Washington Redskins vs. Atlanta Falcons: Full Washington Game Preview

One of the NFL's surprise teams in 2015, the Washington Redskins, will look to validate their solid start to the season in their Week 5 matchup with the undefeated Atlanta Falcons.

A doormat during much of owner Daniel Snyder's tenure, Washington has been the aggressor through the early stages of the season. The team has outscored opponents 46-22 in the first half of games, pitching two shutouts.

An outfit that finished 20th overall in yards allowed in 2014, the Redskins defense is currently the NFL's sixth-best. Slated to face off with Atlanta's fourth-ranked offense, this unit will be put to the test.

Losers in eight of nine road games under head coach Jay Gruden, Washington has quite the task ahead of it traveling to Atlanta.

Will it pull the upset? Let's find out.

Here is the Week 5 preview for the Redskins.

Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Ga.

Time: 1 p.m. ET, Sunday

TV: Fox

Week 4 Results and Recap

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NFC EAST	W	L	PCT	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	DIFF	STRK
Dallas Cowboys	2	2	.500	1-1	1-1	2-0	2-2	95	101	-6	L2
New York Giants	2	2	.500	1-1	1-1	1-1	1-2	102	82	+20	W2
Washington Redskins	2	2	.500	2-1	0-1	1-1	2-1	78	79	-1	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	1	3	.250	0-1	1-2	0-2	0-3	78	86	-8	L1

A quarter of the way through the 2015 campaign, Washington finds itself in a three-way tie atop the NFC East.

Before the season, if you had just told the Skins they were going to be out of the division cellar, they would've been happy.

Even with that said, looking back on the season's first four games, Washington should be kicking itself. It wasted a dominant first half against the hapless Miami Dolphins and lost on a special teams snafu.

With a prime opportunity to kick the rival New York Giants when they were down, the team laid an egg on the national stage.

You could say the Redskins struggled in the face of adversity and increased expectations. Not in Week 4, though.

A 13-point first-half lead evaporated in the span of two Sam Bradford touchdown passes. Trailing by four points in the final minutes, Washington appeared to be on the verge of another gut-wrenching collapse.

Then Kirk Cousins happened. Cousins engineered a 15-play, 90-yard touchdown drive in the closing minutes to secure a 23-20 Redskins win. In the outing, Cousins threw for 290 yards and accounted for two touchdowns.

For the second time this season, with the other occurrence coming in a Washington win, he played turnover-free football.

To deliver the Falcons their first loss, on the road no less, the Redskins will need a similar performance.

News and Notes

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Impactful Rookie Class

The expectation was for top pick Brandon Scherff to start, but due to injury, a bounty of Washington rookies have found their way onto the field.

With Junior Galette and DeSean Jackson down, in addition to Andre Roberts underperforming, Jamison Crowder and Preston Smith have seen their share of playing time.

Smith is second on the team with two sacks. Crowder has struggled as a punt returner, but he's third on the team in receptions (15) and yards (117).

Ball security remains an issue, but Matt Jones has formed a potent one-two punch with Alfred Morris. He's run for 200 yards and two touchdowns.

Then there's Kyshoen Jarrett. In Washington's injury-ravaged secondary, he's seen time at safety and cornerback, mainly covering the slot.

Yes, it's early. The rookie wall likely awaits all the aforementioned players. But following the failed drafts of recent years—2013, anyone?—you have to view the early returns from general manager Scot McCloughan's first draft as a positive development.

Depth-Chart Changes

As promising as Washington's start to the year has been, the team is constantly looking to improve. Taking a peek at the changes the team's made to its depth chart, per the team's official website, this much is evident.

While he was signed to start opposite Jason Hatcher on the defensive line, Stephen Paea has given way to Chris Baker in the starting lineup.

The Redskins defensive line rotation will see to it that both players see time. But in lieu of Baker's performance to date, you can't help but feel this was the right move.

Baker leads the team in sacks (2.5) and all defensive linemen in tackles (13).

Spencer Long started in place of Shawn Lauvao against the Eagles. But should he falter, the depth chart reveals rookie Arie Kouandjio will be next in line.

Lastly, at cornerback, rookies Quinton Dunbar and Deshazor Everett are behind Chris Culliver, Bashaud Breeland and Will Blackmon.

Taking into account how poorly Culliver looked against Philadelphia, in addition to Atlanta's potent passing game, both players could figure heavily in this week's contest.

