ES Coverage

Double click to enlarge

VICTORY!!!

Redskins 27 - 10 Broncos

This is the 'late as hell' coverage of the Washington Redskins versus the Denver Broncos.

My name is JimmiJo and Spaceman Spiff is on the job on the sidelines.

I think the Broncos' defense will pose a lot of problems for the Redskins. On the other hand, their offense is pretty poor.

Inactives

The Redskins declared the following players as inactive:

o   No. 13 WR Maurice Harris

o   No. 23 S DeAngelo Hall

o   No. 30 RB Kenny Hilliard

o   No. 52 LB Ryan Anderson

o   No. 53 LB Zach Brown

o   No. 67 G Kyle Kalis

o   No. 74 C Demetrius Rhaney

Follow along on Twitter @Skinscast

Half

After three anemic drives, the Redskins woke up and scored 10-points on back-to-back drives to take a 10-3 lead over the Denver Broncos.

Meanwhile; Denver’s offense is everything we expected. CJ Anderson is a dangerous runner.

But then there’s Denver quarterback Brock Osweiler. He must have grown up a Redskins’ fan because with a fumble-for-loss and interception that had to be intended for DJ Swearinger, Osweiler is turning out to be Washington’s best weapon.

Still, the Redskins have eight-losses for a reason and with only a 7-point lead there is a long way still to go.

See you after.

JimmiJo

The Washington Redskins started slow. The offense was anemic and the defense allowed CJ Anderson to get loose on a couple runs early.

Denver took an early 3-0 lead and it sure looked like the Redskins were in for a long-day.

But after three drives, the offense woke up. And what followed was 27-unanswered points hung on the Broncos before Denver added a meaningless touchdown and 2-poinnt conversion.

Along the way were a sack-fumble the Redskins forced and consider recovered and also an interception by D.J. Swearinger. The interception could only have been intended for him, given no-one else was around.

Many players contributed to today’s win.

Kirk Cousins had a solid day. He logged 19/37 for 399-yards, 3-touchdowns and 1-interception for a quarterback rating of 94.3.

Ryan Grant had a career-day. Grant caught 4-passes for 85-yards to lead all Washington receivers.

Samaje Perine impressed in the second half. He tallied 53-yards on 16-carries before a late-fumble put a blemish on his effort.

Defensively, Washington tightened the ship significantly following the early drive for field goal by Denver. The created multiple turnovers. The sack-fumble on Brock Osweiler, an interception by DJ Swearinger, and the last fumble caused with DeShazor Everette tackled Devontae Booker, dislodging the ball recovered by the Redskins.

Preston Smith had a fantastic day, he posted 5 tackles, 2-sacks and a forced fumble.

Ryan Kerrigan logged 4-tackles combined and 2-sacks.

The Redskins needed this win to close out the season at home. This was a nice early holiday present for the fans who showed today. Though this team was out of any postseason action some time ago, the players are playing with a lot of pride. They also want to prevent a losing season.

A win next week in New York ensures an 8-8 season.

When all is said and done this year was about injuries. Finishing the season strong, as the Redskins are doing, sets them up well for next year. But they have some questions as well.

None bigger than the quarterback position.

Was today Cousins’ last game at FedEx Field as the starter of the Washington Redskins? Who is the starting running back going into training camp next year? Though head coach Jay Gruden’s job is probably safe, can the same be said for all of the position coaches?

There will be lots of changes on the roster. But first they have one more game to play.

This was my last effort of the season. I’ve had a fantastic time covering this year. I will see you next year for sure.

VICTORY!!!

Redskins 20 - 15 Cardinals

Sorry folks, just made it. Plus, all of our photogs are injured.

It must be the end of a bad season with no hope of playoffs.

But I am here, JimmiJo, to bring you all the action.

Here are my thoughts in a nutshell, bottom-line sort of way: win today or coaches could become at risk. 

This is where you see who is who and who will be here next year.

Follow along on Twitter @Skinscast.

