Broncos take 10-3 lead before halftime in Denver

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Defensive end Steven Weatherly closed the first half of his Broncos debut with a big play.

Weatherly, who was acquired in a trade with the Panthers this month, sacked Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke to knock the NFC East team out of field goal range with three seconds left on the clock. A Hail Mary was picked off by Broncos safety Justin Simmons to send the teams into the locker room.

Weatherly’s play came a minute after the first touchdown of the afternoon. Broncos running back Melvin Gordon took a Teddy Bridgewater pass for a 15-yard touchdown and put the Broncos up 10-3 on their visitors. They’ll still have that lead when they get the ball to kick off the third quarter.

Bridgewater is 8-of-12 for 133 yards while Heinicke is 13-of-19 for 140 yards. Washington has used those yards to power a pair of drives that reached the red zone, but one ended with a fourth down incompletion and the other saw Chris Blewitt get a field goal attempt blocked for the second week in a row.