‘I knew I was in’: 1st career TD worth the wait for Raiders rookie

NEW ORLEANS – Mike Washington Jr. has been visualizing his first career touchdown for as long as he has been on the field. The moment arrived during the Raiders’ 35‑27 comeback victory over the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday. Washington burst down the right sideline for a 36‑yard scoring run late in the third quarter. Officials initially ruled he had stepped out of bounds at the one‑yard line, prompting the Raiders to line up for another play. Raiders interim head coach Klint Kubiak challenged the call with a sideline flag, and the decision was overturned, awarding Washington the touchdown. “I knew I was in,” Washington laughed after the game. “I just had to wait.” The play had appeared stalled at the line of scrimmage, but Washington remained patient, found a seam, bounced the ball to the outside and sprinted to the end zone. “I had to set it up at first,” he said. “But I was able to toe it outside and all I saw was green grass. You just have to eat that up.” Washington, a fourth‑round pick out of Arkansas, entered the game as a backup to Ashton Jeanty. He carried the ball five times for 12 yards on Sunday, but his lone touchdown gave him his first NFL score. “I didn’t know how it was going to happen,” he said of his first NFL touchdown. “I knew I was going to get in somehow, any way. But I didn’t really know. That was great. “The long run makes it pretty cool. But just scoring is the blessing.” The touchdown sparked a Raiders rally that erased an 11‑point deficit. Washington praised the team’s composure. “Nobody panicked. That was the big key to the comeback,” he said. “We know we have everything we need to be successful. We just had to finish.” Although Jeanty carries the bulk of the workload, Washington has shown he can be a change‑of‑pace threat. In the preseason he averaged 7.3 yards per carry on 23 attempts, building confidence among teammates and coaches while Jeanty dealt with an ankle injury. “Washington said he is starting to feel like he is returning to the level he showed during the preseason, but views the touchdown as only the next step. “There’s so much more to learn and so much more growing to do,” he said. “That’s my biggest thing right now. I had a decent game. “How can I have an even better one next week?”