Week 7 Halftime Report - Dallas at Washington
Washington's first half offensive play has been as bad as Dallas' overall defense. Something had to give.
And it gave in a big way.
Washington couldn't capitalize on a 11 play opening drive after quarterback Kyle Allen fumbled the ball on a 4th and goal at the 1 yard line. But, the defense was able to pick them up.
With Dallas' backs against the goal line, Landon Collins got the scoring started by delivering a strip sack on quarterback Andy Dalton with Jimmy Moreland and Jonathan Allen coming in on the tackle of Dalton Schultz who recovered the ball in the end zone.
The offense then went to work...which is something that we haven't really been able to say this year.
Gibson continued his dominance on the ground capping off a 7 play drive with a 12 yard touchdown run.
Kyle Allen added to the scoring by connecting with Terry McLaurin on a 52 yard play action deep pass. Allen then hit Logan Thomas on the next drive on a play action pass for a 15 yard touchdown to make it 22-3 Washington.
Offensive coordinator Scott Turner has found a nice balance between the run and pass which has allowed the play action game to open things up all over the field. More could continue as they come out in the second half.
The defense has been beaten up the past 5 games both on the field and in the media. Questions of the defense living up to their ability have started to seep into the daily conversation about this unit.
But, they came to play.
Washington held Dallas to a 1-for-4 3rd down conversion rate while racking up 2 sacks, 1 interception, and 1 forced fumble. The pass rush has been able to just be unleashed against Andy Dalton who has looked uncomfortable all afternoon.
This is a recipe that can easily be repeated in the second half by both units, and lead to a blow out Washington win.
INJURY REPORT: Landon Collins left the game with an ankle injury. He was ruled out almost immediately and was carted to the locker room after being examined in the medical tent.
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.