Inactives 

The Redskins declared the following players as inactive:

o   No. 19 WR Robert Davis

o   No. 35 S Montae Nicholson

o   No. 53 LB Zach Brown

o   No. 67 G Kyle Kalis

o   No. 71 T Trent Williams

o   No. 73 C Demetrius Rhaney

o   No. 97 DL Terrell McClain

Half

Prototypical game for Washington. Jump out to early start, then the offense starts to fade. The bad news with this is Arizona has stuck with the run game and it is starting to pay dividends for them. 

Thanks to a fumble by Vernon Davis and a good defensive stand by the Redskins; the Cardinals were able to muster a field goal to pull within 5.

Head coach Jay was visibly upset on that last drive and one wonders if he is not going to be lighting this team up in the locker room.

The Redskins get the ball to start the half. 

JimmiJo

Make no mistake. A win is a win is a win.

But let’s not kid ourselves; any competent quarterback for Arizona and this was likely a loss. Heck, if the tight end holds the ball at the 1-yard line at the end it is likely a loss.

The Washington Redskins got one they had to have. It meant nothing in the overall; there are no postseason aspirations, and this game likely had no spoiler-implications.

But for the Redskins it was about pride and identity. It was also about people’s jobs.

If a football team cannot get up for a much-needed win against a bad team in front of their home crowd; the problems are about more than injuries and dumb-luck. Such a loss would have been an indictment of the coaching staff. Specifically the head coach.

Attitude is a reflection of leadership, as the saying goes. And lately this team has not been showing up.

That’s on the man in charge.

A loss today and ownership could be starting to consider a change at skipper. At a minimum he is wondering who else is out there.

The good news is the team responded and found a way to win. They had help.

Blaine Gabbert finished the day 16-of-41 for 181 for quarterback rating of 52.9. Worse were those moments when he decided to have poor accuracy. His red zone effectiveness was atrocious.

Then there were the dropped balls from the receivers. If the Cardinals tight end catches the ball at the 1-yard line we are having a different conversation.

The Redskins on the other hand didn’t fare much better. They posted just 218 total net yards of offense, and a paltry 31-yards rushing.

The offense benefitted from an opening drive sack-fumble by their defense. Two plays later, Kirk connected with Jamison Crowder for the easy touchdown.

Two drives later the Redskins would again draw blood when Cousins hooked up with Kapri Bibbs fir a 36-yard touchdown.

But after this the offense went flat. They managed only 15-total plays in the first half. And early in the 2nd half had only amassed 5-yards rushing.

The turnover the start the second half deflated the team and stadium.  Washington would manage to add another two field goals, and it turned out to be  just enough to get the win.

Cousins was by far the best player on offense finishing 18/26 for 196-yards, 2-touchdowns and a QB-rating of 149.07.

Crowder led all receivers with 5-catches for 55-yards and a TD. Next came Bibbs, with 4-receptions for 47-yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Washington brought pressure that made a difference at times. Preston Smith had a banner-day; finishing the game with a sack, fumble recovery, and interception. Anthony Lanier had two batted balls and a forced fumble. Kendall Fuller led all tacklers with 6-solo and 2-assists.

The Redskins did just enough to get a win at home. It means they can still to avoid a losing season which would paint a much different picture on the season.

From here on out it’s about who wants to be here next year. Washington has one more home game against the Denver Broncos, who feature a touch defensive group. They will then travel to New York for the final game of the year.

It’s all about character now.

Double click to enlarge.

Greetings from San Diego which means Whale’s va.... Wait. The Chargers moved to LA so there goes the Anchorman joke. 

Take 2. 

Greetings from the StubHub Center in LA. Because, you know, StubHub is the official NFL ticket resale spot. It’s currently a delightful 70 degrees with it to be in the 80s by kickoff. Be jealous snowy East Coast.   

Today’s match up features the Burgundy & Gold going up against the Bolts. The Bolts should just permanently wear their powder blue while the Skins should never ever wear their all burgundy again. It’s not that I don’t like the all burgundy look, it’s that they’ve never won while wearing it. 

