If Week 3 of the preseason is indeed a dress rehearsal for the regular season, the Washington Redskins looked utterly unprepared in a 29-17 loss to the Denver Broncos. Quarterback Alex Smith played most of the first half and wasn’t impressive. Smith completed three of eight passes for 33 yards.

One bright spot for Washington in Friday’s loss to Denver was newly signed running back Adrian Peterson. Peterson started the game and finished with 11 carries for 56 yards. Most of which came against Denver’s first-team defense. He looked phenomenal at times, showing the burst and legs of someone much younger than 33.

Defensively, though, things were much different. There’s a lot of hope around Washington’s defense in 2018. Against the Broncos, the Redskins struggled against the run at times and allowed Case Keenum to have his way against the secondary. Josh Norman allowed two big receptions and Quinton Dunbar had a penalty which gave Denver a first down.

The regular season opens in just over two weeks when the Redskins travel to Arizona. Head coach Jay Gruden is 0-4 in season openers as head coach of Washington. That must change as the schedule toughens up after the first two weeks of the season.

Here are three things we learned in Washington’s loss to Denver in Week 3 of the preseason.

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