Washington's Week 7 win was, somehow, totally stress free originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Washington Football Team hasn't done a lot of winning in recent years. Stress-free victories have been even more rare.
But on Sunday against the Cowboys, Washington not only won, they won... really easily?
Yes, in the surest sign yet that 2020 makes no sense, the Burgundy and Gold grabbed an early lead, extended that lead and then smoothly protected that lead. Accomplishing all three of those tasks was no trouble at all, either.
By the time the action at FedEx Field finished up, Ron Rivera's club found themselves on the proper side of a 25-3 score. A quick scan of past results for them will tell you it was the franchise's most straightforward effort since a 16-3 triumph in Tampa back in November 2018.
There's no denying that much of what took place Sunday had to do with how dilapidated Dallas is. Mike McCarthy seems to have somehow totally lost the respect of a roster he's been coaching for a month and a half, and their defense is officially listed as a viable cure for any ailing offense.
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Washington does deserve their credit, though.
Kyle Allen led his unit down to the goal line on their opening drive, and while they couldn't cap it on fourth down with a TD, they did put their defense in a position to tee off, which they did on an ensuing safety. Antonio Gibson sparked Washington when they got the ball back, busting a carry for 40 yards and then finding the end zone on a 12-yard burst up the middle.
Later on in the first half, Terry McLaurin broke free for Washington's first truly explosive six-pointer of the season. Logan Thomas later joined him in the touchdown column, and at halftime, the hosts were up 22-3. For a squad that's made a habit of trailing by double digits, that must've felt welcome, if not odd.
From there, things were pretty standard. Jon Bostic's awful hit on Andy Dalton — which he was ejected for — was the most notable event to take place in the second half. Aside from that, the NFC East rivals basically did some stuff, Washington's defensive line tried to rack up as many QB hits as possible and everyone waited for the clock to run out.
Now, Rivera's group can, for at least a few more weeks, claim that they're in playoff contention thanks to their weak division. Actually getting there will be difficult, because they're still a flawed operation. For once, however, they didn't make winning look difficult, and that's something worth highlighting on its own.