Meanwhile, 15 minutes down the road at the LA Coliseum you’ve got the Eagles at the Rams. And their kickoff is 20 minuets  after the kickoff here. Who scheduled this? You’ve got the East Coast Skins & the West Coast Skins playing in the same city at the same town. Oh & I was hearing last night that the Rams/Eagles tickets were going for $200 as of last night. Plus the hotel & everywhere went last night in El Segundo seemed to be infested with imported iggle fans. Let’s hope our guy McVay puts the Eagles on the L train outta town.

On paper, both the Chargers & Redskins seem evenly matched. However, the Redskins have seen this before in KC & New Orleans along with the Rams & Seahawks. Hopefully this game is more Redskins/Rams/Seahawkish then the other two. 

The Redskins will need to do several things to get the W today. First is to protect Cousins against a nasty pass rush. Second is the WRs need to catch every ball. These dropped passes from the last few weeks need to be eliminated. And thirdly they can’t get away from the run even if it’s not working at times. They’ll  also need to keep their Defense off the field so they have time to actually dissect what Rivers is doing on Offense & make the proper adjustments. 

Double click to enlarge

The 2nd half started with Moses being downgraded to out with an ankle injury as the Skins Offense managed to make it to mid field before stalling out. Oh & Dak came back throwing garbage to start their 3 & out drive. Dallas would go on to feature Alfred Morris on their next drive. Evidently since Dak couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, they started to just hand it off. The Third Quarter ended just like the First one did. No one scored.

However the Fourth started with a Dak to Dez TD from their 15 yard line. This put the Skins down 24-7. With the recent Cousins comparisons to Brees, this was the time for him to turn it on & takeover the game. Cousins took the Offense 87 yards to the endzone on their next drive. This put them down 24-14. Dallas played ball/clock control on the following drive where the Skins Defense managed to get called for having12 men on the field. A few plays later & Dallas was in the end zone. Again. They went 75 yards & used up over 6 & a half minutes. Skin down 31-14 with 4:55 to go. 

Down 17, the Redskins start to display a gripe I’ve had with them all season, no hurry up. Guys are taking their time getting to the line of scrimmage. Kirk ends up throwing the INT. And to add insult to injury they’re called for personal foul, half the distance to the goal. They punched it in to go up 38-14 which also ended Cousins night & gave the last few minutes to Colt McCoy to run the clock out.

The Redskins have now fallen to 5-7 & been swept by both the Eagles & the Cowboys this season.  

Yeah....

Dallas drew first blood to start the 2nd Quarter on an 8 yard pass to Witten to go up 7-0. Moses got carted off. Kirk took a sack & fumbled it & Dallas recovered it at their 19 yard line. There was, and I quote “False start on the Offense. Everyone but the Center” called on Dallas that held them to a Field Goal. The Skins second drive opened with another sack on Cousins & ended with a punt. The Offense has now started to look absolutely clueless in finding ways to move the ball. Oh, & Dallas returned a punt to take a 17-0 lead while Prescott was in the locker room having his hand examined. Then there was the announcement  that both Perine & Mo Harris were being checked for a concussion. 

This is patchwork O Line just can’t stop the Dallas pass rush off the edge. Kirk ain’t had time to stand in the pocket to find that deep shot to Doctson we’ve started to get used to seeing. Inside the Two Minute Warning, Cousins managed to hit Ryan Grant in the end zone for the touchdown.  Skins won the toss to start the game & they deferred so they’ll get the ball to start the 2nd half. They’re only down by 10 so if they can fix the pass protection during halftime, they should be able to dig out of this hole fairly easily. 

First Quarter

Redskins win the toss & defer.

Defense holds Dem  Boiz to a 3-0. Skins take over at their 25. First play is a Cousins scramble for 1 followed by Perine for a run of 9. Skins at midfield. Kirk hits Davis over the middle for 6 in traffic. Finally get a glimpse of Marshall who is stopped short of the First down. Skins forced to punt. 

