Reflections On The Skins Loss To The Cowboys

By Mark Bacon

The Cowboys owned the Redskins’ once again in their 31-26 Thanksgiving Day victory in Dallas. Washington had their chances. That’s something true in every one of their losses (aside from the Pittsburgh defeat) and the tie. But they came up short in key areas.

Slow start – One can’t help but wonder how this game would have turned out had the Redskins gotten off to a better start. The Cowboys moved the ball at a 10-years-per-play clip en route to their first touchdown. Washington needed to hit back, but instead got nothing. They got the ball inside the 20, then a penalty backed them up five yards, then Chris Thompson lost three more yards, then a holding penalty moved the ball back another 10 yards. Instead of having a shot at a manageable touchdown or field goal, the Redskins faced fourth-and-16 and had to settle for the 43-yard Hopkins field goal. But the late arrival of Morgan Moses on the kickoff protection unit (replacing an injured Brandon Scherff) forced the burning of a timeout and iced Hopkins. Not the way you want to open any game, let alone a divisional matchup with a red hot foe.

Abandoned the run – In their past three games, the Redskins offense has thrived because of balance. An ability to run the ball – and get chunks of yards on first downs – has opened up the playbook. But because of a slow start and a 17-6 halftime hole, coaches scrapped the run for a pass-heavy attack. Kirk Cousins certainly lit it up, throwing for 449 yards and three touchdowns, and he did a great job of getting rid of the ball to avoid taking sacks. Still, offense operates at its best when Washington remains committed to the run, but give the Cowboys credit for making it hard for the Redskins to get much of anything going on the ground. Rob Kelley was held to no gain once, and stopped for a loss three times. His carries: 3 yards, 0, 8, -1, 4, 4, 4, 8, 1, 2, -2, -2, 7, 1. Kelley didn’t run poorly or appear to miss on his keys. Dallas simply succeeded in making Washington’s offense one-dimensional.

Red zone problems – Yes, they returned. Washington was 2-for-5 in scoring opportunities inside the 20-yard line and paid for it. In their two games against Dallas, Washington is 5-for-11. Thursday night’s misses could have been avoided. On the first trip inside the 20, two Cowboys came unblocked and dropped Chris Thompson for a three-yard loss. On the second, Jordan Reed didn’t block cornerback Byron Jones, who wasn’t where Reed expected him. Dallas defensive backs did a good job of jamming the Redskins receivers the next play, and Kirk Cousins came under pressure and couldn’t make a good enough throw. More protection issues led to the missed opportunity on the next failed red zone trip. Gruden said there were things that he and his assistants and his players could have done better. He has said this for much of the year when Washington comes up short in the red zone. It’s perplexing because they have no trouble moving the ball and picking up key third downs. But they can’t consistently convert at the goal line.

Speed needs on defense – Thursday’s loss served as another reminder of Washington’s speed deficiency. Far too often, linebackers got to areas of the field a step — or two or three — too late. This offseason, Washington must go after at least one inside linebacker with better range and closing speed, an outside linebacker who plays better in space, an aggressive thumper of a strong safety, and a rangy free safety to clean up messes on the back end. But for now, coaches must find a solution at nickelback as well. Often, we appeared to be standing still in the defensive backfield against the Cowboy’s speed.

Hope remains – At 6-4-1, the Skins remain in position for the second of the two NFC wild-card spots. The rest of the schedule features three road games (at Arizona, Philadelphia and Chicago), and home games versus Carolina and the Giants. Thanks to a potent offense, the Redskins have been in every game since Week 2, so they should remain competitive down the stretch. The Cardinals, Eagles and Panthers all are struggling. The Redskins can pick up several more key victories before hosting the Giants in what looks like a very key game in Week 17.

Postscript - Skins tight end Jordan Reed, the team’s leading receiver, suffered a Grade 3 AC joint separation in his left shoulder, Coach Jay Gruden said on ESPN980 radio on Friday after the tight end underwent an MRI to determine the severity of his injury.

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