Washington Redskins vs. Atlanta Falcons: What's the Game Plan for Washington?

The Washington Redskins failed their first test. But with a date against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5, they will yet again have a chance to validate their surprising start to the season.

At the quarter mark of the 2015 NFL season, Washington finds itself in a three-way tie atop the NFC East. To stay there, though, it will have to defeat the undefeated Falcons. In their history, the Redskins are only 1-4 against the Falcons, with their lone win coming in 2003. 

With the odds stacked against it, what game plan can Washington utilize to reverse this trend?

Let's find out.

Offensive Game Plan

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Rightfully so in lieu of his past, Kirk Cousins has been handled with kid gloves in 2015. In the first quarter of the season, Washington sported one of the more balanced offenses in the NFL. The team had 123 rushes to 153 passing attempts.

And of those attempts, many have been of the safe variety. The Skins are in the bottom third of the league in yards per attempt (6.6 yards). According to Sporting Charts, Cousins' passes on average only travel 3.6 yards past the line of scrimmage.

Against the Falcons, this won't fly.

Let's not get it twisted—the running game still needs to be the focal point of Washington's offense. But unlike the previous four contests, Cousins will have to make plays down the field.

With DeSean Jackson out, teams have routinely loaded the box against the Redskins running game. And to date, they haven't paid for it. Washington has one completion of 40-plus yards and just 10 completions of 20-plus yards, which is 28th in the NFL. 

While it benefits the Skins to win the time-of-possession battle, it'll be difficult for the team to match Atlanta's potent offensive attack if it's forced to nickel-and-dime its way down the field. 

It's worth noting that Jordan Reed, Pierre Garcon and Jackson are all listed on the team's injury report, per ESPN.com. But save the entire trio missing this contest, Washington has to capitalize on the Falcons owning the 29th-ranked pass defense.

Defensive Game Plan

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Consider the second half of last week's matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles as a precursor of things to come for Washington's secondary.

Sam Bradford—of all quarterbacks—took the top off the Redskins defense with four completions of 30-plus yards. 

Known for his deep ball, unlike Bradford, Matt Ryan will be licking his chops to test Washington's thin secondary in light of this. Ryan is second in the NFL in passing yards and seventh in yards per attempt (8.4).

For this reason, the fate of the Redskins defense rests with the pass rush. If given time to throw, there's little doubt Ryan will carve up their secondary (cue Week 3 Eli Manning tape).

Being that Ryan plays behind a makeshift offensive front, though, there's hope for Washington to avoid this fate.

Atlanta has only given up six sacks on the year. But this is more a reflection of its opponents than any improvement up front. All four of its opponents are in the bottom third in the league in sacks, with six being the high mark. 

The Skins got off to a slow start in this department, but their pass rush came to life against the Eagles. The team had five sacks and eight hits on Bradford.

Taking into account Ryan's numbers (52 percent passer) against the blitz, per ESPN.com, it'll be to defensive coordinator Joe Barry's benefit to send additional rushers.

In addition to Washington's No. 2-ranked run defense living up to its billing and neutralizing Devonta Freeman, this will be the team's blueprint to success.

Key Players and Matchups

Washington Secondary vs. WR Julio Jones

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As Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell demonstrated in Week 1, defending Julio Jones is not a one-man job. In light of top cornerback Chris Culliver's performance in Week 4, this is especially true for the Skins.

Limited by a knee injury, Culliver was beaten deep by Miles Austin and Riley Cooper. It's not certain Culliver will even play in this one. But regardless of whether he does, it'll be important for Washington to throw a variety of defenders in Jones' direction, particularly Bashaud Breeland.

The Skins can use bracket coverage against Jones to limit the plays he makes down the field. Knowing how effective he is after the catch, though, the true key to containing Jones will be the defense's ability to make tackles in the open field.

Redskins Running Game vs. Falcons Front Seven

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It'll take a true team effort to slow down Atlanta's No. 5-ranked offense. Wounded on defense, Washington could use the help of its vaunted running game to play keep-away from the Falcons' high-powered attack.

While 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.

With it only being a lack of attempts that's kept the Falcons run defense highly ranked, Matt Jones and Alfred Morris should find success on the ground. And behind it, Cousins will be provided opportunities to attack Atlanta defensive backs in one-on-one coverage.

Prediction

While much improved across the board, Washington has yet to exercise its demons on the road. Under head coach Jay Gruden, the team has—count it—one win on the road in nine tries.

To be frank, the Georgia Dome isn't a likely venue for this trend to change.

True, with a 3-5 record at home the past two seasons, some luster has been taken off the home-field advantage Atlanta typically enjoys. But there's no denying Ryan's success at home, even in defeat.

Going back to 2013, Ryan has 31 touchdowns to 13 interceptions at home. In comparison, he has 29 touchdowns to 21 interceptions on the road during the same time span. 

Bringing a banged-up secondary into this contest, this doesn't bode well for Washington. 

Worsening matters is an offense that's struggled to put points on the board. The Redskins' top-ranked rushing offense and proficiency on third down (46.8 percent) haven't translated into many touchdowns. At 19.5 points per game, the team is 23rd in the league in scoring.

The Falcons average 34.3 points per game.

Even with Atlanta sporting a suspect defense, it's hard to envision Washington making up the 14-point gap between these teams solely on offense. With that said, it'll need a herculean effort from its defense to make this a game.

But it won't get it. Neither Nick Foles nor Ryan Tannehill is quarterbacking the Falcons. This is important because only in Weeks 1 and 2 has the Redskins secondary held up in coverage. 

With Ryan finding holes in the secondary, Atlanta will have Washington on its heels from the onset and force it out of its comfort zone.

Chalk it all up, and another road loss will be on the docket for the Skins.

Final Score: Falcons 27, Redskins 13