Washington Football Team: Studs and duds from Week 9 loss to Giants

Washington Football Team Dud: Ball security

Washington fell behind early in the game and it was largely due to turnovers. They were moving the ball on the Giants most of the day, but ball security early cost them.

It started when Antonio Gibson lost a fumble after a nice run. Gibson was trying to fight for extra yards on the play when he coughed it up. Both teams had a chance to recover the fumble — and frankly, Washington probably should’ve been able to get it by just falling on it — but the bigger point is that Gibson needed to secure the ball better on the play.

As unfortunate as Gibson’s fumble was, Isaiah Wright’s muffed punt was worse. It was clear on the play that Wright just couldn’t quite figure out where the ball was going to land. He only figured out where it would land late, and ran toward it but couldn’t secure the ball. As a result, the Giants were able to get the ball and score.

That changed the momentum of the game for Washington. Those two turnovers made the game go from being a closely-contested battle where the team’s defense was playing solid to being a game where they were behind the eight-ball. That simply cannot happen.

Ball security needs to be an emphasis for Washington moving forward. As bad as the late interceptions were (more on that later), the two early fumbles really set the tone for the team early and contributed to the massive deficit they faced in the first half.