Washington Football Team halftime takeaways: More of the same at half

The Washington Football Team needed two quarters to tune in last week, and this week, they might need longer than that.

The contest between the Washington Football Team and the Arizona Cardinals, if it can still be referred to by that neutral term, has reached intermission. At the half, the Cardinals lead the Washington Football Team by a score of 20-0.

It’s more of the same for Washington early, as many of the issues that plagued them early in their first game of the season have reprised their roles in game No. 2. Washington can’t seem to get out of their own way, with turnovers, inconsistent play, and an overall lack of authority rendering them inert against a more dynamic Cardinals squad.

Washington was able to get a turnover early, courtesy of a stellar read by Landon Collins. But the offense carried over its frustrating gridlock from the Eagles game, failing to consistently gain yards. Dwayne Haskins again looked uncomfortable and out of sync, and at some point, he individually has to be held accountable, to take more charge in bettering offensive production.

With that being said, however, Haskins hasn’t gotten much help from the rest of the offense. Several passes have been dropped, receivers haven’t been able to get open up the middle, and the offensive line has had trouble defending against stunts executed by the Cardinals’ line. Losing Brandon Scherff, if he’s out for the game, won’t help with that last part.

Defensively, Washington allowed Kyler Murray to cook, but that was to be expected, to some degree. Murray is an incredibly talented player and incredibly hard to defend, so Washington’s offense came into this game knowing they’d have to bail the defense out more than last week. But contrary to that expectation, the offense has not done anything to remedy last week’s inconsistency.

In the second half, the offense has to do better. That’s the source of the gap that Washington must now bridge. Arizona has dominated in the points-scoring department, and Washington hasn’t done anything with the chances they’ve been given. This bad start unearths a feeling of deja vu from last week’s game, but the fact that it’s a repeated error, makes it that much worse.