Washington Football Team: Week 2 reality checks, predictions vs. Cardinals
By Tim Payne
1. The Reality Is, Washington’s D-Line is legitimate
I’m willing to call it after one week. Let’s be honest. The football gods don’t smile on the Washington Football Team, so the stars weren’t aligned, this wasn’t a fluke, and no voodoo dolls were successfully employed.
The Washington Football Team has a real, dominant, defensive line for the first time in a generation.
That doesn’t mean they will average eight sacks per game. It doesn’t mean opposing teams will have all max-protect in their game plans. But it does mean there is a real reason for optimism that the front-seven can keep this team in most, if not every, game this season.
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And barring significant injury, we can expect the Football Team to produce top-5 sack and QB pressure statistics throughout this season.
This week, they face an offensive line that handled a similar quality defensive front pretty successfully on Sunday. The Cardinals have an effective quick-game, along with Kyler Murray’s unique escapability. Don’t expect eight sacks from the Washington front-seven this week. In fact, don’t expect four.
My Prediction: Washington sacks Murray three times while employing spies on many plays in order to contain Murray. Expect a few batted balls at the line of scrimmage due to Murray’s height disadvantage against the likes of Chase Young and Montez Sweat.