Titans vs. Commanders Halftime Update: Washington Trails, But Shows Signs of Life
LANDOVER, Md. -- Looking for their second win of the season, the Washington Commanders played host to the Tennessee Titans in Week 5.
With injuries plaguing both sides, this contest was billed as one that featured Titans running back Derrick Henry as the best - and possibly only - source of offense, while the Commanders hoped their patchwork line could protect quarterback Carson Wentz sufficiently.
Washington trails the Titans 14-10 at the end of the first half. Here's what we've seen, and what we need to see moving forward if Washington is going to get back in the win column.
COMMANDERS VS COMMANDERS
On the first three possessions of the game for Washington, they suffered from a dropped pass by receiver Curtis Samuel that would've converted a third down attempt, a penalty on Brian Robinson Jr.'s eight-yard run to start the next drive, and a botched fumble on the third that killed any hopes of scoring a touchdown their first time in Titans territory.
The issues are a continuation of self-inflicted wounds we've seen from the team all season and ultimately gave the Titans an extra defensive presence on the field.
Things got better when Wentz found receiver Dyami Brown for a 75-yard touchdown bomb on the first play of their fourth possession, demonstrating what the Commanders' offense could be capable of when they get out of their own way.
But on the team's fifth possession, a sack and penalty turned 1st-and-10 into 2nd-and-15 which eventually became a punt.
Then, on Tennessee's final possession of the first half, a personal foul call on Washington defensive end Efe Obada on 3rd-and-8 gave them another first down, and 15 free yards.
That moved the ball to the Commanders' 25-yard line and eventually resulted in a Titans
Old habits are hard to kick.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
During the three-game losing streak leading into this contest, it's been hard to point too many fingers at Washington's defense.
In the first half of this one, the Commanders got two sacks from defensive end Montez Sweat and forced two three-and-outs.
Entering the game, Tennessee had scored first-drive touchdowns in each game this season, but it took them three to get one here.
Unfortunately, that was the first score of the game altogether, and put Washington in a deficit, early.
Signs of improvement from Washington have come in the first half of this week.
But there are still some things we need to see in the next, for this team to earn their second win of the year.
BURGUNDY AND BROWN
One pass and catch is great, but the real way to force defenses to abandon over-coverage of receiver Terry McLaurin is by making them pay for doing so.
Curtis Samuel has been active heavily this season, but that isn't enough to pull secondary attention away because most of it is in the short area.
Getting Brown (and others) involved down the field will draw some attention away from No. 17 and open things up to get their star more involved.
CRITICAL CONTAINMENT
Henry is a monster for the Titans. Everyone knows it.
But the Washington defense showed early on that Tennessee wouldn't be able to simply rely on him to get points and win the game.
However, what he did do was cause the Commanders' defense to shrink in on itself at times, opening up the possibility for quick perimeter plays.
This could be really dangerous and will require discipline on the defense to prevent it from becoming a problem in the second half.
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