Washington Football Team: Clock ticking as Lions control the game

These halftime pieces are starting to get repetitive. Long-story short, the Washington Football Team came out flat again.

I could tell you about how the Washington Football Team‘s offense has given up too much pressure, and how they’ve beaten themselves in vulnerable situations, and how they’ve struggled to convert momentum into points, and how the defense has proven to be overrated, and how the secondary is still having trouble communicating, but you’ve heard it all before, right?

The Washington Football Team finds itself in a familiar situation this week, down at the half against a similarly inconsistent opponent. For all the talk of accountability and withstanding competitiveness, Ron Rivera’s team has not risen to the occasion and has not taken advantage of the easy stretch in the schedule. They fell to the very beatable Giants last week, and this week, they look to be two quarters away from 2-7.

It’s still a relatively close game, but if the Washington Football Team continues to have trouble attaining consistency on offense, and if the Lions continue to win the matchup in the trenches on both sides of the ball, then Washington may not stay close for long. Teams assert control with foundational victories in the trenches and in the minor details, and right now, Detroit is ahead big in those categories.

Detroit has a habit of blowing leads this season, so it’s not over for Washington yet, but the Washington Football Team can’t rely on the Lions alone to hand them the lead again. Washington has to generate more consistency in the trenches, and the rest of the game should be able to trickle into place from there. As has often been the case this year, Washington gets in their own way far too often, and they can no longer do that if they want to pull out this win.

Will Alex Smith and the offense open up a bit, and will the defense shore up its performance in the second half? It’s all about control; for now, Detroit has it, but Washington can earn it back if they know where to win. If they fail, then they might be wise to turn their attention to the long-term future.