The Dallas/Washington rivalry goes back to the days when George Allen was the football coach for Washington and Tom Landry wore his fedora on the sidelines for Dallas. The first game took place in Griffith Stadium on October 9, 1960 and was won by Washington. Over the years a rivalry was created with some of the greatest finishes in NFL history. But more recently, the Washington Football Team has not been a great team, and the rivalry faded. Maybe the old days of Diron Talbert who was from Texas and hated the Cowboys can return.
We are back to a re-do on last week with Kyle Allen against the winless Giants of New York who are favored today on the Vegas line. The Burgundy and Gold (1-4) face their division rivals in a game of direction for both franchises. In the NFC (L)East, a division that is there for the taking, with Dallas (2-3) and Philadelphia (1-3-1) as the teams ahead of the WFT, this game is big in the scope of one week. Take that for what it is in the sixth game of the season. Head coach Ron Rivera is sticking with Allen at quarterback with Alex Smith as the backup again today.
Surviving seventeen surgeries and a sepsis infection seemed like a miracle for Alex Smith whose right leg was unrecognizable — but fortunately still attached to his body. After months of rehab, being able to walk and run without a limp was a miracle. Being able to play NFL football again was a miracle of biblical proportions. No other pro athlete has ever returned from an injury of this magnitude. There was a time when doctors were considering an amputation of his right leg after the sepsis infection. If they felt they could not treat the sepsis, which is often deadly, they would have had no choice on choosing between saving his life or saving his leg.
We certainly do not know if this is the start of the Kyle Allen era or error. It is a first game for the former Carolina Panthers quarterback who head coach Ron Rivera sort of brought with him for the Washington Football Team. Allen was traded from the Panthers to Washington in exchange for a 5th round pick to give Rivera a back-up QB who knew his system. Knowing a system, does not give you any guarantee it will work. Allen does not have the pedigree of the first round pick, Dwayne Haskins, who was benched in favor of Allen, an undrafted QB from Texas A&M originally and transferred to Houston. Carolina got him strictly as a back-up and he finally got playing time when Cam Newton was injured last year.
When this Washington Football Team takes the field today under head coach Ron Rivera, they will be a steep 14 1/2 point underdog playing the hungry Baltimore Ravens who are looking to show they are the best team in Maryland. Yes, both teams play their home games in the state known as the Free State. The Ravens play in Baltimore and Washington plays in the former Raljon aka Landover separated by just 29 miles (52 kilometers) as the crow flies.
It was a back to basics week for the Washington Football Team. They enter this game at 1-1 and a chance to show that week one was not a fluke. Head coach Ron Rivera must rebound after losing to the Arizona Cardinals on the road. It is clear that you cannot keep falling behind in first halves of games and expect to comeback from 17 point deficits. The offense has to get off to a fast start and 2019 first round pick, quarterback Dwayne Haskins, has to makes some big plays and keep his team moving down the field.
Last week Haskins was gifted great field position after a turnover and was in the red zone when he was hit and fumbled. The entire game momentum turned on that play. The WFT must control the turnover opportunities in their favor.
The Cleveland Browns are equally at 1-1 in the standings as they host this game at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. Shockingly to fans outside of the “Dawg Pound”, this week three game is Cleveland’s first chance to have a record above .500 since 2014. Their head coach Kevin Stefanski is looking to build upon their last Sunday as his quarterback, Baker Mayfield, has much to prove himself like Haskins.
The WFT defense must pressure Mayfield and not only sack him, but hurry him into some bad passes and get some interceptions. This game can certainly be won by a dominating defense, and the Washington Football Team has Chase Young who like Haskins played his college football in Ohio at Ohio State.
This week two of the NFL season, the Washington Football Team takes on the Arizona Cardinals with a chance to build on last week’s strong finish. The Washington team put together a formula of old-fashioned smash mouth football led by the defense that put the offense in great situations to tally up the touchdowns.
If Coach Rivera’s team builds on that same approach, and can contain Arizona’s mobile quarterback, Kyler Murray, with the same pass rush that had Eagles QB Carson Wentz entangled in multiple sacks, then it should be enough to disrupt what the Cardinals are trying to do in today’s game.
Dwayne Haskins completed 54.8% of his passes last week for 178 yards and one TD. The hope is that he can build on that with a stronger running game that can open up his passing game where he won’t feel forced to thread the needle on passes and can find some wide open receivers.
