In Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, McLaurin caught five passes for 63 yards and a touchdown. He could’ve had a lot more. Quarterback Sam Howell just missed one off McLaurin’s fingertips in the end zone at one point.

However, it was two misses in the fourth quarter that will haunt Howell and McLaurin the most.

Down 31-24, Washington was driving with 4:23 remaining in the game. On third-and-8, Howell sees McLaurin, firing the ball to him that would’ve gone for a first down. The throw was off but hit McLaurin’s face mask.

On the next play, Howell, under duress, sees McLaurin again, this time throwing a bit low to McLaurin, who sees the ball bounce off his hands and Washington turned the ball over on downs.

While neither throw was perfect, both were catchable. McLaurin’s makes more difficult catches on a weekly basis.

For his part, Howell acknowledged he needed to be more accurate on each throw.

But McLaurin, the ultimate leader, took full accountability.

“I’m one of the leaders of this team; I pride myself on making tough plays,” McLaurin said. “I got to be better in those situations, and I’m going to be better. So I take accountability for those tough plays I missed, and I’ll encourage the guys to do the same.”