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Washington Football Team: 10 quick thoughts from fourth-straight loss

By Jerry Trotta

DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 31: Taylor Heinicke #4 of the Washington Football Team throws a pass in the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on October 31, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 31: Taylor Heinicke #4 of the Washington Football Team throws a pass in the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on October 31, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images) /

Does Landon Collins have a future at LB?: It’s too early to tell, but Collins has impressed in his new box linebacker position. On a 2nd and 8 with the Broncos in the red zone, Collins sacked Teddy Bridgewater to set up third and long.

Collins’ impact lasted beyond this one sequence, too. By the midway point of the first half, the 27-year-old made a handful of big plays on defense. His tackle for loss on a 3rd and 1 in the third quarter was a thing of beauty. He has a long way to go to win back fans’ hearts, but these last two games were a great start

With more reps at LB, Collins should only improve.

End of first half woes continue: This marks the second straight week that Washington’s defense has crumbled at the end of the first half. In Week 7 against Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers connected with Allen Lazard for a 10-yard touchdown with 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter to take a 14-7 lead.

On Sunday, the Broncos orchestrated a commanding seven-play, 75-yard drive (that took over four minutes off the clock) that resulted in a 15-yard touchdown from Bridgewater to Melvin Gordon with just over a minute left.

On the ensuing possession, Washington … didn’t respond.

Don’t take Sam Cosmi/Cornelius Lucas for granted: Sam Cosmi (knee) and Cornelius Lucas (illness) were unavailable for Sunday’s game, and man, were they missed. We hate to come down too hard on Saahdiq Charles, who made his second career start, but he was put in a blender by the Broncos’ pass rush all game long.

Washington better hope Cosmi or Lucas get healthy during the bye, because Charles was a disaster at right tackle.

Again, though, we’re talking about a third-string RT.

Open field tackling wasn’t terrible: Maybe we have to go back and watch film to confirm, but Washington’s defense was very disciplined in the open field. Benjamin St-Juste and Danny Johnson made a pair of key tackles on Denver’s opening drive of the second half to get Taylor Heinicke and Co. the ball back.

We know these are small victories, but missed tackles (especially in the open field) were a huge storyline early on in the season.

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