When the Buccaneers scored a touchdown to cut Washington’s lead to 23-19 with 10:55 left in the fourth quarter on Sunday, few people thought the game would be out of reach the next time they had possession of the ball.
That’s just how things turned out, however. Washington ran 19 plays, drove 80 yards, and took 10:26 off the clock before a one-yard Antonio Gibson rushing touchdown sealed the victory for the home team. It was the longest drive in terms of plays in the NFL since Week Seven of the 2018 season and the longest for Washington since the 1991 season.
Thirteen of the 19 plays were runs and they picked up 35 yards after rushing for 59 yards to that point in the game. Wide receiver DeAndre Carter called it a “grown-man drive” and head coach Ron Rivera said the effort convinced him to let Gibson try for the touchdown on fourth down.
“Why not try and win it right there?” Rivera said, via Andrew Golden of the Washington Post. “Also part of the thinking, too, is if not, they got to go 99 [yards] to score a touchdown. At that point, with the way we were playing, I felt pretty inspired by our guys.”
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Washington and they’ll hope that the strong finish to the game set a foundation for success in the weeks to come.
