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After a home win of historical proportions, the 3-4 Washington Redskins will face one of the National Football League’s undefeated teams: the 7-0 New England Patriots. This will be the fourth time that Washington has faced the Patriots since Bill Belichick became their head coach. Of the two teams’ last three meetings, the Patriots have won the most recent two, including a 52-7 home blowout win over Washington in 2007 to get to 8-0 that year. This season’s matchup brings with it a little Déjà vu seeing as how the Pats have appeared to set themselves up for the same storyline against the same opponent this year… IF history repeats itself. At any rate, there are some things that Washington is going to have to do if they want to compete in this game.
The Redskins are coming off a much-needed bye that has helped them get a little healthier and get some of their key players back. They have a tall task ahead of them however… they are a double-digit-point underdog going into Foxborough.
The task isn’t an impossible one if Washington brings the fight they have shown they can bring (think Atlanta Falcons game). Let’s dive into a few things that, if executed well, could give them an opportunity for a huge victory.
Rushing the Passer – The Patriots’ offensive line hasn’t exactly been a world beater when it comes to protecting quarterback Tom Brady. Even though Brady has only one interception this year, he has had to eat the ball 18 times. Washington’s defensive from must win the battle in the trenches and it starts with Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton. Knighton, at 6′-3″ 354 pounds, needs to be a wrecking ball in the middle of that defensive front. His ability to push the pocket into the face of Tom Brady, with the help of his compadres of course, will help provide the pressure to knock the Super Bowl champ off his “sweet spot.” Just like Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, Brady in a pocket, with reasonable room to deliver the ball, is a surgeon. The key is to pressure him and not allow him to get into a rhythm. This is a must and will take all in the rotation up front to accomplish.
Third-and-Long – Putting the Patriots’ offense in this situation early and often would help the Redskins defense in a big way. Every football fan knows that there aren’t as many options when a team is in third-and-long. Most plays that are called here involve throwing the ball and; in a long down-and-distance setting, the quarterback usually must hold on to the ball a little bit longer, knowing he must at least make a pass that is near or beyond the first-down marker. This, in turn, allows time for the defense to get to the quarterback and either rush the throw or get a sack. If the Burgundy and Gold can succeed in this on a consistent basis it will give defensive coordinator Joe Barry an opportunity to dial up more exotic defensive schemes.
Establishing an Effective Run Game – The Redskins run game has been virtually nonexistent since Week 2 with the team having rushed the ball for just 135 yards over the last three games. New England gives up an average of 110.3 yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry, ninth worst in the NFL. Washington is averaging just 99 yards rushing per game (3.7 yards per carry). The Redskins running game hasn’t been this unproductive since averaging 91 yards per game in 2010.
Along with scouting out the competition during the bye week, Head Coach Jay Gruden spent time looking to find a way to fix the running game, something his said would be of great priority.
“[For] three weeks it hasn’t been very good,” Gruden said. “We’ve got to get the yards-per-carry up, have some more confidence in it and just keep working on that.”
The best defense is the great offensive effort of running the football, chewing up clock and keeping the NFL’s top quarterback on the sideline. This will be a great opportunity for the Redskins to try and get back to better form against a defense that hasn’t done so well in stopping the run themselves. With the versatility of the Redskins’ backfield, they can mix it up with the run packages; throwing different backs with different styles of running at this Patriot defense. More importantly, it would serve the Redskins well if they run the ball downhill, allowing that offensive line an opportunity to get physical and into a rhythm.
Stopping the Run – It’s well-documented that the Redskins must improve on stopping their opposing teams’ running game. This has become imperative for this week’s road game against a Bill Belichick-coached team. You can bet that this head coach will be looking to take advantage of a Redskins defense that has allowed a staggering 587 yards rushing in its past three games. It’s almost hard to remember that Washington was a run defense ranked among the league’s best in the first few weeks of the season.
How can that unit get back to that form?
It’s pretty simple. First the big guys up front must maintain and win the one-on-one battles up front. They cannot allow those big offensive linemen to get to the second level and maul the linebackers.
“Every time I see a breakdown, I see big on small,” Redskins defensive end Jason Hatcher said to reporters. “I see linemen on our linebackers. We can’t have that, we’ve got to hold the point and not let them get off and let our linebackers run. Once we do that, our defense will be a lot better.”
It is of grave importance for the defensive front to be a strong front line but it is also of equal importance that the linebackers — or those assisting in stopping the run — need maintain proper gap support and do their job.
New England running backs LeGarrette Blount and Dion Lewis are a one-two punch that can wear a defense down. Washington’s defense must pay special attention to detail and not overpursue during plays. It must be disciplined in its responsibilities… especially with Lewis’ passing skills on screens. If undisciplined, this back’s quick and shifty nature will result in a breakdown in containment and open up sizable lanes for him to get to the second and third levels of the defense.
This weekend the New England Patriots will be aiming for their 23rd straight win in their last 24 home contests as they host the Washington Redskins. Winning on the road has been hard for the Redskins and their 1-10 record away since 2014 shows it.
Many have already written the Redskins off. Fortunately, this ball club has proven that it can rally from behind to win a game. We will see if it has the fight and determination it takes to do it again.
My prediction: Washington 27, Patriots 24
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