Commanders Halftime Update: Carson Wentz & Washington Being Shut Out By Eagles
LANDOVER, Md. -- With the Washington Commanders (1-1) trying to get back to playing winning football, the Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) entered this NFC East matchup looking to keep their early season streak alive.
At the halftime break, Philly is up 24-0.
As we do each week, let's take a look at two things that helped us get to this point, and a couple more items we want to see for the Commanders to get their second win of the season.
WHAT DON'T HURTS, CAN'T KILL YOU
Everyone knows how dangerous Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts can be.
Early in this contest, the Washington defense has done a good job of keeping Hurts from getting free with his legs and forcing him to make plays as a quarterback instead of an athlete.
While the Commanders certainly aren't patting themselves on the back for their first half performance, keeping Hurts contained will aid in second half efforts.
The score won't reflect it on the surface, but the defense has done all you can ask given the lack of support from their offense.
HE'S GOT THE ST-JUSTE
The Eagles clearly felt cornerback Benjamin St-Juste was going to be a soft spot for them on third downs.
But in the first three times Hurts targeted the second-year corner, St-Juste prevented each pass from being completed.
This included one in the end zone that forced an early field goal, and helped keep the first half deficit from ballooning too quickly.
That's what we saw in the first half, now let's look towards what we want to see in the second.
A PASSING GAME
Just, in general.
The first eight times quarterback Carson Wentz dropped back to pass he was sacked four times, completed one pass, and fumbled the ball away another time.
And it didn't get better after that.
At the half, Wentz completed just three passes for 24 yards, was sacked six times, and fumbled twice with one lost.
It was part poor pass protection, and equal parts inability to find an open receiver by Wentz.
Regardless, if offensive coordinator Scott Turner doesn't get his quarterback protected and calmed down, there's no chance of a second-half comeback.
TAKE COMMAND
For the most part, Washington's defense has played hard and kept the team in the game.
It wasn't until the end of the first half when the Commanders defense was regularly left to carry water for the entire team that things really got out of hand.
This one is simple. The Commanders need to get two takeaways in the second half and help energize the offense.
These adjustments will put Washington in the best position to win the game. Identifying them is the easy part. Executing them is harder.
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