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Jacksonville Jaguars Parker Washington was the star of the game in a losing cause vs. Texans
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- Jacksonville Jaguars Parker Washington was the star of the game in a losing cause vs. Texans
If the Jacksonville Jaguars had won their game against the Houston Texans on Nov. 9 at Houston's NGR Stadium, wide receiver/returner Parker Washington would have been the toast of the town.
But the Jaguars lost 36-29 through no fault of Washington's. He gave the team their first points of the game with an acrobatic 7-yard TD reception in the first period and then delivered the big play, a 72-yard punt return in the second quarter that gave the Jaguars a 17-0 lead, which NFL teams should be able to hold.
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"Parker played great," said quarterback Trevor Lawrence . "He's continuing to play well, playing with a lot of confidence right now. The plays he's making are huge. He was the bright spot on a rough day."
Parker Washington has elevated his game
With Travis Hunter on the second week of being on the four-week injured reserve list, Brian Thomas Jr., out against Houston with an ankle injury, wide receiver Dyami Brown battling injuries most of the season and tight end Brenton Strange missing the last four games on injured reserve, the 5-foot-10, 204-pound Washington has been Lawrence's go-to receiver of late.
Parker Washington of the Jacksonville Jaguars falls backwards into the end zone to complete a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Houston Texans, at Houston’s NGR Stadium.
He led the Jaguars with eight receptions for 90 yards in the victory over Las Vegas last week and caught three passes for 33 yards against the Texans. Washington is now tied with Hunter for second on the team with 28 receptions (Thomas has 30) and is second to Thomas in yards with 330 (Thomas has 420).
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Washington is the only Jaguars wide receiver with more than one TD pass.
Parker Washington's final play was nullified
Washington might have had a fourth reception, and a pretty big one, had it not been for a referee's yellow flag.
When the Jaguars were trying to get in position for Cam Little to attempt a potential game-winning field goal in the final seconds, Lawrence completed a 12-yard pass to Washington, who ran out of bounds at the Texans' 43 with 13 seconds left.
Had the play stood, Little could have attempted a 60-yard field goal (or closer, if the Jags ran another quick pass), 8 yards shorter than his record boot last week. Little had already made one from 50 yards, and another kick that was hammered through the uprights from 55 yards out in the first period was turned down when the Jaguars accepted an unnecessary roughness penalty to get a first down at the Houston 22. Little wound up kicking a 32-yarder when the drive stalled.
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However, the Washington reception was negated by an illegal contact penalty on offensive tackle Chuma Edoga , and Little stayed on the sidelines.
Washington's TD pass was a thing of beauty. Washington ran a corner route on the left side and split M.J. Stewart and Kamari Lassiter , who were in a zone. Lawrence threw the ball high and Washington leaped, caught the ball over Stewart and did a ballet to get both feet in bounds.
Parker Washington's return sets team record
Washington's punt return TD was the second of the season and the third of his Jaguars career. He broke a tie with Reggie Barlow for the most career punt return for scores and became the first Jaguars player to return two punts for scores in the same season.
Parker Washington of the Jacksonville Jaguars pulls down a touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence for a touchdown against the Houston Texans on Nov. 9 at Houston's NGR Stadium.
Washington, who had an 87-yard punt return touchdown against San Francisco , is also the first NFL player with two punt return touchdowns this season.
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His first punt return for a score was a team-record 96 yards last year against New England , in London.
Washington is now second in the league in average yards per punt return at 16.6, behind Chimere Dike of Tennessee (19.5).
Parker Washington had room to run
The punt return was a classic case of a punter out-kicking his coverage. Houston's Tommy Townsend , a former Florida Gator, got off a boot of 67 yards from the Texans' 5-yard line. Washington caught the ball and had nothing but green space in front of him.
He easily raced past the first Houston player downfield, Jamal Hill, broke up the middle, then broke out to the right sideline. He had only Townsend to beat at that point, which he did with even greater ease.
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Washington then had fun with the moment, stopping on the half-hard line and falling backwards into the end zone.
It would have been a lot more fun had the Jaguars held on at the end.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars Parker Washington delivers TDs receiving returning in loss to Houston
