The Washington Commanders - keyed in part by wideout Terry McLaurin - are funneling their emotions in winning ways.
One of the great tricks in sports is the attempt to funnel massive amounts of emotion into a positive and winning direction.
"We don't have to be anybody's punching bag," McLaurin said in reviewing his impassioned postgame speech after the victory over the previously undefeated Philadelphia Eagles on Monday. "We put in the same amount of work, we put in the same amount of time ...
"And it's proven on Sunday."
Or, in this case, Monday.
The "dark cloud'' that hangs over the franchise - or, at least, the front office part of the building - is now discussed openly by players ... a maybe-healthy move that has actually freed them to compartmentalize all the things they deal with as members of the Commanders.
And on game day, the most important thing to deal with it success at their jobs. Washington is now 5-5, winners of four of the last five, because of how team leaders like McLaurin have elevated to the occasion.
"We want to get to a point where this culture is so strong that we expect to win every game," said McLaurin, who in helping to beat Philly posted season-highs with eight catches for 128 yards. "You expect to come out here and dominant, and I think that's the work we're trying to put in.''
The work will now lead the Commanders to a meeting with the lowly Houston Texans, with QB Taylor Heinicke at the controls of the offense ... but with McLaurin joining coach Ron Rivera in helping to tap into the emotions of football and beyond.
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