Washington Football Team: 10 quick thoughts from Week 7

We can’t be the only ones who were surprised that Washington gave Green Bay all they could handle in the first half on Sunday.

The defensive line generated pressure on seemingly all of Aaron Rodgers’ dropbacks. On plays where they failed to bring the superstar quarterback down, the secondary held up long enough to force a throw away or a minimal gain short of the marker.

Then, however, the second half started and it’s like Washington forgot how to play football. Antonio Gibson slipping on what likely would’ve been a long touchdown preluded a strip sack on Taylor Heinicke.

As soon as the Packers made them pay when they took over possession, you kind of got the feeling this one was over.

Since writing is literally our only coping mechanism for watching Washington play this season, let’s run through some quick thoughts from Sunday’s loss, which dropped Ron Rivera’s side to 2-5.

Washington Football Team: 10 quick thoughts from latest loss

Why was Dustin Hopkins released?: Washington stole headlines earlier this week when they released longtime kicker Dustin Hopkins. The move was a long time coming, but Hopkins’ numbers this season were above league average.

Washington appointed Chris Blewitt as Hopkins’ replacement, and his first field goal attempt for the Burgundy and Gold couldn’t have gone much worse. Not only was it blocked, but it had ZERO air underneath it. You can’t make this stuff up. It took one (ONE) FG attempt for the corny Blewitt name jokes to make an appearance.

Jonathan Allen is on an All-Pro trajectory: Jonathan Allen has been the best player along Washington’s defensive line this season, and that continued on Sunday. He made his presence felt from the word go, recording two first half sacks to go along with three quarterback hits.

Allen signed a $72 million contract in the offseason, and he’s playing like he wants another. What a monster. If he continues on this trajectory, there’s a first-team All-Pro spot waiting for him at the end of the season.

Taylor Heinicke started strong, finished horribly: In the first half, it really looked like Taylor Heinicke was going to turn in one of THOSE games. Sure, he was off on some throws — he missed Terry McLaurin a number of times — but he was playing with swagger. Extending plays with his legs. Completing passes only a handful of QBs could make. He even took off and ran when his receivers weren’t open.

In the second half, though, Heinicke’s limitations took centerstage. His red zone interception was as ugly as it gets. We could go on a tangent, but we know what he is that this point. Ryan Fitzpatrick’s return can’t come soon enough.