Game Balls | Four standout players from Washington’s MNF win over Cincinnati

They say good things come when you wait, and McLaurin was proof of that in Washington’s second win of the season on Monday night.

Much has been made of the wideout’s quiet performances in these first few weeks of football. Against Tampa Bay and New York, he didn’t see the ball often and managed just 39 yards in those games.

McLaurin wasn’t worried, though. He’s a guy who has played with ten different starting quarterbacks since arriving in Washington in 2019, so McLaurin knows that rhythm and connection with a new signal-caller takes time. As he emphasized repeatedly last week, he also trusts his abilities and what the team is trying to establish. The passes will come, McLaurin said confidently.

And they did. With just under three minutes left in the second quarter against Cincinnati, McLaurin weaved his way between his two defenders on a go route and caught a 55-yard ball from Daniels for a walk-in score.

Then, in what was arguably the highlight of the night, McLaurin, who had already been brought down by his defender on the edge of the end zone, managed to secure Daniels’ 27-yard pass while keeping his body in the field to give Washington an 11-point lead with 2:10 minutes left.

He said it. The defense should beware; the connection between Daniels and McLaurin has only just begun to develop.