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WFT stages historical comeback over Eagles in Week 1 victory: 27-17

And it feels so good.

NFL: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Football Team Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

It was a rough first half, but it turns out the rumors about the Washington Football Team’s defense may be true. Prior to today, the largest comeback the WFT had ever had against the Eagles was a 16 point comeback in 1955. Today, the team overcame a 17 point deficit, scoring 27 unanswered points on the strength of their defense, which had 8 sacks and 3 turnovers.

Ron Rivera received a therapeutic IV during halftime to assist with his cancer treatment. No report on whether that’s an NFL first.

There was concern that the absence of Kendall Fuller, who was inactive for the game, would cause a problem for the WFT secondary. Both Fabian Moreau and Jimmy Moreland stepped up in a big way, each roping in an interception to help spur the team’s comeback.

The defensive line played as advertised, including Old Man Kerrigan, who collected two sacks, to get to 92 and pass Dexter Manley’s team record. Matt Ioannidis and Chase Young both had 1.5 sacks, Jon Bostic and Montez Sweat had 1, and Jon Allen and Daron Payne both had .5 sacks.

Dwayne Haskins had a rough first half, and missed on a few passes, but seemed to play his best under pressure and with an up tempo gameplan like the team implemented at the end of the first half. Just before halftime, Haskins found TE1, Logan Thomas for a critical touchdown.

During halftime, he apparently pumped up his teammates. In the second half, he played a largely error-free style of football that took advantage of short fields provided by the defense and added the points necessary to secure the win.

We even got to see a little “Riverboat Ron” where the head coach rolled the dice on a late fourth a short. The drive would be capped by a second Peyton Barber touchdown.