Washington Redskins vs. Carolina Panthers: What's the Game Plan for Washington?

The Washington Redskins have work left to do to rise above .500. But given the current state of the NFC East, an 8-8 record is all it may take to earn a playoff berth.

To accomplish said feat, though, the team will have to register a road win at some point. Or, at the very least, a winning streak. Washington has lost 11 of its last 12 road games, and it has failed to string consecutive wins together this season.

A trip to play the undefeated Carolina Panthers will give the team a chance to end both dubious streaks.

Will the Redskins end their futility?

Let's find out. Here is the Week 11 game plan for Washington.

Offensive Game Plan

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By all accounts, Washington had its most complete performance of the season in Week 10. The team had 510 yards of total offense, with the passing game (301 yards) and rushing attack (209 yards) finally clicking simultaneously. The Redskins had no turnovers and produced nine plays of 20-plus yards. 

These all stand as positive developments, but let's not forget who the opponent was. The Saints defense is historically bad.

In allowing the Redskins to surpass both 200 yards rushing and 300 yards passing, in addition to surrendering 8.9 yards per play, New Orleans landed itself in rare territory. It became just the sixth team since 1970 to allow an opposing offense to hit all three marks in a single game, per Chase Stuart of the New York Times.

Matched against an actual NFL-caliber defense this week, Washington's first order of business will be establishing a running game.

The Panthers rank sixth in scoring defense and ninth in total defense, but they are vulnerable against the run. Opponents on average have tallied 103.4 yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry on their defense.

In particular, Carolina has been susceptible to outside runs attacking the left side of its defense. According to Football Outsiders, the Panthers are allowing 4.8 yards per carry on such runs, 29th in the NFL.

Given the presence of defensive tackles Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short up the middle, and the absence of defensive end Charles Johnson on the outside, this outcome isn't surprising. 

To capitalize on this shortcoming, the Skins will need both right guard Brandon Scherff and right tackle Morgan Moses to do a better job of sealing the edge. Washington's backs are averaging just 3.8 yards per carry on outside runs behind this duo, and just 3.0 yards per rush on runs to the right in general, per ESPN.com.

Provided the running game finds its footing, quarterback Kirk Cousins will have to make the Panthers pay when an additional defender is brought up to stop the run.

While he was successful last week doing so, throws short of the sticks won't net Cousins the big plays he'll seek here.

Carolina's defense surrenders an NFL-low 6.0 yards per attempt. A sure-tackling team, it's also No. 7 in the league in yards-after-catch allowed per game (109.7), according to Sporting Charts.

This makes throwing over the top of the defense Cousins' best option here. Six of the eight receptions north of 30 yards registered against the Panthers traveled at least 25 yards in the air, per ESPN's John Keim.

Cousins has struggled to connect on throws traveling more than 21 yards (5-of-30) in 2015. But as he demonstrated last season (10-of-23), he is a capable passer downfield, h/t ESPN.com. 

Defensive Game Plan

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Cam Newton is the driving force of Carolina's offense, but not in the typical manner you'd expect from a quarterback.

Aided by Newton's 366 yards on the ground, the Panthers sport the NFL's No. 4 rushing offense. With just four gains of 20 yards or more, the team owes its rushing output to head coach Ron Rivera's staunch commitment to the run. Carolina is first in the NFL in attempts.

Depending on your outlook, this method could be to Washington's advantage. While it owns one of the worst run defenses in the league (135.3 yards per game), the team's struggles can be traced to the big plays it surrenders.

The Skins have allowed seven runs of 20-plus yards (19th in the NFL) and three runs of 40-plus yards (30th). With 56 percent of the Panthers' rushing attempts coming behind the guard and center, per Football Outsiders, Washington should have more success corralling their running game with the strength of its defense on the inside.

This is assuming, of course, nose tackle Terrance Knighton plays. He's listed as questionable on the team's injury report with migraines, per CBSSports.com.

In regards to slowing Newton in the passing game, it'll be important for Redskins defensive backs to keep their man in front of them.

Carolina is able to overcome Newton's shaky accuracy (56.3 percent) because of his ability to accumulate yardage in large chunks. He has eight completions of 30-plus yards, with four touchdowns and only one interception.

By forcing Newton to engineer long drives, Washington can capitalize on a Panthers offense converting just 36.2 percent of third downs. 

Key Players and Matchups

WR DeSean Jackson vs. CB Josh Norman

In short order, Norman has emerged as one of the top corners in the NFL. Norman has 14 passes defended, four interceptions and two touchdowns this season.

As Rotoworld's Evan Silva notes, the metrics also back his stellar play in 2015:

"

#Lions Darius Slay is PFF's No. 2-graded CB over the last 5 weeks. Behind only Josh Norman overall & only Tyrann Mathieu in coverage grade.

— Evan Silva (@evansilva) November 17, 2015"

Similar to Richard Sherman, the 6'0", 195-pound Norman uses his size to stymie wideouts at the line of scrimmage and his length to prevent quarterbacks from dropping the ball in over the top.

Lacking big gains through the air, the Redskins will look to Jackson to deliver in the big-play department. The hope is, with Jackson drawing defenders deep, Cousins will have more room to operate in the short-to-intermediate area of Carolina's defense—his comfort zone.

TE Jordan Reed vs. Carolina Secondary

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The kryptonite to Carolina's pass defense in 2015 has been the tight end. On average, opposing tight ends have been targeted with over eight passes per game against this unit, according to Football Outsiders.

As ESPN's John Keim notes, the Panthers allow 13.4 yards per reception to tight ends, 31st in the league. 

A favorite target of Cousins' all season, tight end Jordan Reed will have to keep up this trend. With 25 of his 41 receptions going for first downs on the year, he'll be the key to solving Carolina's third-down defense (eighth-best in the NFL).

Redskins Secondary vs. TE Greg Olsen

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In wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin's absence, tight end Greg Olsen has emerged as the alpha in Carolina's passing game. He's the team leader in receptions, yards, touchdowns and first downs.

Knowing this, Olsen will have to be the focal point of defensive coordinator Joe Barry's game plan. Similar to how he defended Rob Gronkowski, look for Barry to send multiple defenders Olsen's way.

Double coverage on Olsen will leave Newton one-on-one matchups on the outside to exploit. But with the likes of Ted Ginn Jr. and rookie Devin Funchess serving as Newton's alternative options, these are matchups the Redskins can live with now that Bashaud Breeland and Chris Culliver are healthy.

Prediction

This is the type of game the Redskins were built to win. General manager Scot McCloughan put an emphasis on running the football and stopping the run during his first offseason in charge. 

Through nine games, injuries and underperformance have kept his vision from coming to fruition. Unable to exert its will in this area, Washington's production has been dependent on its opponent.

Put a porous defense or offense in front of it—the Saints and Miami Dolphins, for example—and the team can look like world-beaters on occasion. When opposed by units on the other end of the spectrum, the word abysmal about sums up the Redskins' production. 

In Carolina, the Redskins will get the latter, but not the former. And that will serve as the difference. Whatever gains can be made against the Panthers' middle-of-the-road run defense will be glossed over by Washington's inability to stop the run.

Carolina isn't explosive on the ground, but given the amount of times it runs the football, big gains will be available late in the game against a fatigued defensive front.

Riding the coattails of an opportunistic defense, the Redskins will put a scare into the NFC's lone unbeaten team. But once again, they'll fail to register a win on the road.

Prediction: Panthers 23, Redskins 22.