-34 and held a 41:40-18:20 edge in time of possession.

Advertisement