Biggest Takeaways from Washington Redskins' Week 14 Win

The Washington Redskins found out they have one of the NFL's few elite players at his position. They also have a pass rush that answered the call to improve, as well as a running game they can rely on in the clutch moments of the season.

All of those things combined to award the Redskins a 24-21 road win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field. It's Washington's first win on the road this season, a result that kept the team in pole position in the NFC East race.

Staying there will require eliminating the penalties that continue to plague units on both sides of the ball. It will also mean ironing out some of the deficiencies on defense, particularly against the run.

Failure to fix these issues will cost the Redskins when they entertain the dangerous Buffalo Bills in Week 15.

Pass Rush Makes Strides

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Washington's pass rush got home more than once this week.

The Burgundy and Gold entered this game knowing they need to improve their pass rush, according to Anthony Gulizia of the Washington Times. Three sacks and three more hits on Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, per ESPN.com, showed real improvement.

Most impressively, the pressure came from multiple spots. Ryan Kerrigan and Trent Murphy both registered sacks, while nose guard Terrance Knighton also got to Cutler.

Murphy's and Kerrigan's pressure fits with the recent surge in development and production from Washington's edge-rushers. They are making this 3-4 defense work.

But Knighton collapsing the pocket made the biggest difference.

Not only did he offset the loss of former Bears 3-technique Stephen Paea—who recently went on injured reserve, according to Stephen Czarda of the team's official site—but having Knighton puncture the middle to prevent quarterbacks from stepping up and away from pressure off the edges is how this pass rush is supposed to work.

If there's one concern, it's how often Washington defenders let Cutler escape the pocket and throw on the move. The veteran was very effective passing on the run. It's success Buffalo's dual-threat QB, Tyrod Taylor, can't be allowed to emulate.

Containing Taylor means rushing with discipline and maintaining sound pass-rushing lanes. That's the challenge for Kerrigan and Co. in Week 15.

Jordan Reed Now Among the League's Elite Tight Ends

Associated Press

Reed was in a dominant mood in the Windy City.

Nine catches, 120 yards and a touchdown. Just another day at the office for the breakout playmaker on the Redskins offense. Frankly, Jordan Reed has been threatening to join the ranks of the elite tight ends in football ever since he entered the NFL as a third-round pick in 2013.

Injuries have so often stunted his progress. But Reed is finally healthier and living up to the promise this year. He's hauled in 67 catches for 694 yards and seven scores, all career highs, through 11 games this season.

Washington head coach Jay Gruden applauded Reed's talent as a roving mismatch, per Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times: "[Reed is] a problem for a lot of people because man-to-man he’s obviously very good against a linebacker, safety or nickel[back]. He’s very good at reading zones and sitting them down and hooking it up. He’s a friendly target quite frankly."

The player himself credits experience at another position during his college days for his ability to consistently exploit coverage, per Zac Boyer of the Washington Times: "I used to play QB [in college], so pre-snap read, I try to figure out what the coverage is going to be—and that helps me find out who’s guarding me and the leverage they have on me so I can give them a little move or do what I need to do to get open."

But it's the growing respect he's earning outside Redskins Park that's really a sign of Reed's development into one of the league's best weapons. The Bears' Twitter account found its own creative way to express how much Reed dominated at Soldier Field, according to CSNMidAtlantic.com's Peter Hailey.

Reed is now the signature playmaker in Washington's passing game. He can continue his dominance against a Bills defense whose linebackers have had trouble matching up with tight ends and running backs this season.

Penalties a Problem That's Not Going Away

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Gruden has seen his team give away too many free yards this season.

One more week, another game and eight more penalty flags. The Redskins simply have to show more discipline when they take the field.

Sadly, there was precious little of that quality on display against the Bears. In fact, many of the flags received at Soldier Field actually threatened to take the game away from Washington.

After going 14-0 up following two of the crispest drives by the offense all season, the Redskins starting handing the initiative to the Bears.

It began after Trent Murphy had sacked Cutler en route to forcing and recovering the QB's fumble. But the chances of actually getting points off a takeaway for a rare occasion evaporated for Washington once right tackle Morgan Moses was flagged for holding.

Then there was safety Dashon Goldson's ridiculous personal foul for a hit on rookie running back Jeremy Langford so late he probably connected during Super Bowl week. This flag kept alive a drive that ended in Chicago's second touchdown of the day.

There was also an inexplicable delay of game coming out of a timeout and inconvenient false starts. These things don't happen to disciplined players held accountable for even the smallest mistakes in practice.

Gruden and his staff must do more to take a zero-tolerance stance to mental and procedural errors during the week.

Run Defense Still a Worry

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Matt Forte saw too many inviting rushing lanes against Washington's defense.

The Bears didn't run as much as they should have in Week 14. Granted, Washington's dominance of the clock served to take the running game away from them somewhat.

But when the Bears did keep the ball on the ground, their offense was effective. Chicago's 22 rushing attempts yielded 87 yards, four yards per carry and a touchdown.

Matt Forte and Langford were too often greeted by inviting rushing lanes thanks to a defense that's still doing the wrong things up front. Forte lugged the rock at 4.5 yards a clip and had the freedom of Soldier Field on his seven-yard scoring run in the final quarter.

Not one member of Washington's D-line won the battles along the line of scrimmage. No outside defender set the edge, and no safety maintained force.

These are the basics of solid run defense. They are also the things the Redskins don't do week to week. Fixing these problems has to be defensive coordinator Joe Barry's top priority ahead of facing Buffalo's third-ranked rushing attack.

Success on the Ground Key for the Rest of the Season

Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press

Washington got its ground game going again in Week 14.

For one week at least, the Redskins revived their running game. In the process, they achieved the balance that will be vital for their offense during the season's final three games.

Washington ran the ball 33 times in Chicago, gaining 99 yards and scoring a pair of touchdowns on the ground. As Ben Standig of Scout.com's Breaking Burgundy noted: "Three yards per carry won't get the job done most weeks, but by sticking with the ground game, Washington had enough balance to get the job done."

That last point is the critical one. Achieving symmetry in play-calling is the aim for any offense. A steady diet of running keeps a defense honest and creates opportunities off play action. It also takes a quarterback out of the firing line at crucial moments.

One of those moments came when Washington needed to ice the game following Robbie Gould's missed 50-yard field-goal attempt that would have tied the score. Then it was the turn of the running game to kill the clock and the Bears' chances of a late, late comeback.

Rookie Matt Jones duly obliged on a day when both he and veteran incumbent Alfred Morris were kept busy.

Washington will need its running game again in Week 15. Keeping the chains moving on the ground is the best way to stay out of unfavorable down-and-distance situations and avoid the sophisticated pressure packages Bills head coach Rex Ryan loves to design and unleash.

The Redskins removed a significant psychological hurdle with their first road win of 2015. That's going to be relevant with two of their final three games away from FedEx Field.

All statistics and player information courtesy of NFL.com unless otherwise stated.

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