The Washington have been historically naughty against the running game the for the past month, but this contest could be a shootout should quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Redskins offense line can match New Orleans veteran quarterback Drew Brees over the air. Until Sunday, he hadn’t completed a scoring pass of more than 7 yards this season.
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The Saints set an National Football League record with their atrocious defense by becoming the first team in history to allow 4 or more touchdown passes and no interceptions in 3 straight games.
Cousins completed 17-of-20 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns in the first half for a ideal passer rating of 158.3. “You know, you have a flawless passer rating, and you’re going to be pretty good”. According to the Washington Post, the Redskins intend to bring the quarterback back, but doing so could be tough. On Sunday, he was 20 for 25 for 324 yards and zero interceptions, along with TD tosses of 78 yards to running back Matt Jones, 16 and 8 yards to tight end Jordan Reed, and 11 yards to receiver Jamison Crowder.
The 33-point margin of victory was Washington’s largest since beating San Francisco 52-17 in 2005. It was going to be a great game and one in which Washington would have to fight hard to earn a win in.
Safety Dashon Goldson’s pick-six in the fourth quarter put an exclamation point on Washington’s day and pushed the score to 44-14. Redskins starting quarterback Kirk Cousins had thrown for 220 yards or less in five of the eight games he’d started heading into the weekend, and yet just about everybody who covers anything relating to the NFL-from the general media to fantasy experts to daily fantasy gurus-had him tabbed for a monster game.
On Sunday, the three other division members – the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys – all lost, so Washington is tied with Philadelphia for second place, a half-game behind NY.
The game was enough of a debacle to reportedly cost defensive coordinator Rob Ryan his job.
“We had a really, really great week of practice and it translated on the field”, Alfred Morris said. In total, the Redskins backfield gained 213 yards on the ground, averaging 6.8 yards per carry.
Cousins opened the game 10-for-10 for 127 yards prior to his first incompletion of the game in the second quarter.
While the New Orleans Saints have had a roller coaster of a season to this point, their 47-14 loss to the Washington Redskins has sent them into a tailspin heading into their bye week.
The Saints are watching their season in free fall after this game, as the defense hasn’t held an offense to below 34 points in 3 games (conceding that one of those games was in overtime but also counter-conceding that it was against the Titans).
The Saints’ defense didn’t put up much resistance when the Redskins ran the ball, either.
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And it’s fair to say Jones’ numbers were a bit skewed by his 78-yard catch-and-run, which almost matched his season receiving yards total by itself.