Ugly start art so far but at least the Skins were able to move the ball a bit. Unlike Dallas where Sak Prescott can’t get anything going on their second drive. He’s actually Sacked on his third snap, for a loss of 9. About a yard or two shy of being a Safety. On the Skins 3rd down, Marshall converts and Dallas is called for roughing the passer which tracks on 15 yards. Kirk runs a keeper on First down for a loss of 1.im scratching my head on that play call. Kirk takes a shot at the endzone, ball is tipped instead of caught by the WR & picked off by Dallas. But hey, we can at least move the ball. The cowboys have yet to cross their own 20 yard line. 

Note on Marshall so far- he’s got some speed for a poor mans Chris Thompson. That said, he also does that stutter step thing instead of just going full speed ahead. 

Defense held them them to another 3 & out. Crowder on the punt return gets hit & fumbles it. Dallas recovers on the Skins side of the 50. Dallasstill cant do anything but go 3 & out. Again. After a holding call all on the punt return, Skins start at their own 1 yard line, get called again for a penalty, Perine can’t get a yard, Skins finally get to the 9 but cant convert. Way hits a 51 yard punt, ball at the Dallas 40. Sacky P finally converts their first 3rd down by taking off himself.  

 No score here at the end of the First Quarter. 

Skins definately left left points on the field to start this game, while either the Defense is really good tonight in forcing all the 3 & outs or Dallas has just given up on their season.

It's been well documented all over the web this week that the Redskins Front Office does not want to be caught dead, much less alive, wearing the gold on gold Color Rush uniform. Last week through this past Tuesday, ESPN 980's & former Redskin Tight End, Chris Cooley had been saying the team would buck the system & wear their all white look for Prime Time in Dallas. On Wednesday, he changed his report to it being the burgundy on burgundy look at this time. Most likely because it was being reported that Dallas will be wearing their white on white look. At this time, nothing has been revealed as being the final look the Redskins will be wearing for Thursday Night Football. 

Take a look at the three options for the team to wear, then vote in the poll above for the one you'd prefer to see them wear.

In the past, the white on white look is probably mostly associated with the Gibbs 2.0 era & the "5 In A Row" runs to make the Playoffs.

The burgundy on burgundy look while seeming like a good thing on paper, when the team finally debuted it, it was instantly associated with being awful. Mainly because I don't think they ever won a game wearing it & were embarrassed by the Steelers the first time they wore it.

The Color Rush gold on gold look so far has only been seen either in promo pictures from Nike or digital skins in EA's Madden.

Double click to enlarge

Victory!!!

Redskins 20 - 10 Giants 

Gobble Gobble?

Greetings brothers and sister, boys and girls, and kids of all ages. Welcome to tonight's NFL primetime game featuring the Washington Redskins hosting the New York Giants - Thanksgiving Style.

My name is JimmiJo and together with Spaceman Spiff will be bringing you the action from behind the curtain.

I heard on the radio coming to the stadium tonight is the first time the Redskins have hosted a Thanksgiving night game.

Let me go on record and say how good I feel about this game. Does anyone have a sickness bag?

This game scares me as much as any this year. The New York Giants would love nothing more than to compound the Washington Redskins' woes on national television.

I was asked at dinner tonight what the problem is with this team.  

"Injuries," I said. 

You don't want to use players getting hurt as an excuse for a team's record, but I don't know how you don't in this case. Washington has 15-players on injured reserve. Think about that for a moment; that's a third of the active roster gone. 

And there are the names. You can't tell me this wouldn't be substantially better with guys like Jonathan Allen, Spencer Long, Mason Foster, Will Compton, Shawn Lauvao, and Chris Thompson.

Yet the offense has posted season highs in scoring two weeks running. Unfortunately the defense has been unable to keep a lid on opponents.

The Giants come in with nothing but pride to play for. But there are surely players on the New York roster who will be free agents who will want to make the case to be on someone's roster. 

