Washington Redskins: Can The Redskins Salvage Their Season Going Into Week 3?
Sep 18, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) at the line of scrimmage against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half at FedEx Field. The Dallas Cowboys won 27 – 23. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Redskins had a tough week against the Dallas Cowboys. Moving forward, they have to fix some issues to turn their season around.
The Redskins fell to the Cowboys, 27-23, to open their season with two consecutive home losses. The defeat not only guarantees them last-place going into Week 3, it signals a potentially more ominous future for their season. Since 1990, teams starting 0-2 advance to the playoffs 12% of the time. Dating back to 1983, per Dan Steinber of the Washington Post, only two teams that lost their first two home games have made it to the post-season.
With that in mind, here is a look at the problems that Washington has to fix in order to become a winning team again.
Sep 18, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) attempts a pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half at FedEx Field. The Dallas Cowboys won 27 – 23. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Kirk Cousins’ Early Season Troubles
If the Redskins want to become the third team to start 0-2 and make the postseason, they must begin in earnest to fix an assortment of issues plaguing them the last two weeks. The first, and most obvious, is with Kirk Cousins. In his first two games, Cousins has completed 65.2% of his passes for a staggering 693 yards. While these numbers reflect an otherwise prolific passing game, this matters little if the team fails to score touchdowns and turns the ball over. Through two weeks, Cousins has passed for just one touchdown against three interceptions.
What is worse is that the statistics mask countless errant throws that cost the team a game they should have won. Cousins missed a chance to make an early statement by overthrowing a wide-open Jamison Crowder for a score. He also sailed a ball out of the reach of DeSean Jackson, who had beaten the Cowboy secondary by two steps.
In the latter part of the game, he badly underthrew Josh Doctson, who would’ve scored with a more accurately-timed pass. The Redskins did back the Cowboys defense to their six-yard line on that drive. But with a 23-20 lead, Cousins didn’t see Cowboy safety Barry Church, who intercepted a pass intended for Pierre Garcon. A touchdown on that drive would’ve put the Redskins up 30-20.
Despite Cousin’s current shortcomings, they are eminently fixable. Indeed, Cousins experienced these very same troubles last year, only to see them disappear during a torrid 10-game stretch to end 2015. His job again will be to regroup and to re-embark on that same journey that earned him a franchise tag this year. In turn, other parts of the offense must do their part for Cousins to turn things around.
Dec 20, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay looks on from the field prior to the game against the Buffalo Bills at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Questionable Play Calling And Gameplan
One major negative for the Redskisn has been their perplexing red-zone playcalling.
While the team is looking to phase Doctson into their gameplan, it can’t use him as its primary red-zone option – at least right now. Instead, McVay could – and should – have used other pass catchers in their talented receiving corps.
Three of the Redskins red-zone drives ended up with six points, the last of which resulted in the back-breaking Cousins’ pick.
In addition to the red zone play, the lack of any reasonable run-pass balance is yet another concern. Against the Cowboys, the team failed to incorporate a running game that finally showed some life. Matt Jones rushed 13 times for 71 yards and a touchdown. The team, though, only rushed four more times, two of which were by Cousins.
The Redskins are now tied for first in passing attempts (89) and next to last in rushing attempts (29). The team in last place is Chicago (20 rush attempts), who plays tonight. While the uncertainties in the ground game militate against setting a precise run-pass ratio, McVay must be able to strike a better blend between both phases of his offense.
Aug 26, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Joe Barry looks on against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
The Defense And Joe Barry
The defense – and in particular Joe Barry — also played a major part in Sunday’s loss. After its defeat to the Cowboys, the Redskins ranked 26th in overall defense. Dak Prescott contributed to this ranking by passing for nearly 300 yards. But many of this prodigious yardage total were set up by simple, short passes. On the first play of the game, a naked bootleg netted 11 yards to Cole Beasley. This gave Prescott the rhythm he needed to start the game.
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What’s more is that commentators from ESPN 980 predicted that the Cowboys would open with that play. Somehow, Barry didn’t know what those commentators and thousands of Redskins fans knew before the game’s first play from scrimmage.
And the Cowboys recycled this play to victimize the Redskins defense on other occasions. For instance, on a 4th-and-1, Prescott found tight end Geoff Swaim for 28 yards on another bootleg. Swaim carried the ball to the Redskins two-yard line, which set up an Ezekiel Elliot touchdown run. That punctuated a nine-play, 94-yard drive in the first quarter.
Elliot himself rushed for 83 yards on a modest four yards-per-carry. But this didn’t stop at least one Redskins defender from calling out Barry’s defensive gameplan (per Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post). That defensive player, Ricky Jean-Francois, observed:
“Let’s be real. Let’s be truthful. We didn’t respond to it, because if we would have, Alfred [Morris] wouldn’t have had a touchdown. Ezekiel Elliott had a few big breaks. And those big breaks, if we would have actually adjusted and seen what they were doing quick enough, we would have had it. And I just feel like even from the [playoff loss to the] Packers from last year, every team that sees us adjusts. Every team that adjusts to us, we don’t adjust to them. Every team we play against, it just feels like they see something and then they pounce on it and they keep doing it. And it feels like we’re just not responding to it.”
This failure to adjust his game plan, of course, is not new to Barry. Last week, he insisted on permanently slotting Josh Norman to one side of the field. As a result, All-Pro Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown consistently beat Bashaud Breeland. When questioned about his cornerback assignments, Barry struggled to explain that a traveling cornerback might be too difficult for his secondary.
Sep 12, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) catches a touchdown pass as Washington Redskins cornerback Bashaud Breeland (26) defends in the third quarter at FedEx Field. The Steelers won 38-16. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Francois’ criticism will undoubtedly raise larger issues with Barry, who was not the Redskins first choice as defensive coordinator. The team hired Barry after Vic Fangio, whom the team was pursuing, chose Chicago over Washington.
Barry arrived in Washginton with the infamous distinction of coaching a Lions defense that went winless under his watch. To be sure, that defense, as with this one, was lacking talent in key areas. But on Sunday, Barry faced a rookie quarterback and running back who were playing the second game of their careers. His defense did very little in making Prescott uncomfortable, and allowed him to register large gains by playing small ball.
Unlike Cousins’ struggles in the early part of the year, these issues have persisted with Barry. And it remains to be seen if others will follow Francois in taking issue with Barry’s game planning.
Sep 18, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden looks on against the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter at FedEx Field. The Cowboys won 27-23. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Week 3: Another Code Red Game
The Redskins travel to New York to face a Giants team that won its first two games by three points. This will feature a much-anticipated faceoff between Norman and Odell Beckham, Jr. The team, however, should focus on winning the more important faceoff with the Giants.
If they beat the Giants, they will pull within one game of first place. And they will have a chance to even their record at home against a hapless Browns team the next week.
Although the Redskins are on the wrong side of history, there’s still hope in a division featuring teams with multiple questions. In fact, the Redskins have started off 0-2 with two home losses in 1981 and 1989, but finished the season with 8-8 and 10-6 records. In order to keep their playoff hopes alive, they will need to win in Met Life Stadium this Sunday.
Code Red doesn’t begin to describe the importance of this game.