Washington CommandersvsDetroit Lions
WSH 13/DET 17
Things to say
Detroit beat Washington 17-13 at Ford Field in a low-scoring grind.
01
opener
Yeah, Lions took it 17-13 but nobody's writing home about it. Both offenses couldn't move the ball for long stretches. It came down to a late Jake Bates field goal.
02
key player
Joshua Dobbs was the story — 53 yards on two carries with a 50-yard touchdown run. Guy's a backup QB outrunning the whole defense.
03
hot take
Washington actually outgained them through the air and still lost. When your defense scores your first touchdown on a fumble recovery, that tells you plenty.
04
deep cut
Maurice Hurst had two sacks for Washington and barely anyone noticed. Their D-line won the line of scrimmage most of the night — the offense just wasted it.
05
exit
It's preseason, so I'm not reading too much into it. Let's see what the starters look like when it counts.
The recap
Ugly, low-scoring slugfest at Ford Field, and Detroit grinded out a 17-13 win when nobody could really move the ball through the air. Joshua Dobbs was the story, ripping off a 50-yard rushing TD to swing momentum after the defense staked them an early lead on a Josephs fumble-recovery score.
Washington actually led 14-13 late thanks to a goal-line push, but Jake Bates drilled a 37-yard field goal to flip it back and Detroit's defense slammed the door. Kaliakmanis threw for a tidy 162 for Washington, but two Maurice Hurst sacks and a stalled ground game left them short in a game that stayed in the mud all afternoon.