Redskins Send Packers Packing, 31-17
September 24, 2018
by Sean Conte
The Redskins needed a commanding win to cleanse their palates from last week’s crapshow in Indianapolis and that’s just what they got on Sunday against Green Bay. Now they’re coasting into the bye tied with the Eagles atop the NFC East and one game back from the league’s top teams.
It ain’t a bad place to be, but don’t go sipping Packer tears and Burgundy kool-aid just yet. Let’s talk about this.
The story of the 2018 Redskins is a defensive one. I have very little doubts about that, or this unit in general, through three games. Statistically, the Redskins rank 3rd in total defense, but are tied for first in points allowed and second for yards. This is not Hazlett’s defense, with its overall lack of cohesion. This is not Joe Barry’s TE-allergic squad of timid blitzers. This is Manusky’s defense – his second year leading it and first with a healthy lineup (in 2017, six defensive starters fell to injury), and the difference couldn’t be more apparent.
There are two things going very, very right here, and both were on full-display against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. First, talent acquisitions on the defensive front are panning out. Jonathan Allen came up big for us against Green Bay with two big sacks. Da’Ron Payne created havoc all day long (and I know some people who weren’t thrilled we made that pick with Derwin James still available in the draft). Mason Foster and Preston Smith got in on virtually every tackle that it was physically possible for them to participate in. Matt Ioannidis logged another sack. And what’s more, the entire defense tackled well and largely without penalty — no easy feat in a league with odd and ever-changing regulations — which is more than you can say for Clay Mathews.
Better talent in the box has allowed Redskins rushers to find paydirt while rushing four (the Redskins are in base 3-4 less than 30% of the time), which is critical for consistent success on any defense. Allen’s sack late in the fourth quarter on Sunday is the perfect example of this. Get a sack without an extra blitzer in an obvious passing situation? Yes. More.
We saw good, tight play in the backfield against the Packers too. DB’s swarmed Green Bay ball catchers on reception. Fabian Moreau forced a fumble. DJ Swearinger jumped a route and nearly snagged an INT, although the same move cost the team a TD later in the game when he allowed Geronimo Allison to sneak by him and catch a deep ball. Montae Nicholson was the team’s #2 tackle leader.
With pressure coming and things failing to develop downfield, Rodgers scrambled and did what he could to run the ball himself to no avail. No tales of miraculous 4th quarter comebacks will grace the pages of Green Bay’s dailies today.
It’s clear the defense is going to keep games winnable. What isn’t clear is with what consistency our offense will be able to answer other teams punch-for-punch.
I’m just as happy as anyone that the Redskins creamed Green Bay and Arizona so convincingly, but I’m also keeping an eye on defensive rankings and realizing that both those squads are ranked damn near last in total defense (Green Bay is ranked 25th in the league, Arizona 27th). Against the Colts (ranked 17th), the Redskins failed to score a touchdown or move the ball effectively outside of “garbage time”.
Mark Bullock came on The Hog Sty podcast to talk through the Colts game with us and suggested the Redskins’ offensive struggles in the home-opener were mainly due to their inability to get a few simple short-pass concepts working. That doesn’t fill me with confidence, but it also passes the eye-test in terms of what I see on field: a short-pass, run heavy offense that’ll only throw the ball deep enough to keep opposing defenses mildly honest.
Now, to Gruden’s credit, he clearly watched some game tape and felt bold enough to dial up a precedent-setting deep shot to Richardson early in the game that resulted in a TD, but it’s also worth noting how poorly Green Bay’s DBs performed on that play and in general throughout the game, and how little Smith was required to throw it on another AP-filled afternoon. For context, Aaron Rodgers had an uncharacteristically bad game against us and still completed more passes than Alex Smith attempted. The final numbers for Smith were 12 for 20 for 220. Those are Griffin-era numbers, though thankfully that’s mostly where the similarities end.
So, what happens when the team is deep in a hole and the running game ain’t working? What happens when the Redskins have no choice but to sling it deep? The first three weeks have given us 2 great performances against underperforming teams and one incredibly poor performance against an average team, so the answers to those questions remain to be seen.
Best strategy? Keep going and don’t look back. After the bye the Redskins have every opportunity to come back strong against a 31st-ranked Saints defense. In fact, they won’t truly be tested against a top-ranked unit until they face off against Dallas at the end of October.
Until then, rest, recuperation, and prep. That’s all it is. Win the winnable games. This here is a post-season caliber defense and an offense with a ton of potential if they can tweak their game plan weekly to keep the core concepts working.
If they execute as they did against Green Bay, this could be one hell of a ride.