The Washington Redskins lost their season opener to the Houston Texans, 17-6. Below are a few observations from the game.
– Robert Griffin III had a pretty decent game except for a few things here and there. On the hand-off to Alfred Morris that resulted in a fumble, Griffin appeared to trip on Kory Lichtensteiger feet as he was moving sideways to hand the ball off. The key here is that Griffin should have just fallen to the ground, not hop forward and try to force the ball into Alfred Morris’ hands. It was a mistake on Griffin’s behalf.
On the long pass attempt to Pierre Garcon in the second half: Griffin put the ball exactly where it was supposed to be…problem was Garcon jumped too soon.
Griffin’s stat line: 29-37 for 267 yards and 0 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. Griffin threw his last four passes incomplete when the team fell behind by two scores and needed to air it out…that means before that point he was 29 of 33…not a bad day, but not a winning day either. This loss should not be fully blamed on Griffin though.
– Niles Paul has got to learn to keep two hands on the ball and brace at all times. Paul’s fumble was the second fumble in a row inside the 10-yard line for the Redskins and came on a long pass play.
– If you take away the two fumbles inside the ten, the offense would have surely put points on the board…that is why cutting down on turnovers should be the top area of concern during practice this week.
– Alfred Morris continues to be the work-horse who doesn’t get worked enough…not sure when that will happen, but the Redskins need to feature him more. Fourteen carries is not enough for a man who is averaging 6.5 per carry as of now.
Morris still needs work holding onto the ball, he almost lost a fumble early on, but replay showed he was down.
– The Redskins need to get better at pass protection…granted they won’t face JJ Watt every week but it was obvious that Tyler Polumbus could not contain someone of Watt’s talent-level. It wasn’t just Watt who was able to make plays though as linebackers Brian Cushing and Brooks Reed both were able to blow things up at the line of scrimmage.
– The Redskins special teams unit had some spots where they looked improved as far as it pertains to actually returning the ball. But they also had an extra point blocked, a punt blocked that resulted in a touchdown for Houston, and had a few penalties as well. Basically, they cost the team eight points.
– On the one play that Houston gained a lot of yards on, Bacarri Rambo made a bad cut, and it just so happened that DeAndre Hopkins cut the other way almost instantly… the end result was a touchdown. Brandon Meriweather doesn’t give that play up.
– Houston’s defense has been solid for years, and they showed today that this year will be no different. That being said the Redskins let this one get away from them, this game was very winnable deep into the fourth quarter.
– Jordan Reed (hamstring) and Barry Cofield (high ankle sprain) both left the game and did not return.
– Jason Hatcher got his first sack as a Redskins player and showed he is going to be a valuable asset in other situations as well.
– Ryan Kerrigan caused the fumble that Keenan Robinson recovered in the second half…Robinson looked impressive in his first game as the new middle linebacker for the Redskins.
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