Washington trails Philadelphia in ugly half

LANDOVER — The Washington Football Team has a new name in a new season. But many of its old problems remain.

Washington trails 17-7 at halftime against the Philadelphia Eagles in a half that was completely one-sided until a late Washington touchdown narrowed the gap.

Washington’s defense had done little to stop Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, who has 182 yards and two touchdowns with a 63.6% completion percentage. But cornerback Fabian Moreau picked off Wentz with 1:37 left in the half, leading to Washington’s first touchdown of the day.

Dwayne Haskins led a short drive that ended with the quarterback finding tight end Logan Thomas wide-open in the end zone.

The sequence, however, didn’t erase everything else that seemed to go against Washington’s way in the first half.

Washington’s defense was again horrific on third down as Philadelphia converted 4-of-8 of its attempts. Washington, of course, had the league’s worst third-down defense last season.

The offense wasn’t much better. Tress Way punted five times and Haskins completed only 43.8% of his throws.

Washington’s bright spot was the defensive line, which had four sacks.