Washington Football Team: Studs and duds from 2020 opening win
By Ian Cummings
Stud No. 1 – The defensive front as a whole
These guys should almost be “Stud No. 0” as a collective, to signify how imperative they were in securing the win on Sunday, and how big the gap is between them and the next-best stud.
But I digress. Sunday’s win was a complete defensive performance for the most part, and everyone came to play, especially in the second half. The defensive front, however, was playing at a high level throughout the entire game, exploiting a severely-weakened Eagles offensive line.
Ryan Kerrigan headlined the group with 2.0 sacks, breaking the team’s all-time record for career sacks. Chase Young was next, impressing in his NFL debut with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Matt Ioannidis also had 1.5 sacks, Montez Sweat, and Jon Bostic had one sack each, and Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne came in at the end with 0.5 sacks.
In total, the Washington Football Team’s defensive front logged eight sacks on the day, and a number of incompletions were additionally forced by the relentless pressure being produced. If there’s any unit that’s made an impression around the league to this point for Washington, it’s the defensive line. They’re talented, they’re hungry, and so far, they’re every bit as scary as we thought they’d be.