Washington Football Team keeps ‘BenchGate’ alive with copycat move

The battle of the benches, or as we call it BenchGate, continues. After the Dallas Cowboys had their own flashy, customized benches brought to FedExField in the Week 14 matchup against Washington, the Football Team decided to do the same thing.

If you aren’t familiar with what’s been happening, here’s a refresher. Before the Week 14 contest, the Cowboys got a tip from the Seattle Seahawks that the heated benches at FedExField were not working properly. So what did Jerry Jones do? He called a sports bench company and had customized Cowboys benches sent to FedExField for the game. These bright white and navy blue benches stuck out like a sore thumb in an otherwise burgundy and gold stadium.

When WFT’s head coach Ron Rivera was asked his thoughts about the benches, he said it was all mind games, but also didn’t deny his team would eventually do the same thing.

Fast forward to the news that came out on Tuesday when a tweet surfaced that the Washington Football Team did get new benches of their own.

The Washington Football Team really stole the Cowboys’ bench idea.

Allegedly, just one day after the Cowboys brought their heated benches to Washington, the Football Team called the same company to purchase their own. Washington says they plan to use these benches on the road for the rest of the season. The pettiness is palpable.

The newest twist in BenchGate is very interesting. Your team, fans, and poor equipment quality get embarrassed by Dallas having to bring their own obnoxious, new equipment to your venue, and then you use the same company to do it yourself the next day?! Is this a power move or a petty move?

Perhaps the best part of this twist is the man who gave the update in the first place. Mitch Tischler, an operations manager for NBC Sports Washington, is the one who broke the news about the benches, tweeting a photo of the new equipment in Philadelphia ahead of Washington’s postponed game on Tuesday.

But, last week, Tischler sent out a tweet last week labeling the Cowboys as “contemptible” for bringing their benches to Washington. He even pinned the tweet to his profile! That didn’t age well, Mitch. Who is contemptible now?

In a sport known for its brute force, perseverance, and toughness, BenchGate proves that pettiness and mind games are still a part of the game, too. Regardless of what the benches look like, it’s who wins the matchup in Week 17 that really matters. WFT better hope this move doesn’t come back to bite them in their now heated butts.

5 key defensive plays that helped Cowboys beat WFT

There is no denying that the Cowboys' Week 14 win was thanks to the defense. Let's look at their five biggest plays that helped secure the W.