Terry McLaurin — Week 1: Two Catches, Both on the Last Drive
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 14
McLaurin was thrown to four times and caught two for fourteen yards, both on Washington's final possession, including a six-yard catch on fourth and two from the Philadelphia ten with two oh four left that kept the drive alive three snaps before Antonio Williams's touchdown. His two first-half targets were incomplete, and Stefon Diggs led the team with nine targets, in a 22–24 loss to the Eagles.
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Fourth and two at the Philadelphia 10, two oh four left in the fourth quarter, Washington down 16 to 24. Jayden Daniels short right to Terry McLaurin, six yards to the four, first down. +3.0 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position — and 7.2 points of win probability, the chance of winning after the play against before it, the fourth-largest gain any Washington pass or run produced all day. Three snaps later, after Kaytron Allen carried to the one and an incompletion on second and one, Antonio Williams caught the touchdown from the one; the two-point try failed, and the game ended 22 to 24.
Four targets, two catches, 14 yards, one first down, +2.0 expected points on the targets — and both catches came on that final drive, which started with five 57 left. The first was first and 10 at the Philadelphia 29 with four 40 left, short right for eight to the 21. The two targets before halftime were both incomplete: second and 10 at the Washington 47 on the opening drive, 13 28 left in the first quarter, short left, with the ruling assisted by replay; and second and nine at the Washington 33 with 13 21 left in the second, deep middle, on a drive that went three and out. 22 air yards on the four throws, 15 yards after the catch. No targets on third down. The longest catch was eight, and 14 receiving yards was fourth on the team, behind Williams's 64, Stefon Diggs's 55 and Chig Okonkwo's 16.
Nine to Diggs, four each to McLaurin and Williams, three each to Okonkwo and John Bates, two each to Rachaad White and Dyami Brown, one each to Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Jaylin Lane, and five throws with no receiver. Daniels threw 16 times before halftime for 43 yards and 18 times after for a hundred 21; McLaurin was thrown to twice in each half, and everything he caught came inside the last six minutes. Daniels's eight deep throws went one for eight, and the one deep throw to McLaurin was among the seven that fell incomplete.
Back in June the preview put McLaurin on the watchlist — WR23 at pick 53, a proven 23-percent-share receiver coming off a 10-game season, with a healthy Daniels as the bounce case and the age and the regressed touchdown rate as the drags — and it said the whole question was whether the health held into live contact. It held on Sunday; no injury was reported, and he was on the field for the last drive. Four targets and 14 yards is the other half: the alpha share the preview described belonged to Diggs on this day, nine targets to four. One game does not re-sort a target tree, and this one leaned away from him. Washington is at the Cowboys on Sunday the twentieth.
_Data via nflverse._
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