Heinicke drives team into position for winning kick
LAS VEGAS — Brian Johnson made quite the first impression on his new Washington teammates.
Johnson kicked the go-ahead 48-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining five days after joining the team and Washington beat the Raiders 17-15 on Sunday for its fifth straight win.
“I didn’t even know his name,” defensive tackle Jonathan Allen said. “We just brought him up.”
Allen and the rest of the Washington offense know it now after he drilled the gamewinning kick after Taylor Heinicke drove the team into position after squandering an eight-point lead.
“The vibe and everything, for not being around it, I felt it once I walked in,” said Johnson, who was signed Tuesday to replace the injured Joey Slye. “It’s an awesome locker room to be in. They’re probably still learning my name, but it’s awesome to be here.”
Heinicke threw a 7-yard TD pass to Logan Thomas on the opening drive and a 4-yarder to Antonio Gibson early in the fourth quarter after extending the drive with a key third-down scramble.
Washington (6-6) then allowed the Raiders (6-6) to score on successive drives to take a 15-14 lead on Daniel Carlson’s 37-yard field goal that was set up by Nate Hobbs’ interception of a Heinicke pass.
Heinicke responded and drove Washington down the field to set up the kick by Johnson that came three plays after Tre’von Moehrig dropped a potential game-sealing interception.
“It’s literally the same thing that happened against the Giants,” Heinicke said. “I feel like we play really well in the two-minute drill. We practice it a lot. Guys executed really well and we got lucky on that one throw, but that’s football.”
Heinicke finished 23-for-30 for 196 yards and has led four game-winning drives in his first year as a starting quarterback in Washington.
“What can you say about him?” Allen said. “He just keeps showing why he needs to be our quarterback.”
Coordinator Jack Del Rio’s defense then sealed it to give him the win in his first game against the Raiders since being fired by the team following the 2017 season.
The game ended when Derek Carr’s desperation heave from his 43 fell incomplete, short of the goal line as Washington improved to 4-0 since the bye to get into playoff position.
“We’re not a star-studded roster,” Allen said. “We don’t have those big celebrities. We’re not an L.A. or whatever the case may be, and we just don’t care what anybody says. We believe in ourselves. We went out there and played hard.”