Buffalo Bills vs. Washington Redskins: Washington Grades, Notes and Quotes
Extending their run atop the NFC East to four weeks, the Washington Redskins brought a swift end to the Buffalo Bills' playoff hopes in the form of a 35-25 win in Week 15.
Behind touchdowns on its first three possessions, and a goal-line stand late, Washington held a 21-0 lead going into the break.
In total, the Skins were actually outgained 452-431 in total yards. Nonetheless, with the win, the team registered its first back-to-back wins in over a calendar year.
Moving past the recap, here are Washington's postgame grades, notes and quotes.
Position Grades
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Quarterback: A+
As he's done on occasion at home, Kirk Cousins had a banner day. He completed his first nine passes and connected with seven different receivers for 319 yards passing.
Extending his touchdown streak to 14 games, Cousins accounted for five total touchdowns. At the close of Washington's home slate, his split at Fed Ex Field is 16 touchdowns to two interceptions.
Running Backs: B+
Bouncing back from a missed opportunity in Week 14—the Chicago Bears' No. 29-ranked run defense—the Redskins found success on the ground against the Bills.
The team finished with 123 yards on 27 carries. Breaking away from a recent trend, Washington had Alfred Morris do the heavy lifting in the backfield. On a team-high 14 carries, he churned out 84 yards with a 48-yard romp standing as the highlight.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: A
For much of the afternoon, it was DeSean Jackson and Jordan Reed's show. Picking up where he left off last week, Reed caught all seven of his targets and finished with 84 yards and two touchdowns.
Fully recovered from the hamstring injury that cost him the first half of the season, Jackson had his best game of the year.
He had six receptions, a team-high 153 yards receiving and a 77-yard touchdown.
Offensive Line: A-
This was the eighth consecutive game Washington fielded the same starting lineup up front, and it showed. Against Buffalo's talented, but underachieving, front seven, the Skins' reshuffled offensive line had its way.
Cousins was sacked once and was hit only three times. It didn't consistently pave lanes in the running game, but with the team averaging 5.0 yards a rush, it's not as if the bottom line was altered here.
Defensive Line/Linebackers: B
It was a mixed bag from Washington's front seven. On one end, it lived in the backfield.
The Redskins had five sacks, eight quarterback hits and seven tackles for loss.
Now for the negative: Buffalo rung up 240 yards rushing! Mostly via scramble, as Tyrod Taylor had 79 yards rushing.
Taking advantage of an overaggressive defense, backup running back Mike Gillislee broke free for a 60-yard touchdown.
After allowing 7.7 yards per attempt, there's certainly room for improvement here for the Redskins.
Defensive Backs: B
Similar to the defensive front, finishing plays was problematic for the secondary. Or the game, rather. Taylor's 235 passing yards were almost exclusively compiled in the second half.
Taylor owed his turnaround to big plays. He connected with Sammy Watkins for touchdowns spanning 20 and 48 yards, respectively.
On the game, Watkins tallied five receptions for 111 yards.
Even with these slip-ups, you never questioned whether Washington was in control.
Special Teams: D+
The only real stain on an otherwise stellar performance from the Skins was special teams play.
The team averaged just 16.7 yards on three kick returns. This is in addition to a muffed punt from Jamison Crowder. It effectively took points off the board with the fumble occurring inside Buffalo's 40-yard line.
Coaching: A
It's a thing of beauty when excellent execution and preparation are meshed together. That, my friends, was on display in this contest.
Avoiding the lulls it had last week, Washington's offense was in control from start to finish. Head coach Jay Gruden and offensive coordinator Sean McVay kept head coach Rex Ryan off balance all afternoon. And the result was 431 yards of total offense.
On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Joe Barry used seven men in coverage throughout the contest to stymie Taylor in the passing game.
Even with the defense packing it in a bit early, there isn't much to complain about on the coaching front.
Important Note No. 1: Cousins Making History
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Two games remain in Cousins' first full year as the starting quarterback. But already he's landed himself in the record books.
Behind his sixth 300-yard outing of the year, he now holds the franchise record for 300-yard passing games in a season. There's more.
Having posted his fifth rushing touchdown of the season, per ESPN's John Keim, Cousins is second in team history for rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback.
And if you're just looking at the present, he's second to Cam Newton in rushing touchdowns at his position.
With the frequency he's turning in these types of performances, the question is no longer if Cousins will be Washington's quarterback in 2016, but at what price?
Important Note No. 2: Reed Reaching New Heights
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Two games running now, Reed has caught every pass (16) thrown in his direction. And with more frequency, he's coming down with these receptions in the end zone.
To put this in perspective, he had all of three touchdowns in the first 20 games of his pro career.
His health and lackluster blocking are still weaknesses. But evidenced by his nine touchdowns this season, the third-year pro has established himself as a building block for the future.
And to think, if not for Niles Paul's injury, Reed doesn't even enter the season as the starter.
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Quote No. 1: Injuries Along Offensive Line
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Just as the offensive line was coming together, injury strikes. Both Morgan Moses and Josh LeRibeus left the game with injuries.
Moses injured his left foot on Morris' 48-yard run near the end of the first half. According CSN's Tarik El-Bashir, Moses expressed concern over the injury.
"Morgan Moses said his left foot injury concerned him b/c it's same foot he hurt as a rookie. Says this a mid-foot sprain, tho, not Lisfranc," he said.
Knowing pass protection was one of the keys to victory back in Week 4, the status of both players looms large ahead of next week's tilt with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Quote No. 2: Healthy Jackson Making an Impact
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After showing it in spurts in previous games, Jackson was his vintage self for the entire game in Week 15.
He was a big-play machine, with three of his six receptions going for more than 25 yards.
Speaking postgame, per Mike Jones of the Washington Post, Ryan didn't mince words in detailing Jackson's impact.
"The 1 wideout (Jackson) makes a big difference for them; there's no question about it. I never thought he was Jerry Rice but I guess I was wrong," he said.
The numbers back Ryan's claim. Coinciding with Jackson's return to the lineup, Cousins has taken off. He has 13 of his 18 touchdowns in the past seven games, with just three interceptions.
With the big-play target in tow, his average yards per attempt have also increased. During this stretch, Cousins has eclipsed 9.6 yards per attempt in four games.
Going back to Philly, duplicating last year's output—nine receptions, 243 yards and one touchdown—is next on the agenda for Jackson.
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