LANDOVER, Md. — Jameis Winston connected on a Hail Mary for one of his four touchdown passes to help the New Orleans Saints beat Washington 33-22 Sunday, a bounce-back victory that came at a cost with two more injuries.
Winston took every snap at quarterback for the first time this season, a necessity after Taysom Hill suffered a concussion while trying to catch a pass in the second quarter.
Winston completed a 72-yard touchdown pass to Deonte Harris, who departed with a hamstring injury. He also connected with Marquez Callaway on the 49-yard Hail Mary TD on the final play of the first half, found Callaway wide open from 12 yards out and sent Washington fans to the exits with a pass to Alvin Kamara that turned into a 19-yard score.
Kamara also had a 23-yard TD run, returned punts in Harris’ absence and racked up 151 total yards. Winston completed 15 of 30 passes for 279 yards, more than making up for an inexplicable interception on the first possession and a fumble on Chase Young’s first sack of the season.
The Saints (3-2) picked off Taylor Heinicke twice and put some pressure on the Washington QB a week after not sacking Daniel Jones in an overtime loss to the New York Giants. Antonio Gibson ran for two touchdowns, but Washington (2-3) could not outscore another rough performance by its defence.
BIG PLAY SAINTS
New Orleans had two scoring plays of 45-plus yards for the first time since Dec. 18, 2016, when Drew Brees threw TD passes of 45 and 65 yards to Brandin Cooks.
Winston’s 72-yard pass was his longest completion and scoring play of his career and the longest reception and scoring play of Harris’ career.
GILLIKIN’S ISLAND
Punter Blake Gillikin was an unsung star for the Saints, pinning Washington inside its 5-yard line three times. Gilliken had a 60-yard punt that rolled out of bounds at the 1, a 57-yarder to the 3 and a 53-yarder to the 2.
Washington punted twice and turned the ball over once on those possessions.
BAD WASHINGTON DEFENCE
Washington defenders were convinced the much-maligned unit had turned the corner after beating Atlanta last week in a victory made possible by Heinicke. Instead, the Saints finished with 369 yards and had scoring drives of 75, 60 and 75 yards to go along with the one-play Hail Mary possession.
INJURIES
Saints: Hill and Harris joined a long list of injured New Orleans players, which includes starting LT Terron Armstead (elbow) and C Erik McCoy (calf). LG Andrus Peat left briefly to force some juggling along the offensive line but returned midway through the fourth quarter.
Washington: Wide receiver Curtis Samuel’s lingering groin injury that caused him to miss the first three games of the season knocked him out after being targeted once by Heinicke. … Rookie right tackle Sam Cosmi injured his left ankle on Gibson’s touchdown, and attempted to return later in the second quarter before aggravating it, limping off and being ruled out for the rest of the game. … CB Darryl Roberts left with a quadriceps injury. … WR Dyami Brown and 2020 All-Pro RG Brandon Scherff were each inactive with a knee injury.
UP NEXT
Saints: have their bye week and then visit Seattle on Mon. Oct. 25.
Washington: hosts Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday.
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