Washington trails the Philadelphia Eagles 17-7 at halftime. Here are three quick takeaways from the first two quarters:
1. Washington's pass rush lives up to the hype.
It has been expected since Washington drafted Chase Young with the No. 2 overall pick that its defensive front was going to be potent against opposing offensive lines. That assumption turned out to be correct, as Washington tallied four sacks in the first half.
Ten-year veteran Ryan Kerrigan got things started in the first quarter by sacking Carson Wentz for a 10-yard loss, which Kerrigan topped off with his signature "show-stopper" celebration. Kerrigan now has 91 sacks in his career, tying him with Dexter Manley for the official franchise sack record.
One play later, defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis, who led the team with 8.5 sacks in 2019, took down Wentz for a two-yard loss, bringing up 3rd-and-22.
The next sack was technically a group effort. Young was the first lineman to get to Wentz, who then tried to wrestle free from the former Ohio State Buckeye. Defensive tackle Jonathan Allen then finished the sack, causing Wentz to fumble the ball. The Eagles recovered the ball and ended the drive with a field goal.
Washington had to wait until the second quarter for its final sack of the half. Montez Sweat gobbled up Wentz five plays into the Eagles' drive for a 12-yard loss.
2. Antonio Gibson is having a solid NFL debut.
Rookie running back Antonio Gibson has proven to be the secret weapon of Scott Tuner's offense. Gibson started off the offense with the first play of the season which resulted in a two-yard run.
Heading into the half, Washington has 60 rushing yards. Gibson makes up more than half of those yards with 33, including a 20 yard run. Hopefully Gibson can carry this momentum into the second half.
3. Washington caps off the half with a last-minute touchdown.
Just when it seemed like Washington would go into halftime trailing, 17-0, Fabian Moreau hauled in the team's first interception of the season on the Eagles' 45-yard line.
From there, Dwayne Haskins Jr. connected with Terry McLaurin for 21 yards and Dontrelle Inman for 11 more, setting up the offense inside the 15-yard line. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-3, Haskins hit a wide-open Logan Thomas on the left side of the end zone for a six-yard touchdown.
The Eagles will receive the second-half kickoff, but the score provided some much-needed momentum for Washington as it attempts to come back and beat its division rival for the first time since 2016.
