Biggest Takeaways from Washington Redskins' Week 13 Loss

Losing by three at home to a bitter rival on Monday Night Football could be the death knell for the Washington Redskins' playoff chances. That will depend largely on how the team's players and coaches respond to the lessons learned during the 19-16 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys.

So the emphasis this week has to be on picking up the blitz. Aside from improving pass protection, the play-calling on offense must show more dedication to pushing the ball long through the air. Both things will demand more from quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Away from the passing game, the Redskins still need to do more to establish the run each week. It's a commitment that must show itself in calling more rushing attempts as well as stitching those calls together with some regularity.

Find out the biggest takeaways for the Burgundy and Gold following the most disappointing loss of the season.

Kirk Cousins Has to Recognize and Adjust to Protection Better

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Cousins' command of the line of scrimmage and playbook was poor.

As a consistent critic of Robert Griffin III, it's easy for me to say 2012's second-overall pick would bear a hefty portion of the blame for the way the Dallas defense routinely obliterated Washington's protection schemes.

That's how it went for RG3 when he was benched after taking a beating against the Detroit Lions in the preseason. That's how it has to go for Cousins after Week 13.

Griffin's replacement never reacted to the blitz looks the Cowboys showed him. It was on Cousins to see safety Barry Church ready to rush off the edge on almost every early down. It was on No. 8 to audible out of the stretch plays run right at those safety blitzes.

It was also on Cousins to see interior linebackers Sean Lee and Rolando McClain lurking in the interior gaps, ready to blitz the middle. It was on the ex-Michigan State man to make sure center Josh LeRibeus saw the pressure and was ready to react accordingly. It was on Cousins to make sure his running back was close enough to the line and aligned on the right side of the ball to pick up the blitzing linebacker.

This stuff isn't easy, especially against a sophisticated array of blitzes like the scheme the Cowboys unleashed at FedEx Field. But responding to pressure-heavy formations and adjusting calls and alignments accordingly is essential work for any starting quarterback.

Cousins couldn't do it, the main reason he averaged just 5.7 yards per pass, according to CBS Sports' Will Brinson. He also "generated few interesting drives," as noted by Scout.com and Breaking Burgundy's Ben Standig.

He wasn't always helped by those around him, nor by the men calling plays from the sideline. But Cousins' hesitant performance proved very costly in the season's pivotal moment.

He can expect to be tested on the road by the Chicago Bears in Week 14. Head coach John Fox and D-coordinator Vic Fangio will look at this film and design a bevy of complex blitzes to test Cousins' pre-snap recognition skills.

Offensive Line a Letdown

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Protection in front of Cousins crumbled all night.

If Cousins was negligible, offensive line coach Bill Callahan may have been the game's biggest culprit. His young and inexperienced front five was totally unprepared for the myriad of aggressive tactics the Cowboys defense unleashed.

What should disturb the Redskins is how much inside knowledge may have influenced the Dallas game plan. After all, Callahan held the same position with the Cowboys in 2014, when his line was victimized by the blitz.

In fact, Washington proved that point on a Monday night in Week 8 last season, logging five sacks, with four coming via blitzing defensive backs and linebackers. If that spoke to a weakness in Callahan's scheme and coaching, Dallas defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli certainly knew how to exploit it.

His defense logged a trio of sacks on Cousins, plus six more hits, according to ESPN.com. Running back Chris Thompson felt like knowledge of the Callahan way certainly helped the Cowboys, per CBS Sports' Brinson: "They know our scheme of course. You know Coach [Bill] Callahan just came from over there. So I think that's one thing on how they were able to get a step up on us."

LeRibeus, whose inability to adjust protection to blitz looks left him exposed all night, echoed a similar sentiment, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post: “They had a few things game-planned for us. They sent probably a little more pressure than usual, but we’ve got to pick it up."

For a coach with such a lofty reputation, Callahan sure seems to have a fairly recurring and familiar Achilles' heel. His line was a major letdown this week.

It won't get any easier in Week 14. The Bears boast a useful contingent of pass-rushers, including Pernell McPhee, Willie Young, Lamarr Houston and rookie Eddie Goldman. It could be another rough outing for Cousins and Callahan.