In other words, don't be looking for the Giants to roll over and play dead.

Talk amongst yourselves. Act accordingly.

Inactives

The Redskins declared the following players as inactive: 
o    No. 35 S Montae Nicholson
o    No. 50 LB Martrell Spaight
o    No. 67 DL Caraun Reid
o    No. 71 T Trent Williams
o    No. 73 C Chase Roullier
o    No. 86 TE Jordan Reed
o    No. 97 DL Terrell McClain
 

The Giants declared the following players as inactive: 
o    No. 5 QB Davis Webb
o    No. 24 CB Eli Apple
o    No. 46 LB Calvin Munson
o    No. 67 T Justin Pugh
o    No. 76 DL D.J. Fluker
o    No. 87 WR Sterling Shepard
o    No. 93 LB B.J. Goodson
 

Stand by...

Had a wonderful turkey dinner (my second). Someone wake me at kickoff?

We are about 20-minutes out. By all accounts, this game should be very poorly attended. But it is still a regular season game against a division opponent. 

Won't be long now...

Following along in-game on Twitter @Skinscast 

Half

Yawn.

3 - 3

JimmiJo

Let’s be clear; the Washington Redskins did not play lights-out, high-level football tonight. They were ineffective, sloppy, made mental errors, committed penalties, and downright stunk at times.

But the New York Giants were worse. In fact; they were horrible. They are horrible. They have well-earned their 2-9 record.

Despite the above, there some things to like about the Redskins in this game. None more than the final score, as Washington defeated New York; 20-10 at FedEx Field.

A glance at the team stats will show a subpar effort from the Redskins:

- 4-15 on 3^rd down (27%)
- 2-4 in the red zone for 50%
- 8 penalties for 55-yards
- Interception that resulted in TD for opponent
- 0-1 4^th down efficiency

The Giants were worse by degrees:

- 2-14 on 3^rd down (14%)
- 0-1 red zone for 0%
- 6 penalties for 79-yards
- Giants never sniffed goal-to-go

The other stats show why Washington was the easy victor:

First Downs: Giants 7 – 17 Redskins
Total Net Yards: Giants 170 – 323 Redskins
Net Yards Rushing: Giants 84 – 122 Redskins
Net Yards Passing: Giants 86 – 201 Redskins
Time of Possession: Giants 25:23 – 34:37 Redskins

Given the above stats, one can argue this win belongs to the defense. They snuffed most every effort New York gave.

Eli Manning finished the night 13-of-27 for 113-yards, no touchdowns and an interception and a QB-rating of 44.2. He was sacked 4-times and hit 7. The Giants leading rusher was Wayne Gallman, who finished with 37-yards on 9-carries. Tavarres King logged 36-yards on 4 catches to lead Giants receivers.

Conversely, the Redskins offence was much more effective.

Kirk Cousins finished the game 19-of-31 for 242-yards, 2-touchdowns and an interception (pick-6) with a QB-rating of 93.8

“That touchdown throw to [Jamison] Crowder for the touchdown was one of the best he’s thrown all year,” said Redskins head coach Jay Gruden, who praised Cousins’ play in general on the night.

Samaje Perine logged 100-yards rushing on 24-carries, his second 100-yard outing in as many weeks. He also added 30-yards on four catches to finish second among the receivers.

Crowder was easily offensive MVP for the Redskins, posting 7-catches for 141-yards and a touchdown. His 38-yard grab in the 2^nd half acted to spark an otherwise anemic offense up to that point.

Josh Doctson showed another step forward, bringing in the 4^th-quarter touchdown on a deep out with 3:34 remaining.

Washington needed this game to remain in any conversation that includes playoffs. As we said above, the Redskins were not world-beaters tonight.

But they played well-enough to win to keep their hopes alive.

At 5-6, Washington is once again considered in the hunt for the playoffs. They share this record with next week’s opponents; the Dallas Cowboys, who hold a tiebreak over the Redskins thanks to a win at FedEx Field week 8.

