When the 2018 NFL schedule was first released, most Washington Redskins fans were not happy about their team having their bye in Week 4. But now that Washington is gearing up for its next game — against the New Orleans Saints — the extra time coming when it did may have turned out to be a good thing and not just for the health of players. They also have needed it to prepare for a potent offense and for figuring out a way to score in the second half of football games.
Washington is 2-1, much to the surprise of many. The Redskins beat the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers and lost to the Indianapolis Colts.
In retrospect, this record perhaps should not be as remarkable as many think it is.
The 0-4 Cardinals are not exactly a powerhouse of a team and they are, in fact, worse than many thought they would be. The Redskins should have beaten them.
The 1-3 Colts, now having lost to three pretty good teams, seem better than many thought they would be so maybe that loss isn’t as stunning as many thought at the time.
Green Bay is… well… Green Bay – always dangerous. But Washington’s defense is also as good as many pundits thought it would be.
The Redskins currently hold first place in the NFC East and, while they played good games overall against Arizona and Green Bay, it was their defense that was critical in those victories. After taking early leads against the Cardinals and Packers, Washington’s offense did not score any touchdowns in the second halves of both games. It was Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Manusky’s squad that won the contests.
The offense got off to an early lead against Arizona, scoring 21 points in the first half of the game but just a field goal in the second. The defense held the Cardinals to just six points total and that touchdown (and failed two-point conversion) wasn’t until the fourth quarter.
Against the Packers, Washington also jumped ahead quickly, scoring two touchdowns in each of the first two quarters. But like in the Week 1 game, they did not score again until the fourth quarter and that was just a field goal. The defense, however, contained Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers well.
Getting early leads and letting the defense keep the opponent from scoring more is not a sustainable formula for winning. The Redskins need to score early, to be sure. But then they need to score again and again after the halftime kick off and up until the final whistle blows… if they want to have a good season.
“No question,” Redskins QB Alex Smith said today of whether the team knows they must find a way to score in the second half of games. “I don’t think you can ever expect to go out there and not score any touchdowns in the second half and win ballgames… against anybody. Certainly, against good offenses and good QBs like [Saints QB] Drew [Brees]. I need to be better moving forward. [I] need to learn from [the previous games] and grow from [the mistakes], absolutely.
“[There’s] probably a ton of things,” he went on about whether there are themes from both games that caused the lack of second-half scoring. “I mean though, in the end, it’s coming down to execution. There were a lot of times in both games and you see self-inflicted things — uncharacteristic things — that got us off-schedule and put us in tough situational football. Third-and-longs… things like that. Situations where it’s hard to convert. And I think if anything, it’s just a reminder of how small the margins are between playing winning football and not. I think all those little things get magnified when they’re just not happening.”