James Washington Back on an NFL Field in Atlanta Preseason Opener and More Cowboys
STILLWATER – It was a great sight to see James Washington in a football uniform and catching passes even if it was only in warm-ups. The Atlanta Falcons were in Miami and lost to the Dolpbins 20-13 in the first game of the Raheem Morris era. The other NFL preseason games on Friday included the Houston Texans beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-12 in Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh and the {hiladelphia Eagles edged the Baltomore Ravens 16-13 in Baltimore.
Former Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson made his debut as the offensive coordinator and play caller of the Falcons on Friday. Atlanta finished the game with 226-yards on 71 plays. They had 10 first downs while collecting 145-yards passing and 81-yards on the ground with a fairly vanilla game plan as starter Kirk Cousins was in street clothes, but rookie Michael Penix Jr. did start the game and threw for a team leading 104-yards.
Washington played quite a bit in the second half after he was signed two weeks ago to join the Falcons in training camp. Washington had last played in an NFL game during the 2022 season for the Indianapolis Colts. The former All-American and Biletnikoff Award winner was drafter by the Pittsburgh Steelers and played four seasons there. He played one season in Dallas and then was briefly with the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts. I saw him have several very good blocks. He has always been an aggressive blocker for a wide receiver. He was targeted with one pass that went incomplete.
Neither Tyreek Hill or Emmanuel Ogbah, two former Oklahoma State Cowboys on the Dolphins played in the contest.
Jaylen Warren played some in the first quarter as did the Steelers other top running back Najee Harris. Warren carred three time for 11-yards. His longest was a nine-yard carry for a first down. Warren is heading into his third season for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In Baltimore, running back Justice Hill did not play in the loss to the Eagles. However, former Cowboys receiver Tylan Wallace did. He was targeted twice and caught both passes for a total of 26-yards. He was the Ravens leading receiver. His longest catch was 19-yards. One of the Ravens top special teams performers Wallace also had a tackle on a kickoff in the contest.