It was supposed to be an epic battle between two teams fighting for a playoff berth – it ended up being one team fighting for that chance. The Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys squared off on Thursday Night, and a nationwide audience watched the Redskins get spanked 38-14 at AT&T Stadium. The loss dropped the Redskins to 5-7, ended their Wild Card hopes, and left nothing to play for, but pride.
Given their last performance, that might be daunting. The Redskins were sloppy on both sides of the ball, and while some of it can be attributed to the NFL leading amount of injuries they have, some of it was just sloppy. Visit these betting sites to see how the Redskins odds this weekend are affected by their sloppy play against Dallas.
It didn’t help matters that former Redskin Alfred Morris did a great job filling in for still suspended Ezekiel Elliott. Morris ran all over Washington for 127 yards on 27 carries, including a touchdown. Morris, or AlMo as he is affectionately known, was always a fan favorite in D.C.
It was special teams that proved lethal for Washington. Jamison Crowder fumbled a punt return to give Dallas their first score of the game. It was Crowder’s third punt return fumble of the season. When asked post game if the Redskins would make a change, Jay Gruden sourly offered, “We don’t have anybody else to put back there.”
The special teams also allowed a 83-yard punt return touchdown by Ryan Switzer in the same quarter. That put the Cowboys up 17-0 going into the half – a demoralizing scoreline for the Redskins, given the run of play.
Defensively Washington was sharp early on, but faded late. Perhaps that doesn’t need mentioning when you allow nearly 40 points, but the Redskins actually stymied the Cowboys for much of the first half. Dak Prescott only managed to complete 11 passes for 122 yards, but two were for touchdowns. Washington wore down and just couldn’t stop the run and get off the field in the second half.
Offensively, the patchwork offensive line, looked patchwork. Morgan Moses was the only remaining 2017 offensive line starter and left the game in the 2nd quarter. Backup Ty Neskhe moved to right tackle and the Redskins were fielding their 22nd offensive line combination of the season. It wasn’t a winning combination.
As such, Kirk Cousins was running for his life. He did a decent job for much of the night, finishing up 26 of 37 for 251 yards and 2 touchdowns. Unfortunately he also threw two interceptions that were instrumental in the Redskins’ woes. The first one wasn’t on Cousins as it deflected out of the hands of Crowder and into the awaiting arms of the Cowboys defender Jeff Heath. That was at the Cowboys 2-yard line, and cost the Redskins their first points of the game.
The second came when the Redskins were down 31-14. Cousins’ pass for Ryan Grant was tipped at the line of scrimmage, intercepted by Anthony Brown at the Washington 38, and returned to the Redskins 22. Four plays later, Rod Smith pounded it in and gave Dallas the lead at 38-14 – the final margin of victory.
So now there are just 4 games left for the Redskins 2017 season. There will obviously be no playoffs this year.
Will the Redskins consider sitting Cousins in favour of Colt McCoy, to see where they’d be at if Captain Kirk leaves for greener pastures?
Will Jay Gruden have to post two or three wins over the next four games to guarantee himself a job next year?
The Redskins will likely turn their attention to answering these questions with nothing left to play for.