Redskins Halftime Takeaways: Mother nature wins first half in D.C.
By Ian Cummings
Mother nature was the biggest winner of the first half in D.C., as she minimized the efforts of both the Washington Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers.
After two quarters, the Washington Redskins are tied 0-0 with the 49ers. Whoever does win this game will need an asterisk next to their feat, because the rain has impacted the game in almost every possible way.
The Washington Redskins started out strong on their first drive, feeding Adrian Peterson with a frequency Bill Callahan has enjoyed in his stint as head coach thus far. A fairly efficient 12-play drive led to nothing more than a missed field goal, however, and after that, it was a great deal of trading off from offense to offense.
Both offenses found it challenging to pass the football, as the perpetual saturated state of the field hindered the quarterbacks’ abilities to even get a firm hold on the football. The running game was fed all around, with 36 total attempts being generated between the two teams.
The Redskins top performers, aside from Adrian Peterson, who logged 57 yards on 14 carries, all came on defense. Landon Collins was particularly adept at recognizing and stopping plays, and the entire secondary played well, with better communication than games past. Matt Ioannidis and Ryan Kerrigan shared a sack, and the linebackers were in on the action as well.
The bad conditions have more or less dictated the complexion of the game itself. Special teams are inconsistent, ball security is far from a given, and the direction of the offense by quarterbacks has been spotty on both sides. Even with the bad conditions, however, something will have to give eventually. Even ugly games need a winner, and as much as Mother Nature might try to make it impossible, someone will get the break they need.
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The Redskins have a shot to be that team, and hand the 49ers their first loss of the 2019 regular season. Can they capitalize on the circumstances, or will San Francisco be the first to adapt? Stay tuned for the second half.