Redskins Halftime Takeaways: Adrian Peterson a lone bright spot

There was some good and some bad in the first half of the Redskins third preseason game.

Expectations naturally built on themselves as the Washington Redskins‘ third preseason game inched closer throughout the week. Widely-regarded as the theoretical dress rehearsal for NFL teams, the third game is the one in which the starters get their most action since December. All eyes were on the Redskins’ starters as they took the field tonight.

They certainly could’ve done better.

The offense and the defense both came out flat, but there were some flashes of decency, so we’ll start off with those. Adrian Peterson looked spry in his first action with the Redskins. He ended his night with eleven carries for 56 yards and a long of fifteen. His vision is clearly on another stratosphere from Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine, and he showed tonight that his joints aren’t creaking, either. I’m not going to eat crow just yet, but tally this in the “Ian was wrong” box for future reference.

Aside from Peterson, however, there wasn’t much to like on the offensive side of the ball. The unit put up an egg in the first quarter. J.P Holtz and Shawn Lauvao provided some good play in the running game, from a blocking standpoint, but the passing game was almost completely out of sync. Alex Smith was the Alex Smith of old, reluctant to take chances down the field, and his throws weren’t as precise as they’ve been in the past. The defense was just as underwhelming, giving up multiple big plays to Case Keenum and the Broncos’ offense.

Of course, it’s only preseason. But this first half was particularly lacking in quality for Washington. In a game where the starters got their chance to show separation from the players behind them, they didn’t show as much as was desired of them. It’s promising that they seemed to work out the kinks later on in the half. Now, in the second half, it’ll be up to the second teamers to finish the job.