Breaking down Terry McLaurin vs Marshon Lattimore
Taking a closer look at one of the more entertaining matchups from Washington’s loss to the Saints.
There was a theory doing the rounds on social media after Washington’s loss to the Saints that wide receiver Terry McLaurin was shut down by cornerback Marshon Lattimore. If you just look at the box score, you might buy into that theory. Washington’s star receiver only caught 4 passes from 11 targets, while Lattimore was credited with an incredible six passes defended. But if you watch the actual game, you’ll see that line of thinking was far from the truth.
McLaurin actually had a strong performance against the Saints and in particular against Lattimore. He consistently beat Lattimore off the line with a variety of different releases and created separation at the top of his routes too. What let him down was the quarterback play.
This third and seven play is a perfect example. McLaurin aligns to the right of the formation tasked with running a deep over route. He takes an inside release and gets away from Lattimore as he works over the middle, despite Lattimore grabbing onto his jersey to try and stop him from getting away. As quarterback Taylor Heinicke looks to deliver the pass, McLaurin has a step on Lattimore with plenty of room out in front for the quarterback to throw to. However, Heinicke’s throw is poorly placed.
The end zone replay angle shows it best, with the ball being high and behind McLaurin. He had to slow down his momentum and adjust back to the ball, allowing Lattimore the chance to recover the yard or so he had lost to McLaurin. Lattimore is able to extend his arms out and get his hands in at the catch point to break up the pass, and he deserves credit for that, but an accurate throw would have left Lattimore no chance to recover.
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