The Washington Redskins did what no one believed they could do on when they walked into Philadelphia and dominated the Eagles in a 38-24 victory, clinching the NFC East division and their first playoff berth since 2012. Granted that this division was not necessarily the strongest in football, it is still a testament to how far this team has come since a disastrous 4-12 season in 2014. Now that Washington is in the playoffs, what kind of a performance can we expect from them? Contrary to popular belief, we could see a deep run.
This football team is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, but if they are expecting to make any noise during postseason play, it all starts with the quarterback, and the Redskins looked to have finally found their answer in Kirk Cousins.
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Coach Jay Gruden made the unpopular decision to roll with Cousins over Robert Griffin III in the preseason, and since then Cousins has more than rewarded him by putting together a season that rivals the magical year RG3 had in 2012. Kirk is completing passes at just over 69 percent, which is tops in the league, and he has trashed all kinds of Redskins passing records during his remarkable run; he has the most games with 300 or more passing yards, and his 3,990 passing yards is one of the greatest seasons any Washington quarterback has ever had. What’s been the most impressive thing to watch besides these astronomical numbers is Kirk’s poise; this was a guy that managed to keep his composure and wouldn’t falter when things weren’t going his way like he used to do in previous years. While much of that has to do with not having to constantly look over his shoulder and worry if he’ll be pulled in favor of another quarterback (protection that simply wasn’t granted to Griffin during the Jay Gruden era), Cousins really has come a long way on his own as well.
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Cousins obviously hasn’t done it on his own, though. This Redskins team is probably the deepest it’s been since Cousins and Griffin arrived here back in 2012, particularly at receiver and tight end, where two of the NFL’s most dynamic pass-catchers reside. The growth of Jordan Reed at tight end and the return of DeSean Jackson from injury have proven vital to Washington’s offensive success. Reed has gone from a talented guy who couldn’t stay healthy and whom Washington wasn’t sure would even start to an elite pass-catcher and a touchdown machine.
Reed is virtually un-coverable in the middle of the field, regardless if you stick a linebacker or a safety on him. His 83 catches rank second among tight ends and he is tied for second with Rob Gronkowski for receiving touchdowns by tight ends with 11 (That’s also a new Redskins record) with a game to go in the regular season. He is incredibly valuable because of the amount of his catches that help move the sticks; He has accounted for 52 first downs (most by tight ends) and 62.7 percent of his catches are for first downs as well. As for Desean Jackson, it is well-known that he is one of the most dangerous deep-ball catchers not only in today’s game but in NFL history, and since his return to the lineup in week 9, Washington’s offense has gone from a conservative “dink-and-dunk” approach and being among the worst big-play offenses in the NFL to becoming a more balanced passing attack, mixing the dinks and dunks with home run plays, en route to the league’s 12th best passing offense.
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If there is one place that has to improve offensively, it is definitely the run game. The Redskins have prided themselves the last couple of years on running the football and in fact, with the struggles they endured at quarterback it was essential, but this season has been surprisingly bad; Washington is just 23rd with an average of 94.7 yards a game.
The struggles have been very surprising and uncharacteristic for Washington considering they have a three-time 1,000-yard rusher in Alfred Morris, but it may have a ton to do with the new scheme that was put in place by Bill Callahan the new offensive line coach, a more downhill running scheme as opposed to the zone-blocking scheme that Morris had so much success with early on.
To Washington’s credit, however, the ground attack has been fairly better in recent weeks, and when the Redskins have needed to run out the clock at the ends of games or when they’ve needed a big play, the running game has come through, most notably against the New York Giants in Week 12 (23 carries for 78 yards) and against the Buffalo Bills during a Week 15 performance (14 carries for 84 yards).
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Then there is the defense. During Washington’s magical run back in 2012, all the press that RG3 and the offense were getting took away from what was a nice contribution from the defense, which gave up yards but thrived at forcing turnovers and putting the team in often wonderful field position. This year’s defense is very similar. They have given up a lot of big plays, but they have sacked quarterbacks 36 times and are pretty good at forcing turnovers, particularly fumbles (They have forced 21 and recovered 14 of them).
But it’s more than that; besides the turnovers, what has kept Washington’s defense afloat has been the strong presence of leadership that honestly wasn’t there a year ago. The additions of guys like Terrance Knighton, Dashon Goldson and Ricky Jean-Francois have led to some great things on the field (especially Goldson, who is the team’s leading tackler with 110 on the season), but these are guys who have provided stability and brought a new culture into the locker room, something this team needed badly after what’s been an ongoing soap opera the last few seasons.
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Another thing that has carried this defense, and the team for that matter, has been strong rookie class. Preston Smith has arguably been the most impressive; he has seen his snaps continue to go up and he has produced, as he currently has seven sacks, three of which came against the Eagles on December 26, and three forced fumbles. Kyshoen Jarrett, from Virginia Tech, has been a valuable asset because he can play multiple spots in the secondary, and he has had a knack for making exceptional plays time after time. Even Quinton Dunbar, a receiver who was switched to cornerback when injuries started piling up, has shown flashes of brilliance, like a game against the Giants in which he recorded to pass break-ups and an interception.
On the offensive side it’s been guys like Matt Jones at tailback, who’s had some brilliant games on the ground and has provided this offense with a receiving threat out of the backfield it doesn’t have with Morris, and Jamison Crowder really emerged during Desean Jackson’s absence as a threat opposite Pierre Garcon at receiver, racking up 54 catches and 495 yards.
Make no mistake; it wasn’t an accident that the Redskins won the division this year. They changed the culture in the locker room and built a talent-laden roster on the field and it has paid off wonderfully. This team is going to be exciting to watch once the playoffs begin.
