Washington Redskins fans are likely to forget that there's a historically great tight end on the roster whose name is not "Jordan Reed." Vernon Davis has been around for much longer than Reed, but he's now relegated to a backup role in the twilight of his career. That doesn't mean he can't recapture the old magic from time to time. On Monday, he found it again, proving to be a key contributor for quarterback Kirk Cousins and making some history along the way, even though his team failed to pick up the victory.
Davis assaults record book
At 33 years old, Davis is no longer a young man in a young man's game. But he looked plenty spry against the Kansas City Chiefs. His big play of the game came just about halfway through the third quarter. Cousins connected with his tight end in stride as he scampered past midfield for what would've been about a 30-yard gain. Then, he really turned on the jets, weaving his way through defenders until he made his way all the way to the opponent's red zone, where the Redskins tight end was taken down.
The play was the biggest one for the team all game, at least in terms of yardage.
Two plays later, Washington would score a touchdown to move ahead 17-14. But it was also big for Davis personally. He moved past Pittsburgh Steelers great Heath Miller to move into tenth place in the all-time receiving yards category for tight ends. He may not move that much farther up the leaderboard - he'll never catch up to the legendary Tony Gonzalez. But he's still making a case to be known as one of the better tight ends of his generation, at the least.
Washington still loses
Davis had the play of the game - until the very last play, that is, when Kansas City scored a buzzer-beating fumble recovery for a touchdown. At that point, Washington needed a miracle anyways, down 23-20 with one final play left to run.
They didn't get it, resulting in a 29-20 loss that dropped them to 2-2 on the season.
The NFC East is wide open. The Dallas Cowboys are also 2-2, while the Philadelphia Eagles lead the division at 3-1, and the New York Giants are in trouble at 0-4. There's a decent chance the Redskins can take the division when all is said and done. What the team needs most is unheralded players to step into the void. Players like Chris Thompson and Vernon Davis have stepped up so far this season. Washington will look for more of the same next weekend when they take on San Francisco following the team's bye week.