Washington Redskins must play balanced against Eagles
By Andrew Long
The Washington Redskins play host to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, as the 1-2 teams will compete in a contest at Fed Ex Field. The winner of the game will move to 2-2, while the losing squad will find themselves sitting at 1-3. In a division as up for grabs as the NFC East, a victory will go a long way in terms of standings at the end of the year.
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If the Redskins are going to defeat the Eagles, Kirk Cousins and company will have to take to the air; but they’ll have to do so while including the run game. Cousins can’t throw the ball 49 times like he did against the Giants last week, but he must throw it an ample amount. I say this because the Eagles, up until this point, have yet to allow a rushing touchdown.
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On the flip side of things, Philadelphia has allowed 816 passing yards and five touchdown passes thus far. The defensive unit of the Eagles is currently the ninth worst passing defense in terms of yards allowed. This is the reason why I believe Washington should attack Philadelphia’s defensive unit through the air on Sunday.
Just to be clear, I don’t think that the Redskins should abandon the run game, as it’s pivotal that Washington gets their running backs going early. If they can’t do that, then they’ll be forced to go to the passing game, which would essentially kill play action and the possibility for running the ball.
Basically, what I’m saying is this, Washington needs to establish a run game early so that their passing plays can function properly. If they’re able to get the Philadelphia defense off balance, Cousins and company actually have a chance at succeeding. They won’t succeed in the passing game if the running game isn’t clicking, too.
Last week against the Giants, the Redskins weren’t able to get their running game going and the passing game suffered because of it. Washington’s running backs carried the ball 20 times for a total of 88 yards. Due to their lack of success, Cousins was forced into throwing the football 49 times.
While leading a bland, predictable offense, Cousins threw one touchdown and a pair of picks. The week prior to that in a victory against the Rams, Cousins went 23 of 27 for 203 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Much of Cousins’ aerial success can be credited to the Redskins running game, as Matt Jones and Alfred Morris carried the ball 37 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns.
If the Redskins are able to set the tone with a strong running game, Cousins will be able to play in a more efficient manner. He plays much better when he has a running game to lean on, as it opens up the playbook and keeps the defense off balance. At this point in his career, he simply isn’t good enough to drop back and throw the ball 49 times.
Some quarterbacks are capable of doing this, but Kirk Cousins isn’t one of them. If the Washington Redskins are going to win this divisional contest, they’re going to have use a balanced approach. Their running backs will have to play well, and Cousins will likely have to throw multiple touchdowns.
Whether or not the Redskins will be able to do this is still up in the air, but I can assure you that they won’t leave the contest victorious if they allow themselves to become one dimensional.
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