The Washington Redskins snapped their four-game losing streak in Week 15, topping the Jaguars and staying in playoff contention.
After a miserable four-game losing streak that featured four different quarterbacks at times, the Washington Redskins finally picked up a win on Sunday by defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 16-13. The win moves Washington to 7-7 on the season and, surprisingly, the Redskins are still very much alive in the NFC playoff picture.
As of now, Washington is one game behind Dallas in the NFC East and just a ½-game out of the wild card.
Quarterback Josh Johnson, making his first start in seven years, was efficient on Sunday. He completed 16 of 25 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown. He also ran the ball nine times for 49 yards. He didn’t turn the ball over and performed well considering he was under duress for much of the day. He did fumble once, fortunately for the Redskins right tackle Morgan Moses was there to recover.
The defense, after a rough six-week stretch, played its best game since a win over Dallas in October. The Jaguars managed just 20 net passing yards and while they rushed for 172 yards, much of that was due to Cody Kessler’s scrambling from the pocket when things broke down. Leonard Fournette was ineffective, rushing for just 46 yards.
The biggest mistake Washington made on Sunday was allowing a punt return to go for a touchdown just before the half. It’s the type of play this team has been unable to recover from this season. Fortunately for the Redskins, Johnson and the defense made enough plays to end a four-game slide.
Here are three takeaways from Washington’s win over Jacksonville.