Washington Redskins: 3 Big takeaways from win vs. Cowboys in Week 7

2. Smith must be better

Another week, another disappointing performance from Smith. Smith missed several opportunities for big plays in this game. Josh Doctson beat coverage on one play and could’ve had a huge catch to set up a first-and-goal for the Redskins, but Smith missed him.

His most egregious miss came when tight end Jeremy Sprinkle broke free in the corner of the end zone and Smith ran to his right and fired an inaccurate throw far too wide of Sprinkle and out of bounds. Washington had to settle for a field goal. Had Smith connected with Sprinkle for the touchdown this could have made Dallas’ comeback attempt even tougher.

Gruden has talked all year about how smart Smith is. And to his credit, Smith is smart. However, he committed an error on Sunday that most rookies don’t make and it could have cost his team the win. The Redskins had the ball with under two minutes remaining and the Cowboys had three timeouts. Two run plays forced two Dallas timeouts.

Then, on third down, Smith scrambled left and, instead of cutting it back inside, went out of bounds, saving the Cowboys a precious timeout.

These are inexcusable mistakes for a veteran like Smith. At some point, this team needs more from the passing game. Smith is capable, however, he must start delivering soon if Washington expects to win the NFC East.