Washington Pecked to Death By Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals
Another slow start led to catastrophe in Week 2 for Washington.
Arizona jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
Washington's defense did not have a consistent answer for all of Arizona's offensive concoctions mad scientist, and head coach, Kliff Kingsbury came up with.
Arizona RPO'd, read-optioned, and screened Chase Young and the Washington defense to death. Arizona receivers were able to find soft landing spots in the zone defense and took advantage of soft coverages off the line.
The defensive issues also carried over from last week. Safety Troy Apke continued to be caught flat footed and took bad angles, especially on Kyler Murray's first rushing touchdown. Then there is Landon Collins who blew a major assignment in the back of the endzone by not carrying DeAndre Hopkins who was wide open for a touchdown.
Washington tried to battle, but couldn't take advantage of a Landon Collins interception that gave them the ball in their own red zone. That is where the offensive issues really reared their ugly head.
The offensive line failed quarterback Dwayne Haskins for the second week in a row. Especially left tackle Geron Christian, Sr.
Christian, Sr. continued to get beat wide forcing Haskins to step up into a pocket that might have already collapsed.
Halftime Hot Read: A Brutal First-Half in the Desert
Haskins was able to get his footing by the second half and was able to let it rip. He started targeting wide receiver Terry McLaurin for a total of seven receptions, 125 yards receiving and a touchdown on ten targets. Once McLaurin was more involved later in the game, the offense really got moving.
Antonio Gibson was also able to find the endzone for the first time in his NFL career adding to what was a better overall performance compared to last week.
Head Coach Ron Rivera will need to continue to work on the offensive line and instill better protections so Haskins can take the second half performances we've seen and play a full 60 minutes like that.
More is needed to be worked on before they head off to Cleveland and face the 1-1 Browns in what should be an easier task for the offense.
Injury Notes
Right guard Brandon Scherff exited the game with 35 seconds left in the second quarter after getting his right leg rolled up on.
Wide receiver Steven Sims, Jr. went to the locker room after the first drive of the second half after getting rolled up on.
Next Game: AT Cleveland Browns 1:00 PM EST (FOX)
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Alan Lepore joins "Washington Football" on SI.com, while still doing outstanding work as an editor/writer at FullPressCoverage.com or @FPC_Redskins. You can follow him on Twitter @AlanLepore or on instagram @leporealan. Alan is a Villanova University MPA Nonprofit Management candidate and is a fundraising/development professional.
