Redskins vs. Saints: Preview, score prediction for Week 11
Washington Redskins vs. New Orleans Saints
The Washington Redskins travel to New Orleans this week to face the red-hot Saints. No team, outside of perhaps the Philadelphia Eagles, are playing better football than New Orleans right now. Winners of seven in a row, the Saints are finally playing defense for the first time in years. A strong running game, led by veteran Mark Ingram and versatile rookie Alvin Kamara paces the offense. And then there’s Hall-of-Fame quarterback Drew Brees. This is head coach Sean Payton’s best team in years.
Washington, meanwhile, is having an up-and-down season thus far. At 4-5, the Redskins, at times, have looked like one of the better teams in the NFC. Unfortunately, injuries have ruined any chance of this team competing. In some good news, though, Trent Williams, Brandon Scherff and Jamison Crowder all returned last week. Now, the Redskins need some injury luck on defense. Making matters worse, no team in the league has played a tougher schedule than Washington throughout the first half of the season.
The Saints currently lead the NFC South by one game over the surging Carolina Panthers. Washington is two games out of the final wild-card spot in a muddled NFC playoff race. The Redskins need a win badly to stay in contention.
The Redskins lead the all-time series, 17-8, and have won three of the past four meetings. Washington has also won its last four trips to the Superdome.
Washington’s Keys to Victory
The Redskins need their defense to resemble the unit from two weeks ago when they defeated Seattle 17-14. Last week, Washington couldn’t stop Case Keenum. Yes, Case Keenum. Now, the Redskins get Brees and the league’s No. 3 ranked running game. If Washington can slow down New Orleans’ running game, it can win this game. Brees is always dangerous and if you make him pass enough, he will throw picks.
On offense, the Redskins must establish the run. It’s Samaje Perine’s job now and the rookie has looked better in recent weeks. The Saints allow 4.7 yards per attempt, which is 30th in the league. If the Redskins can get the running game going, quarterback Kirk Cousins could be in store for a big day. However, if the Redskins are one-dimensional and are forced to throw the ball 40 times, the Saints win.
New Orleans’ Keys to Victory
If the Saints continue to run the ball as they have in recent weeks, it will be tough for Washington to stop them. The Redskins are solid against the run. Of course, that’s before the injuries hit. Jonathan Allen is out for the year, while Matt Ioannidis has missed the last two weeks. Ioannidis may or may not be back this week. It’s important for New Orleans to wear down Washington’s front seven as the injuries have destroyed the Redskins’ depth up front.
Defensively, New Orleans must contain Chris Thompson. The Redskins will attempt to get Thompson in space this week and open things up in the running game. If the Saints stop Thompson, Marshon Lattimore will hold his own against Josh Doctson, forcing Cousins to check down far too often, taking the explosiveness out of Washington’s offense.
Odds
Point Spread: New Orleans -7 1/2
Moneyline: Washington +315, New Orleans -375
Over/Under: 50.5
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Prediction
The Saints are the favorite this week and for good reason. They are playing the best football they’ve played in years. They are good on both sides of the ball and Brees finally has help. However, the banged-up Redskins are well-coached and have enough impact players on both sides of the ball to threaten anyone on a weekly basis.
This game will come down to the wire, as most Washington games do. While the Saints will have plenty of success offensively, Washington’s offense will move the ball against New Orleans’ vastly improved defense. In the end, Cousins gets a running game and makes some critical throws to propel the Redskins to another huge road victory.
Final Score: Washington Redskins: 27, New Orleans Saints: 24