Biggest Takeaways from Washington Redskins' Week 9 Loss
The Washington Redskins learned they can make things difficult for the league's best in Week 9. They also learned they need to play error-free ball to win games.
The Burgundy and Gold were more than a mild annoyance to the unbeaten defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. In fact, they should have been much more than that.
A final score of 27-10 didn't really reflect how close the Redskins stayed to the Patriots for stages of Sunday's game. Washington did plenty of good things, yet they were often undone by a spate of self-inflicted mistakes.
Those errors are symptomatic of a losing franchise. They also serve as an indictment of this coaching staff. Every rebuilding club has to master the art of not beating itself.
Sadly, there were also still some familiar weaknesses on display at Gillette Stadium. This team still can't stop the run or run the ball effectively—two things that remain staples of winning football, even in a modern, pass-first era.
Find out the biggest takeaways for the Redskins following their fifth defeat of the 2015 NFL season.
Kirk Cousins Can Execute This Offense and Is Emerging as a Leader
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Even in a 17-point loss, it was easy to like a lot of what Kirk Cousins did against the Pats. Specifically, No. 8 showed his mastery of head coach Jay Gruden's offense.
Cousins knew exactly where to go with the ball to target the weak spots in New England's pass defense. His accuracy was better than it's been in some recent games, notably Weeks 5 and 6 when he missed several manageable throws.
Cousins put the ball where he needed to this week. He just didn't get any help from his receivers. ESPN.com's John Keim detailed how often 2012's fourth-rounder was let down by his supposed pass-catchers.
"He wasn’t lights out, but he also was victimized by seven drops—and they weren’t exactly difficult grabs, either," Keim wrote. "For the most part, Cousins executed well enough; he just didn’t get any help. Some weeks it’s been the opposite; not Sunday."
While naturally irked by the missed opportunities, Cousins did defend his below-par supporting cast, according to Gabe Hiatt of the Washington Post.
"All of our guys have good natural hands and have made some really tough catches this year, so I don’t see this as a trend or a pattern," Cousins said. "I think of this more as an anomaly, and it happens. We’ll move on from it and if anything it will help us give an edge this week."
It's great to hear a quarterback not throwing his teammates under the bus. Cousins would have been justified offering a stronger critique, based on the number of accurate passes that ended up in the dirt thanks to terrible hands.
But he chose instead to defend his receivers. That's a sign of true leadership. If he can continue saying the right things off the field, alongside ironing out his deficiencies on it, Cousins will look more like a credible starting quarterback in the NFL.
A necessary next step is beating the teams he's supposed to. For instance, the 4-5 New Orleans Saints, owners of the 31st-ranked defense—in both yards and scoring—in the NFL.
Guiding Washington past the Saints in Week 10 will show Cousins isn't going to just raise his game for the Patriots then revert to type once the schedule softens. Instead, he's going to be a leader his team can count on in every game.
Jay Gruden's Schemes Can Work
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For someone who was never a fan of the decision to hire Gruden in the first place, it's been pleasantly surprising to see the oft-criticized coach's schemes working in recent weeks.
Despite his success with quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A.J. Green with the Cincinnati Bengals, it's still been easy to question the so-called mastery of offense supposedly possessed by Gruden the younger.
But as this season continues to unfold, one thing is becoming clear: Gruden's schemes can work.
They were working in New England—or at least they should have been. That his offense managed just 10 points and 254 yards on the road had little to do with anything Gruden had drawn up on the chalkboard. Instead, it was everything to do with poor execution.
Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last time out, Gruden was creative with his formations. Specifically, he used 4x1 sets to free tight end Jordan Reed in the red zone. For the Patriots, Gruden opted to move his personnel around more liberally.
Some of his play designs were exceptional. Unfortunately, the best designs were usually the ones wasted by dropped passes. That was the case on Washington's third offensive snap, when Gruden crept tight end Derek Carrier off the line and set him free on a deep out route across the other side of the field. With the freedom of New England, Carrier inexplicably let slip what would have been a huge play.
Understandably perturbed that so many of his grand designs had been wasted, Gruden lamented the missed opportunities, according to Anthony Gulizia of the Washington Times.
"It’s maddening," Gruden said. "I can’t explain it. We had guys drop balls who don’t drop balls very often. I’ll throw it to them again and again and again and I don’t expect a drop ever again. Just one of those days. I don’t know what happened."
His team left too many plays on the field in Week 9. But Gruden is showing how effective his concepts can be once his bright ideas are matched with flawless execution.
If the combination clicks in Week 10, the Saints and their 30th-ranked pass defense will be in major trouble.
Lack of a Running Game Continues to Plague Offense
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It's a testament to Cousins' development and Gruden's designs that the passing game has shown promise in recent weeks, despite the complete absence of a credible rushing attack.
Washington's infuriating inability to get things going on the ground continued in New England. The supposed-to-be dangerous double act of veteran Alfred Morris and rookie Matt Jones could only muster 37 yards.