A win for Washington next week may have people starting to believe.

And that’s the thing: despite the heartbreaking losses, the sweep at the hands of Philadelphia, the Redskins still have a darn good chance at a postseason run.

If they win.

Everything hinges on victory for Washington.

They have a full week to prepare for at Dallas one week from tonight on Thursday Night Football. On the other side of next week’s game are match-ups verses the LA Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, and Denver Broncos before facing this Giants team again in New York.

Bottom-line, they have to win. And they have to do so with the same banged-up team they have tonight.

But we have gotten ahead of ourselves. Let’s take 24 and enjoy the win.

See you next home game…

double click to enlarge.

Double click to enlarge

Here's the play description from the NFL's Game Book:

The Ref claimed that Hosley's heels were on the line. However, from the field level in the end zone, I watched Hosley plant himself right in front of the Goal Line. Here are photos I took of that play. In this series of photos, whe you zoom in, you can see a thin line of green turf between the back of his heels & the Goal Line.

Greetings from the dome that's so Super it should wear a cape. Last time I was here, I was actually in the mist of a four day vacation, sitting in the Club Level in the End Zone watching a former #2 pick tease all of Redskins Nation with what could have been. I vividly remember sitting there a few minutes into the 3rd Quarter  & you could hear a pin drop. There was a voice behind saying "I don't understand..." only to be answered by another voice saying "Why is this happening to us..." That was a Week 1 Opening Day game.

Today, however it's a completely different team on both sides of the ball. And it's Week 11. The Saints lost their first two games only to have ripped off a seven game win streak since then. Are they due for another loss & that streak to end? Maybe. Will the Redskins be the ones to do it? Well....Here's the Injury Report from Friday:

Three are already out, a fourth has joined the IR list, & 13 are Questionable. You have a backup Center ready to go. Trent Williams is still banged up with his knee issue & probably should have been put on IR a few weeks ago. Lauvao is had been limited all week with a stinger. Starting Center, Spencer Long is out with a knee. Pro Bowl Guard & former first round pick, Brandon Scherff has been limited all week with a knee issue that's been going on the last few weeks. Right Tackle Morgan Moses is the only starting OL that's actually been a full go at practice this week. That said, this team also went into Seattle with a patchwork OL, fought like hell & pulled off an upset. 

Can they do it again this week? We’ll find out in a few hours. 

Double click to enlarge

Double click to enlarge

Greetings my friends, JimmiJo here and I am joined by my partner, Spaceman Spiff. Together we bring you the sights and sounds from today's matchup between the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings.

So what think ye of today's game? For me, this game has letdown written all over it. The Vikings have a reputed front-seven, the sort that stuffs run-games and pressures quarterbacks.

A week ago I would have told you quarterback Kirk Cousins does not do well with pressure.  That was before his heroics in Seattle, architecting two magnificent throws to set-up the game-winning touchdown.

But let's pause a  moment and pay homage to the defense. If the defense we witnessed against the Seahawks shoe up today - the Redskins will be in this until the end.

Need more offense than we saw last week. And that is the key; a balanced offense that creates scoring opportunities. Hold the ball so the defense can rest.

The offensive line is returned, and that means more goods things.

Inactives

LANDOVER, Md. – The Washington Redskins have announced the following inactives and lineup changes for today’s game against the Minnesota Vikings:

The Redskins declared the following players as inactive:

o   No. 35 S Montae Nicholson

o   No. 60 G Arie Kouandjio

o   No. 66 OL Tony Bergstrom

o   No. 83 WR Brian Quick

o   No. 84 TE Niles Paul

o   No. 86 TE Jordan Reed

o   No. 98 DL Matt Ioannidis

No. 23 DeAngelo Hall is expected to start in place of Nicholson at safety.

No. 85 Vernon Davis is expected to start in place of Reed at tight end.

No. 97 Terrell McClain is expected to start in place of Ioannidis at defensive end.

