Redskins Notes & Quotes: Redskins vs Bills 12-20-2015
Below is a collection of notes & quotes from the Washington Redskins vs Buffalo Bills game played on December 20, 2015. The Redskins won the game 35-25 to improve to 7-7 on the year.
GAME NOTES:
- The Redskins finished their regular season home slate with a 6-2 home record, the team’s best since 2005 (6-2).
- Quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 22-of-28 passes for 319 yards and tied his career high with four passing touchdowns. He also added a 13-yard rushing touchdown.
- Cousins finished the game with a passer rating of 153.7, one-tenth of a point shy of recording a perfect passer rating for the second time this season.
- The 300-yard passing game was Cousins’ sixth of the season, breaking the Redskins’ previous team record of five (Sonny Jurgensen in 1967, Jay Schroeder in 1986, Mark Rypien in 1989).
- With his 14th completion of the day – an eight-yard gain to running back Matt Jones – Cousins broke the Redskins’ franchise record for pass completions in a single season (327, Jason Campbell in 2009). Cousins finishes Week 15 with 336 completions this season.
- Cousins extended his career-long streak of games with a touchdown pass to 14. He is the first Redskins quarterback to open a season with a touchdown in 14 consecutive games since Pro Football Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen in 1967.
- Cousins became only the fourth Redskins quarterback since 1950 to record at least four passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in a single game, joining Trent Green (Nov. 22, 1998 vs. Arizona), Rypien (Nov. 10, 1991 vs. Atlanta) and Norm Snead (Oct. 28, 1962 at the New York Giants).
- Cousins finishes the regular season home slate having thrown 232 consecutive pass attempts at home without an interception dating back to Week 1 vs. Miami, the longest such home streak in team history according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
- In eight home games this season, Cousins completed 192-of-257 passes (74.7 percent) for 2,170 yards with 16 touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 117.0.
- With the rushing touchdown, Cousins broke a tie with Eddie LeBaron (four in 1955) and Joe Theismann (four in 1979) to take sole possession of second-most rushing touchdowns in a single season by a Redskins quarterback in team history.
- Running back Alfred Morris recorded a career-long 48-yard run in the second quarter. His previous career long came in Week 6 of the 2013 season at Dallas (45 yards).
- Linebacker Preston Smith recorded the fourth sack of his rookie season in the fourth quarter.
- Defensive end Ricky Jean Francois recorded his first sack as a member of the Redskins in the second quarter, the ninth sack of his career.
- One play later, defensive end Jason Hatcher recorded a nine-yard sack, his second of the season.
- DeSean Jackson now has 20 career touchdowns of 60+ yards. Only Jerry Rice (23) & Devin Hester (21) have more.
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PLAYER QUOTES:
Terrance Knighton:
On if the energy in the stadium was different:
“They’re ready for playoffs. We just want to give it to them and get a home game here. We’re taking it one game at a time. Obviously, you see the big picture but you’ve just got to focus on the task at hand and right now, we’ve got a short week versus a good team that’s in the same position as we are. We’ve got to get a lot of rest and turn our focus to Philly real quick.”
On the team’s ability to disrupt the Bills’ offensive line:
“Compliments to our offense for starting fast, starting the game, making them play from behind and allowing us to play and get off the ball and rush the passer. Our offense is playing complementary football and that’s really it.”
On the goal line stand:
“That’s what I do, man. They challenge me, three plays in a row and they’ll learn.”
On if ‘Capital Punishment’ is back at full strength:
“Yeah, we’re working. Like I’ve said, we’re playing for something bigger now. We’re still in the driver’s seat. Obviously, you’ve heard the cheers now [following the Giants’ loss in Carolina]. We’ve got to go on the road and handle our business and just respond.”
Kirk Cousins:
On winning consecutive games for the first time all season:
“It’s great to get to 7-7. We finished 6-2 at home. It says a lot about our play at home and our crowd. They were phenomenal today. Winning two in a row is good. We just keep taking steps forward. I’ve said all along it’s a process. I don’t think everything gets fixed in one week or one day. But we just keep staying at it. I think we’re heading in the right direction and that’s encouraging.”
On his touchdown run going right instead of the left:
“It was designed to go to the halfback, so it would’ve been shoveled to my left, but the ball would’ve been caught going to the right side of the center. The cut, I’m sure wasn’t a LeSean McCoy cut, I guess it was enough. I’d have to watch the film, but I’m sure there was some pretty good blocking for me to be able to get 13 yards down there. I don’t think I would’ve made anybody miss. Credit the guys around me for making that happen.”
