Ronald Darby, Antonio Gibson and the defensive ends were all crucial players in the Washington Football Team's 20-9 victory over the Cincinatti Bengals on Sunday. Here's how they performed during the Week 7 matchup.
Game Ball No. 1: Tight End Logan Thomas
Thomas was one of the many offensive standouts for Washington during its matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. He finished the day with four receptions for a career-high 60 yards and a touchdown. His longest catch of the day went for 26 yards in the first quarter.
With three minutes left in the first half and Washington facing a 3rd-and-1, quarterback Kyle Allen got a short pass off to Thomas, who then shrugged off a defender and ran 15 yards into the end zone. This touchdown marked the last one of the game and pushed Washington's lead to 22-3.
"I'm not sure what the ceiling is," Thomas said, "but I know we've been clicking the last two weeks."
Thomas has been a big part of that, as he's made seven catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns in the past two games. He's feeling comfortable, confident and prepared, which was clearly visible against the Cowboys on what happened to be National Tight End Day.
"People are sleeping on Logan, mostly because Logan is just learning to play the position," head coach Ron Rivera said after the game. "Logan, I think, is a guy who can continue to grow in his role for us. I'm pretty excited about that."
Game Ball No. 2: Running back Antonio Gibson
Week after week, Gibson has become a staple in Washington's offense. On Sunday, the rookie led the team in rushing yards with 20 carries for 128 yards and a touchdown. If that's not impressive enough, this marked Gibson's first-career 100-yard game.
His longest play of the game happened within the first four minutes. After an incomplete pass, Allen and the offense hurried back to the line of scrimmage. With Washington at Dallas' 45-yard line, Allen handed the ball to Gibson, who ran to the right, slipped between two Cowboys players and scampered all the way down to the five-yard line. Although the offense wasn't able to finish the drive in the end zone, Gibson scored a 12-yard touchdown on the next drive to make the score 9-0.
For Gibson, becoming a focal point of the offense means a lot to him.
"It just shows that they trust in me and believe in what i can do. Just being able to help out is kind of a blessing."
Game Ball No. 3: Linebacker Cole Holcomb
Since Holcomb's return last week, he has made his presence known to offenses in the NFC East. He finished Sunday's contest with five combined tackles, one sack for a loss of eight yards and one interception.
At the eight-minute mark of the second quarter, Dallas was at its own 35-yard line. Once Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton took the snap, Holcomb immediately jumped off the line, plowed through Dallas star running back Ezekiel Elliott and brought Dalton down to force a sack.
With 39 seconds left in the half, Dallas made its way to Washington's 12-yard line. At this point, Dallas was trailing 22-3 and needed to gain some momentum before halftime. But as Dalton tried to connect with Elliott, Holcomb grabbed his first-career interception and ended the Cowboys' drive.
"I knew I was getting an angle route on that play," Holcomb said, "and I knew if I got beat on this angle route my coaches would have me go sit on the sidelines. So when he threw it behind him a little bit, I was very thankful. I was fortunate to make that play."