Alfred Morris Taken Out of the Game Too Quickly

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Morris was needlessly left out.

Alfred Morris hardly started out in inspired form, but it was still a surprise to see him relegated to the sidelines so quickly. The veteran who came up with some clutch runs to help beat the New York Giants in Week 12 was reduced to a spectator for most of the night, as rookie Matt Jones was deemed the hot hand.

ESPN's John Keim summed up what another miserable game for Morris means for his tough season:

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He finished the game with only 12 yards on six carries and did not play in the second half. Rookie Matt Jones was only slightly more effective but you still have to wonder: Does Morris have just one more home game left in his Redskins career? It just hasn’t been the season he hoped to have entering free agency. He also missed a blitz pickup on the first play of the game, leading to a sack.

"

Half a dozen carries is nowhere close to enough for a back who has to build momentum and generally gets stronger as the game goes on. That's not to say more attempts for Morris would have changed the outcome of the game, but why leave it open to debate?

The Redskins have a one-two punch in the backfield. At least they should have. But getting the most out of the tandem means actually using it. Yet, it's hard to do that when you run the ball 26 times, compared with 37 rushing attempts the week before.

A steady diet of rushing would have run the Cowboys out of their blitz-crazed scheme. This speaks to the core problem with Washington's ground game this season. Coaches aren't stringing together running calls often enough. A rush here and there, sprinkled very selectively around multiple passing attempts, leaves no chance to establish any real rhythm, something every ground attack needs.

Using both backs to wear down a defense makes sense. Randomly assigning one or the other the role of main workhorse doesn't. Featuring every weapon in their backfield rotation will certainly be the Redskins' best way of undermining a Bears' defense ranked 29th against the run.

Lack of Deep Passing Hurt the Offense

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Jackson's skill as a deep threat was tragically underused.

If the running game would have deterred the Dallas blitz, striking deep through the air would have turned the scheme on its head and created big plays for Washington.

But Cousins rarely forced the ball vertically. His longest completion was the 28-yard scoring connection with DeSean Jackson in the fourth quarter. Yet, where was Jackson before then?

Never mind DJax, where were Jordan Reed and Pierre Garcon before that? Garcon caught five balls for 54 yards, including a 23-yarder, but the Redskins needed completions of 30-40 yards to back the Cowboys off.

Thanks to the blitz, Cousins got gun shy. He fell into the trap of playing within himself and getting restrained by the limits of the offense.

Part of the blame for that must go on head coach Jay Gruden and offensive coordinator Sean McVay. With receivers as good as Garcon and Jackson, they should have trusted Cousins to stretch the field.

Contrary to popular belief, it's something he's proven he can do, especially in recent weeks. He connected with Jackson on a 56-yard score against the Carolina Panthers in Week 11. The same combination produced a 63-yard touchdown against the Giants.

If the Bears are as aggressive as the Dallas defense, Gruden and McVay must let Cousins and his receivers off the leash.

Rough Edges of the Secondary a Concern

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Washington's secondary was burned for too many big plays.

The Redskins have worked miracles with a patchwork secondary most of the season. Defensive backs coach Perry Fewell has taped together a group that's only allowed one 300-yard passer all year.

Yet, while Matt Cassel only threw for 222 yards on Monday night, the amount of big plays he hit and created rate as a concern.

While Cousins was reluctant to take long shots, Cassel got the Cowboys rolling once he started throwing deep. He connected with Terrance Williams for 38 yards and found Dez Bryant for 42.

But it wasn't just the actual gains. Cassel's vertical heaves drew more than one penalty flag from isolated Washington defensive backs.

Chicago OC Adam Gase will surely have taken note. He'll be eager to unleash Alshon Jeffery deep in Week 14.

There's a lot of wreckage to sift through after the Cowboys left town with a W. But fixing the offensive line has to be the priority. With Cousins hit and harried all night and the running game snuffed out at source, the offense collapsed.

If the same thing happens in the Windy City, the Redskins will lose more ground in the NFC East race.

All statistics and player information via NFL.com, unless otherwise stated.

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