On making throws that allow the receivers to make one-on-one plays:
“I think we did a good job today of giving guys opportunities to make plays. I think it’s not just me, it’s something you develop between you and the receivers as you learn the offense as a whole. The continuity you have is you play with the same receivers over time and you play in the same system over time, it enables you to be more and more successful and puts you in a better position. I think that’s a credit to playing with these guys over several weeks, starting to pick up. People forget I was playing with the twos and the threes – not the ones – until a week before the season started. I wasn’t exactly working with those ones and building a rapport with them all offseason.”
DeSean Jackson:
On his touchdown catch:
“It was a great throw by Kirk [Cousins]. I actually saw the defender. He was a little over top of me a little bit and Kirk threw a great back shoulder [throw] for myself. The defender slipped and I saw my guy in front of me and I ran around him. He tried to trip me up, but I kicked out of there. It was big play coming out the half. We needed that to spark us up and get momentum and like I said throughout the game, that’s what I live to do – spark it up, get big plays and get the momentum and everything going like that.”
On building trust with QB Kirk Cousins:
“With a young quarterback who doesn’t have as many reps as you would think or you would want, it really just comes down to trusting. There are interceptions at times, things like that can shy off a quarterback. But he’s just doing a great job of staying with it. That’s the biggest thing I can say, because anything can happen. You can try and throw deep and if it doesn’t happen, or if you see defenders out there, I can see how that might spook a guy. And you know, a guy doesn’t want to make mistakes, a guy doesn’t want to turn the ball over. I understand everything. That’s why being a wide receiver in this league, just being patient with him and telling him to trust it… Like I say all the time, the worst thing that can happen is you can overthrow me. But, as far as interceptions go, if the ball is a completable ball, if I can’t get it, the defender’s not going to get it. And like I said the worst thing that can happen is overthrow me. But just really having confidence and trusting each other is something we try to do.”
On his injury:
“I mean it’s a bruised knee. I didn’t think that was going to go away as soon as I wanted it to go away, but I just tried to manage the pain. I padded my knee up before the game. I fell on it one time this game, and that made it a little sore but besides that I’m just competing and doing everything I need to do to help my team win games. It’s not a life or death situation, it’s just a bruised knee. Going into next week I’ll be all right.”
On anticipating next week’s game against Philadelphia:
“Biggest thing I can say is that depending on what happens tonight with the Eagles game, we have a game to win. We just saw the Giants lose, and everybody was happy about that, but we control our own destiny. I mean we go into Philly next week and if we win that game we’re definitely a lock for the playoffs. I think this week will be a great week. There’s two games left in the season, we’re winding down to the end of the season. And if we win out, we control our own destiny. All the guys in the locker room, we have guys that came from other teams and guys like myself that have played in big games. We’re just excited for the opportunity and it can’t get any better than going back to Philly.”
On his injury:
“I mean it’s a bruised knee. I didn’t think that was going to go away as soon as I wanted it to go away, but I just tried to manage the pain. I padded my knee up before the game. I fell on it one time this game, and that made it a little sore but besides that I’m just competing and doing everything I need to do to help my team win games. It’s not a life or death situation, it’s just a bruised knee. Going into next week I’ll be all right.”
On anticipating next week’s game against Philadelphia:
“Biggest thing I can say is that depending on what happens tonight with the Eagles game, we have a game to win. We just saw the Giants lose, and everybody was happy about that, but we control our own destiny. I mean we go into Philly next week and if we win that game we’re definitely a lock for the playoffs. I think this week will be a great week. There’s two games left in the season, we’re winding down to the end of the season. And if we win out, we control our own destiny. All the guys in the locker room, we have guys that came from other teams and guys like myself that have played in big games. We’re just excited for the opportunity and it can’t get any better than going back to Philly.”
Jordan Reed:
On the win against the Bills:
“I’m just real humble. I just love how this team is coming along. We’ve just got to stay focused and keep riding this wave.”
Trent Williams:
On the feeling in the locker room after remaining in the playoff hunt:
“We’re just worried about Philly right now. We can’t look at the playoffs right now because it’s not guaranteed, so we’re worried about Philly.”
On preparing for the Bills’ defensive line:
“It’s just like we prepared for anybody. We always get a challenge every week. This year we’ve played a ton of great defensive lines and this was nothing different.”
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