Injury Report

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Player	Position	Injury Status
Perry Riley	LB	Questionable
DeSean Jackson	WR	Questionable
Morgan Moses	OT	Probable
DeAngelo Hall	CB	Out
Chris Culliver	CB	Questionable
Pierre Garcon	WR	Questionable
Jordan Reed	TE	Questionable

Injury statuses courtesy of ESPN.com and CBSSports.com.

Just looking at Washington's injury report, the passing game on both sides of the ball is cause for concern. 

Culliver clearly wasn't top speed against the Eagles. He was burned deep on scores to both Riley Cooper and Miles Austin. And neither is half the receiver Julio Jones is.

On offense, the statuses of Jordan Reed and Pierre Garcon loom large. Reed left last week's game with a concussion, while also suffering a knee and ankle sprain. Garcon is dealing with a knee sprain.

Youngsters Ryan Grant and Jamison Crowder have performed well, but both would take a step back if they were forced to move up the depth chart in Garcon's absence.

At tight end, there's merely Derek Carrier and Anthony McCoy behind Reed. The duo combined has just 44 career receptions.

Washington does have a running game to fall back on. But unlike its previous opponents, Atlanta has the means to exploit the Redskins defense with its balanced attack.

Key Matchups

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Washington Secondary vs. WR Julio Jones

For the first time this season, Jones failed to register more than 100 yards receiving and 10-plus targets in Week 4. All it took was a 48-21 blowout to keep his numbers down.

Following the barrage of big plays it gave up to lesser receivers on the Eagles, the Redskins secondary will have to be on top of its game this week. With a gimp Culliver and suspect safety play from Dashon Goldson and Trenton Robinson, this could prove difficult.

Jones is sure to draw bracket coverage, but the key to limiting his big plays in this one will be tackling in the open field.

Redskins Pass Rush vs. Atlanta Offensive Line

Wounded in the secondary, Washington will have to lean on its pass rush to stymie Matt Ryan and company. After underwhelming to start the year, the Skins tallied five sacks and eight quarterback hits against Bradford and the Eagles.

True, the Falcons offensive line has allowed just sick sacks. But keep this in mind: Prior to Week 4, Bradford had been one of the least pressured quarterbacks in the NFL. He had been sacked just twice. 

With a deep defensive line, in addition to the development of Trent Murphy and Smith opposite star linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, the team has the means to turn the tables on the Atlanta offensive line as well.

Matchup X-Factor

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Redskins X-Factor: Washington Running Game

The last thing Washington wants is a shootout. Ball control and defense has been the key to its early-season success.

It wasn't pretty at times in Week 4, but by riding their running game through its lulls, the Redskins didn't put it all on Cousins to win the game.

With the team needing to play keep-away from the Falcons' high-powered attack, Washington will have to institute a similar formula this time around.

While technically fifth in the NFL in rushing defense, Atlanta is vulnerable to the run. On the year, it is allowing 4.4 yards per carry, 27th in the NFL.

What does that tell you? Well, it's a lack of attempts, not the Falcons defense keeping opponents' rushing totals down. 

This shouldn't be a problem for the Skins, as they're second in the league in attempts. It would be nice to see Jones, Morris and Chris Thompson clicking all at once. But as we've seen thus far, the team can survive simply deferring to whichever back has the hot hand.

Prediction: Atlanta 27, Washington 13

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Washington has been a feel-good story early on. But now things get real. Starting here, three of the team's next four opponents sport one loss or less.

To come out of this stretch above water, the Redskins will have to display a level of consistency they've not yet shown.

Not only week to week, but half to half, Washington is unpredictable. With injuries rampant and inexperienced players in prominent roles, this isn't surprising.

Factor in the team's road woes, and you have a recipe for defeat.

Even with the NFL's top rushing attack, the team has struggled to score. Instead of touchdowns, the team has regularly had to settle for field goals in the red zone.

Against an Atlanta team averaging 34.3 points per game, this won't get it done. While improved, the Redskins simply don't have the assets on defense to bring the Falcons' scoring down to their level (19.5 points). 

Forced to play from behind, Washington will have little choice but to place more of the offense in Cousins' hands. As we've seen countless times, this scenario doesn't play out favorably for the Skins.

Capitalizing on Cousins' miscues, Atlanta will keep Washington at a sizeable distance and remain undefeated.