With 6:54 left in the second quarter, the Philadelphia Eagles were up 17-0.
No one in the Washington D.C. area was shocked. Why would they be? This has been one heck of an offseason. Jay Gruden was let go. The organization was under fire because of sexual misconduct allegations. Majority owner Dan Snyder swore he would never change the name and lo-and-behold, Washington doesn’t have a nickname because they are in the process of changing the name and last, but not least, the members who make the minority stake on the club are trying to sell. Phew. That’s a full Jerry Springer episode.
So Washington being down by three scores to a division rival was normal until it wasn’t.
The transformation started at the end of the first half when Carson Wentz made a poor decision and Washington defensive back, Fabian Moreau, made him pay with an interception. Washington would cash in on the turnover when Dwayne Haskins hit Logan Thomas on a six yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds left in the half. Even then, not even the most dedication Washington fan anticipated what was to follow.
Down 10 at halftime, it’s reported that Haskins gave an emotional speech in the locker room. “Pretty much the moral of the speech was, ‘We’re home, we’re the home team. They’re the visitors. There’s no reason why we should be feeling like the little bro in a sense,'” said Haskins.
The momentum, if you believe in such a thing, continued in the second half as Washington would ultimately score 27 unanswered points in their 27-17 win over the Eagles.
After the defense gave up the first 17 points, they hunkered down ending the game with eight sack, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery. Ryan Kerrigan has two of the eight sacks while rookie, Chase Young had 1.5.
Before Washington fans apply for Super Bowl tickets there are still plenty of questions. Can Haskins (17/31 178 yards and 1 TD) lead this team week after week? As good as he was in the second half, until the touchdown pass before halftime, he was equally as bad in the first half. There are still concerns about the running game. Washington could only must 80 yards on 36 carries.
The front four had a stellar day but can the secondary continue to hold up?
But for now, the NFL’s most beleaguered franchise doesn’t want to think about tomorrow and why would they? For 24 hours, let the Washington D.C. area experience unbridled joy after an opening day win. It’s been a long time coming.
