Washington Commanders Never Threaten, Trail Drake Maye-Led Patriots at Halftime
LANDOVER, Md -- |A|
The Washington Commanders and |B|
New England Patriots got |C|
together to wrap up |D|
the NFL preseason for |E|
themselves, but also for |F|
the entire league as |G|
the last game played |H|
before the regular season |J|
ramp-up truly begins. Of |K|
course, we knew beforehand |L|
that starters like Commanders |M|
quarterback Jayden Daniels wouldnt |O|
be playing, and before |P|
the game we got |Q|
a more comprehensive list |R|
from the team itself. |S|
READ |Z| MORE:Washington Commanders QB Jayden |A| Daniels Reveals Thoughts on |B| Earning Starting Job
Quarterbacks |C| Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota, |D| and Sam Hartman
Wide |E| Receivers Dyami Brown, Luke |F| McCaffrey, Terry McLaurin, and |G| Jamison Crowder
Cornerbacks Mike |H| Sainristil, Emmanuel Forbes Jr., |J| Michael Davis, and Benjamin |K| St-Juste
Linebackers Frankie Luvu, |L| Dante Fowler Jr., Bobby |M| Wagner, and Jordan Magee
|O| dir="ltr">Running Backs Brian Robinson |P| Jr. and Austin Ekeler
|Q| dir="ltr">Safeties Jeremy Chinn, Quan |R| Martin, and Percy Butler
|S| dir="ltr">Center Tyler Biadasz
Guard |U| Nick Allegretti, and Sam |V| Cosmi
Offensive Tackles Andrew |Y| Wylie, Trent Scott, Brandon |Z| Coleman, and Cornelius Lucas
|A| dir="ltr">Tight Ends Ben Sinnott, |B| Zach Ertz, and John |C| Bates
Defensive Ends Dorance |D| Armstrong and Clelin Ferrell
|E| dir="ltr">Defensive Tackles Jonathan Allen, |F| Daron Payne, and JerZhan |G| Newton
Those 35 players |H| are presumed to be |J| landing on the active |K| roster by the time |L| 4 p.m. ET rolls |M| around on Tuesday, but |O| that also left several |P| spots open for one |Q| final competition.
Among those |R| battling for what might |S| be the last roster |U| spot are defensive ends |V| KJ Henry and Javontae |Y| Jean-Baptiste, both of whom |Z| who had pressures early |A| in the first half. |B| Henry was able to |C| turn his pressure into |D| a sack that appeared |E| to have knocked Patriots |F| quarterback Jacoby Brissett out |G| of the game.
Coming |H| in second, rookie quarterback |J| Drake Maye orchestrated a |K| touchdown drive that gave |L| New England an early |M| 7-0 lead, but also |O| featured two fumbled snaps.
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Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene |Q| was in coverage on |R| the play and had |S| a chance to tackle |U| running back Kevin Harris |V| but came up empty |Y| handed after diving for |Z| his feet and the |A| ball-carrier took it the |B| rest of the way |C| for the opening score |D| of the game.
The |E| score stayed there and |F| wasnt threatened with a |G| change until midway through |H| the second quarter when |J| Commanders quarterback Jeff Driskel |K| threw a pass intended |L| for receiver Mitchell Tinsley |M| at the Washington 45-yard |O| line that was intercepted |P| by Patriots linebacker Joe |Q| Giles-Harris. An illegal blindside |R| block during the return |S| moved the ball back |U| to the New England |V| 44-yard line however, and |Y| a holding penalty two |Z| plays later moved it |A| even further back.
That |B| drive ended in a |C| punt, and the score |D| remained intact with Washington |E| trailing by one score. |F| It wasnt all good |G| news for the defensive |H| unit however, as safety |J| Jeremy Reaves had a |K| fighting chance to bring |L| in an interception of |M| his own but ultimately |O| was unable to come |P| up with the takeaway |Q| - something that defensive |R| coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. |S| surely wasnt happy about.
|U| dir="ltr">The subsequent Commanders drive |V| was their best of |Y| the half moving down |Z| to the New England |A| 42 yard line at |B| the two minute warning. |C| Unfortunately the drive stalled, |D| and once again the |E| Commanders punted the ball |F| away.
As we enter |G| halftime with a 7-0 |H| score it wasnt from |J| lack of trying. With |K| two seconds left in |L| the half the Patriots |M| trotted out former Washington |O| kicker Joey Slye for |P| a 64-yard attempt that |Q| fell short and went |R| wide left anyway.
It |S| was a relatively uneventful |U| first half, and even |V| worse new Washington kicker |Y| Cade York got no |Z| opportunities to show hes |A| the right man for |B| the job. So we |C| move into the second |D| half hoping for a |E| little more action, and |F| maybe the chance to |G| get a look at |H| some deciding moments for |J| guys fighting to stay |K| on the roster Tuesday |L| afternoon.
