The Washington Redskins are coming off a solid 24-6 road win against the Arizona Cardinals, earning their first Week 1 victory since the 2012 season. Washington will look to embark on another first as they have the opportunity to extend their record to 2-0. If they can accomplish this task, it will be the first time since the 2011 season.
The Burgundy and gold will take on the Indianapolis Colts in their home opener at FedEx Field Sunday. The Colts look to be a team with an identity crisis but for the Redskins, the path to a victory hinges on three things they must do to reach their goal.
1. Pressure Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck
The Colts offensive line is similar to the Cardinals… mediocre at best. The Redskins have a great pass rush but it was only able to come away with two sacks against Arizona. That said, they were disruptive by forcing Sam Bradford to get rid of the ball early.
Indy may not have a lot of big names at wideout but the team supplements this with the use of their underrated tight end combo of Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle. Both are very capable of creating problems for defenses, especially in the middle of the field. It will be imperative for the Redskins front seven to get pressure early and often.
With OLBs Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith, along with the dynamic front line of D-linemen Jonathan Allen, Matt Ioannidis and rookie Daron Payne; Washington should be able to exploit this area, creating trouble for the Colts offensively.
2. Establish the Run
The Redskins had success running the ball against a formidable Cardinals defense last week. Dedication to the ground game gave the offense balance and kept the Cardinals defense on its heels the entire game. With the Colts giving up a staggering five-yards-per-rushing-attempt, Washington should look to lean heavily on the running back tandem of Adrian Peterson and Chris Thompson. This will assist them in the passing game, putting pressure on a Colts secondary that allowed 75 percent of completions Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
3. Force Turnovers
It’s a consensus that if a team can win the turnover battle, nine times out of 10 they will have a better chance to win the game. Washington managed to come away with two turnovers in Sunday’s matchup against the Cardinals.
The Colts will already be at a bit of a disadvantage, having to contend with the crowd noise at FedEx Field. The Redskins can exacerbate the Colts offensively by making them one dimensional. The Bengals were able to force the Colts to throw the ball 53 times. With Washington’s much-improved defense, if they can accomplish this as well, their probability of forcing more turnovers in this matchup could substantially increase.