Donovan McNabb was sacked three times during the first half against the Lions
Despite the Detroit Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch running roughshod all over the Washington Redskins offensive line during the first half of the contest in Ford Field, the Redskins managed to go into halftime leading the Lions 13-7, thanks to the Redskins secondary and some better protection for McNabb late in the half.
It was a very physical game and much of the pain landed on the Redskins. Quarterback Donovan McNabb was sacked twice by Suh and once by Vanden Bosch. Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo was down for a time with a leg injury but returned and defensive lineman Philip Daniels was also hurt. Safety Chris Horton also injured his right ankle.
It was easy to see that it was going to be a long day for Washington when the offensive line simply could not contain the two Detroit defensive linemen. Whether it was Artis Hicks they were blowing by, Stephon Heyer or Jammal Brown, Vanden Bosch and Suh were a menace. When McNabb wasn’t being sacked, he was being pressured.
It’s not often you see such a sloppy start from professional football players. Neither team did much until late in the second quarter. Both teams had series after series of three-and-outs.
Fortunately for the Redskins, DeAngelo Hall was in the house, along with the rest of the defense. Hall intercepted Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford in the end zone on a deep pass to Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson with two minutes left in the first quarter. The defense, along with some timely penalties, is part of the reason the Lions aren’t ahead as the game entered halftime.
Lions running back Javhid Best had some good holes to run through but good tackling by London Fletcher, making his 200th start today, and the other Redskins linebackers kept him from scoring.
A couple of calls by the officials helped the Redskins. An upheld challenge by Lions head coach Jim Schwartz had the Redskins starting a drive on the twenty rather than in the end zone although they did nothing with the drive.
At the end of the first quarter, the Redskins had one first down conversion and 19 yards.
When the Lions’ wide receiver Calvin Johnson stretched his long body to get the ball over the end zone line and score in the middle of the second quarter, the feeling was, “here we go again”… not that this wasn’t already a collective thought all across the Washington region.
But receiver Brandon Banks came back with a nice kick-off return and McNabb took advantage of some open space with a nice 36-yard run. The quarterback dumped off a short pass to running back Ryan Torain who ran six yards into the end zone for the score.
It was good to see the Redskins come right back with the score and it was integral to them staying in the game emotionally.
The Lions inflicted some damage to themselves when a nice 19-yard catch by Calvin Johnson was brought back by a holding penalty on Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew.
McNabb finally got some time with three minutes to go in the half and, after a nice 50-yard pass to Armstrong and another nice run off of a short pass to Moss for two first downs, the Redskins got into the end zone again.
In the final five minutes of the half, Kyle Shanahan played it smart, and the Redskins were able to score two more field goals.
At the end of the half, McNabb has 10 of 15 completions for 120 yards passing and one touchdown. He also has 45 yards rushing on four scampers, the longest being 36 yards to help get the score.
Ryan Torain had nine carries for 10 yards and three receptions for 19 yards and the touchdown. Santana Moss had two receptions for 20 yards and Chris Cooley had two receptions for 18 yards. The Redskins did not turn the ball over.
Linebacker LaRon Landry leads the team with three stops.
