Redskins vs. Eagles: Post-Game Observations & Thoughts
The Washington Redskins opened division play on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles and lost a heart-breaker 37-34.
The game was full of injuries, fights, flags, and points. Unfortunately for the Redskins, there were not enough points on the board for them at the end of the day to take home the “W.” Below are some observations/thoughts from the game:
– Trenton Robinson gave up his lane on the 102-yard kick return for TD. Polk scored the TD running directly down safety Trenton Robinson’s lane…would have to watch coaches tape to know for sure. It had been 88 games since the last time the Eagles had returned a kick for a TD.
– It seems like after every game I write this, which is not a good thing, but Alfred Morris needs to get his fumbling issues under control before they kill this team in a clutch situation down the stretch.
Morris ended the day with 23 carries for 77 yards. Oddly Alfred wasn’t used much in the second half (7 carries).
– While he had a good game, I’m not ready to crown Kirk Cousins quite yet as he still has a lot to learn. On the interception Cousins should not have thrown the ball to Niles Paul at all, while it may be true that Paul gave up on the route, it’s also equally true that Cousins should have read that and looked elsewhere. Cousins touched on that in his presser saying that after looking at the play other options were open.
Cousins is a good pocket-passing game manager, and it’s the reason he’s gotten off to great starts the last two weeks. I enjoy watching him play, his confidence is inspiring, but just like Robert Griffin III, he is still learning on the job. That being said, for a kid who has only started five games (1-4 record), he looks like a veteran at times under center. Unfortunately, untimely mistakes, injuries, and failures on special teams dealt the team a tough situation of Sunday. Cousins was 30-48 for 427 yards with three touchdowns, and one interception and a 103.4 QB rating on the day….on another note, his QBR rating in the 4th quarter was 12 out of a possible 100.
– When you hold LeSean McCoy to 22 yards on 19 carries you are supposed to win…simple as that. The Redskins only gave up 54 total rushing yards.
– The “brawl” was sparked by a hit on Eagles quarterback Nick Foles by Chris Baker, a hit that Baker was ejected for. I personally don’t agree with that rule because of the immense amount of grey area it creates. As it pertains to be able to block quarterbacks after an interception.
– Kai Forbath had made 18 straight field goals before missing the 34-yarder yesterday. Those three points were the deciding factor at the end of the day, which is disappointing.
– The 81-yard bomb from Kirk Cousins to DeSean Jackson was a beauty. Not many thought they would connect on that type of play since the two haven’t had much time to get used to one another with Cousins practice time coming with the second team all offseason/preseason.
– Josh Leribeus filled in nicely for Shawn Lauvao at left guard. Kirk Cousins wasn’t sacked all day, which is also a testament to Cousins ability to get the ball out quick but the o-line deserves some credit as well.
– Pierre Garcon had another brilliant day as a Redskins receiver with 11 catches on 16 targets for 138 yards and a touchdown. Pierre also made two unreal catches on the sidelines, he truly is a master at his craft.
– The defense looked to have a game-plan of eliminating the run game and making the Eagles beat them with the pass, much the same as last week against the Jags. The Redskins defense put a lot of big hits on Foles but for the most part were unable to rattle the Eagles signal-caller.