This meagre showing has given 2015's team a moment of infamy in the franchise's history, as noted by Real Redskins blogger Rich Tandler: "They now have had no more than 51 rushing yards in their last four games. Never in their history have they gone four games in a row gaining 51 yards rushing or fewer."
What's really worrying is how no easy fix is on the horizon. Morris has merited criticism this season, following a series of lacklustre performances. By contrast, Jones has offered speed, excitement and big-play potential when he's lugged the rock. But he's equally been defined by an inconsistent running style and ball-security woes that showed up again in Week 9.
Gruden and his staff need to find a spark before entertaining the defensively challenged Saints. The Black and Gold are 24th against the run, giving up 122.6 yards per game. But Rob Ryan's sieve-like unit still has some big bodies up front, in the form of versatile end Cameron Jordan and burly nose tackle John Jenkins.
Gruden may be best served giving old faithful Morris a full workload. He's far from spectacular these days, but No. 46 can at least steady the ship and won't be guilty of the errors Jones has looked prone to commit.
Running Morris behind more overloaded lines and out of I-formation sets featuring forgotten fullback Darrel Young can revive this anemic ground game in time for the crunch period of Washington's season.
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Soft Run Defense Not Getting Any Better
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It was as predictable as clockwork. Against Washington's ultra-soft run defense, the flexible Patriots were always going to turn LeGarrette Blount loose. To no great surprise, the tactical riff worked wonders for New England.
Blount stomped his way through feeble tackling for 129 yards and a touchdown off 29 carries. His thumping rushing style proved too much to handle for a defense that seems to view tackling as an annoyance rather than an essential job requirement.
What should be particularly galling for Washington defensive coordinator Joe Barry is how his front seven was routinely pushed around by a patchwork offensive line. Todd Dybas of the Washington Times detailed the rag-tag front five New England put out against the Redskins:
"The Patriots had to shift their offensive line because of injury. Cameron Fleming moved from right tackle to left tackle. He replaced Sebastian Vollmer, who replaced Nate Solder earlier in the season. In the second half, Bryan Stork, who was activated Sunday for the first time this season after being on short-term injured reserve, was playing right tackle. He was the Patriots‘ center last season, when they won the Super Bowl.
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There were even some second-half snaps when tight end Michael Williams filled in at right tackle. A tight end playing tackle, and the Redskins still couldn't get into the backfield to stop running plays at their source.
Just like with the stunted running game, there's no quick fix for a team that's surrendered 753 rushing yards in its last four games, according to Anthony Gulizia of the Washington Times.
This defense simply has to get back to basics. D-tackle Chris Baker seems to know it, per Gulizia: “We just got to play assignment football better, make the tackles we’re supposed to make.”
It really is that simple.
Barry should also consider tweaking the alignment to include more two-gap principles. That way his linemen can start absorbing some double-teams and preventing linebackers from being gobbled up at the second level, which is something that's happening way too often.
On the face of it, Week 10 seems to offer a reprieve to Washington's timid run defense. The Saints are the 25th-ranked rushing offense in football. But the Patriots were also among the league's dead men in this category before entertaining the Redskins.
New Orleans boasts an underrated power runner in Mark Ingram. After watching Blount trample all over Washington's front, why wouldn't Saints head coach Sean Payton want to turn Ingram loose?
Lack of Pass Rush Becoming as Big a Problem as Stopping the Run
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The Redskins have 13 sacks to their credit this season, and every time you see that number, it's easy to wonder how. On the field, too many quarterbacks are getting a free ride against Barry's defense.
Tom Brady became the latest signal-caller to enjoy the time to comfortably plant his feet, survey the field and step unencumbered into every one of his throws. Make things this easy for a quarterback as good as Brady, and you are guaranteed to lose.
Barry had better learn that lesson as he gets ready for the Saints. Drew Brees belongs in the category of the elite players at his position, and the pocket-edition touchdown-maker is currently on a hot streak. Like Brady, Brees wastes little time getting rid of the ball. But the Redskins still have to make things uncomfortable for him, which is something they haven't been doing to any quarterback recently.
Brady completed 66.7 percent of his passes. Two weeks earlier, Bucs rookie Jameis Winston completed 72.4 percent, seven days removed from Ryan Fitzpatrick of the New York Jets completing 73.1. That number has to start hovering much closer to 60 and below. It will take some schematic adjustments from Barry to make it happen.
The shift to more one-gap alignments has done nothing to improve the pressure up front this season. A constant diet of three- and four-man rushes in front of densely populated coverage shells is fooling nobody, particularly on third downs.
Barry's got to be more flexible and creative with his personnel. That means moving edge-rushers Ryan Kerrigan, Trent Murphy and rookie Preston Smith around more often to target weak blockers and confuse quarterbacks. He also needs to come up with a blitz scheme or two that will catch protection schemes off guard.
If Brees is given the freedom to find his targets as easily as the last three quarterbacks Washington has faced, he'll pick this team apart next week.
The Redskins did some good things in Week 9 they can build on for the rest of the season. At the same time, finding solutions for ongoing problems on the ground and creating pressure is now long overdue.
All statistics and player information via NFL.com.
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