NO.     PLAYER                   POS    HT      WT     AGE   EXP.   COLLEGE

13        Maurice Harris            WR      6-3       200      25        2          California

63        Brandon Banks           DL       6-3       267      23        R         Charlotte

The Vikings declared the following players as inactive:

o   No. 1 QB Kyle Sloter

o   No. 13 WR Stacy Coley

o   No. 31 RB Mack Brown

o   No. 74 T Mike Remmers

o   No. 75 G Jeremiah Sirles

o   No. 90 DE Tashawn Bower

o   No. 97 DE Everson Griffen

Stand by

Follow along in-game on Twitter @Skinscast.

Here we go...

Half

Scrapped the whole Halftime writeup because of the dramatic events to end the half. Thanks to the ill-timed interception by Kirk Cousins, the Vikings scored 2-touchdowns in a few minutes and now lead by 11. 

Oh yea and they get the ball to start the half.

The Redskins are not built to come back from big deficits. 

JimmiJo

Consider this. The Washington Redskins scored 30-points today. The most they have scored all year.

So I think we can say it wasn’t the offense that let them down.

Although, when you drill down and consider situation circumstances you have to say it contributed. Actually you have to say Kirk Cousins really contributed.

Late in the first half, with a manageable score of 21-17 Vikings; it all came undone.

Cousins threw an interception to Mackenzie Alexander who returned it to the Redskins’ 23. A few plays later Minnesota went up 28-17. Then to start the second-half they scored again to make it 35-17.

“I had a lot of trash at my feet and couldn’t get set,” he said concerning the pick. “I had trash around my feet all day.” Cousins said as a result of not planting correctly, the ball sailed a foot above the receivers’ hands.

Following the 5-minute disastrous period to end the half and start the next, Washington were able to stop the bleeding. They did so mostly on the back of safety D.J. Swearinger, who managed two interceptions.

The first was on an errant pass by Vikings’ quarterback Case Kennum, whose errant pass sailed into Swearinger’s arms.

The second pick occurred when Swearinger jumped a route on the sideline and returned it to the 2-yard line of Minnesota (nearly fumbling it out of the end zone along the way).

The turnovers lead to 10-unanswered points that put Washington back in business, trailing by a single score and 2-point conversion; 35-27, with 14:47 remaining in the 4^th quarter.

But then the Vikings went on a 13-play, 7:15-consuming drive that ended with former Redskins’ Kai Forbath kicking a 53-yard field goal to put Minnesota up 38-27 with just over 7-minutes remaining.

Washington still managed to claw back to a single-score game at 38-30, but in the end an errant on-side kick by Nick Rose sealed the Redskins’ fate (if you want a chuckle listen to me interviewing Rose postgame – I think I managed to annoy him within 30-seconds).

Statistically, this game was very close except for two key areas; 3^rd-down efficiency and Red Zone efficiency:

- 3^rd-down efficiency – Vikings 8-for-12 for 67-percent and Redskins 5-for-14 for 36-percent

- Red Zone Efficiency – Vikings 5-for-5 for 100-percent / Redskins 2-for-4 for 50-percent

I asked head coach Jay Gruden about how much they work on these and he admitted they do practice these. He also acknowledged how important these are within a game.

But the loss was more than just the stats.

For significant portions of the game the Vikings had their way with the Redskins’ defense. They exploited Washington’s secondary for big pass-plays much of the game.

Minnesota had four plays of 35-yards or more. They racked up over 400-total yards on Washington, with 102 on the ground. What looked like the strength of the team in Seattle turned into the weakness this week as corner Josh Norman and Baushad Breeland were beaten soundly.

And though they were playing a relatively inexperienced quarterback in Case Keenum, he posted 304-yards passing and was never once sacked.

I asked Cousins following the game about how he views the team’s current situation. Though there is a lot of football still to be played, I said, is the fact that other teams in the division are running away from Washington cause a higher sense of desperation for the team?

“I don’t look at things that way,” he explained. “I focus only on the next opponent and always have a high level of urgency. So when you say desperate I would have to say no…”