Disappointment Against Dallas

Well this one hurt after a lot of build up and excitement, we fell short to Dallas. Their defense looked great and bullied our O- line that has been really good until this point. We struggled to get the run game going and we kind of proved that we are going to struggle bad if we play from behind. To make matters worse, it seemed like every other play we had a hurt man walking off the field. Let’s recap the game and try to stay positive heading into Philly next week and we’ll discuss some highs and lows, from my point of view.

Despite the score, the defense looked really good in the first quarter. Collins gets a pick in coverage, then kind of blows coverage on a double move by Cooper. The Cowboys offense is number one, so you can’t ask for much more from a Washington defense, especially going against the field position that they did. As for the offense goes, we just couldn’t get much going. Kyle Allen looked like our best offensive player and he played one snap. The run game was stagnant, pass game was non-existent, and a turnover on a really good play call where Randy Gregory made a great play for a pick. Cap that off with a Parsons strip sack and now we need to see if we can play from behind with Heinicke.

Quarter 2 and more of the same stagnant offense and strong defense. The score being 18-0 really doesn’t do justice to how well the D had played. The only Dallas offensive TD, to this point, was against very short field. One of their FG’s came from, what I thought, was a very bad pass interference call. Heinicke, to this point, had posted a pretty sweet 0 QBR. He was throwing balls into coverage and though he was under a lot of heat, he was really cracking under the pressure and reverting back to things that hurt us during our losing streak. Parsons looks like a DPOY candidate and I hate it. Heading into the second half with a 24-0 trail.

3rd Quarter arrives and we take a huge loss with Terry going into concussion protocol. The defense continues to look good with a stop, Cam Sims makes an incredible catch over Diggs, we get another stop, then we give back the ball with Gibson’s, NFL leading, 6th fumble. The defense remains strong and we only surrender those 3 points, making it the last time that they would score for the rest of the game.

Heinicke, still under duress, takes a sack and gets hurt. We make a stand on defense and all of a sudden there is hope. We drive down the field for a touchdown but it still looks bleak. Dallas gets the ball back, a bad read by Prescott and A PICK SIX BY HOLCOMB!!!!!! It’s a one possession game, at this point; what in the hell has happened!? DeAndre Carter breaks past the coverage and drops the ball. We tried to remain cool but, the same plague from all game strikes again; a turnover. We go on to lose this whirlwind of a game 27-20.

High Points, well…one high point.

• The defense was really great allowing only one offensive touchdown and it came on short field. We did really well against the run and pressured Dak all game. We forced enough turnovers to warrant a win, but just fell short.

Lows

• Heinicke struggled, though he was under pressure all game. The INT was off of a great play, and it’s hard to get mad about the fumble when Parsons really smacked that man. He reverted to some old ways with forced throws into coverage, and not really using his legs. He’s lucky he didn’t have like 4 picks, to be honest.

• Turnovers. We lost the battle 4-2, the defense played way better than the score indicates; we should’ve been able to win that game.

• Run game never got going and we proved in a lot of ways that we are going to have a hard time playing from behind.

• O-line got beat bad, run game got stuffed, and 5 sacks were given up. Both QB’s, Heinicke and Allen, seemed to be running for their lives.

I think we bounced back from this. We fought really hard to get back in this game, but what we really need is to get healthy (well, healthier at least). The race for the playoffs is tight and we are squarely in the mix, still hanging on to a spot currently. We have to let this hurt for today but get back to work and build off of this defensive performance. Hopefully we can get this offense going, unfortunately probably without Terry, and get a big win in Philly. BEAT PHILLY!!!!!!!!

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