The Washington Redskins early in the season were a resilient group that bounced back after tough losses. Unfortunately, those days have long passed as the Redskins are on a four-game skid with their latest loss being a 40-16 blowout loss to the New York Giants. Sunday the Redskins will take on the (4-9) Jacksonville Jaguars in a game that is critical for Washington as they are strangely enough are still contenders for a wild-card spot.
Washington has been hampered by injuries that have claimed several offensive linemen and two quarterbacks. The Redskins offense will also be without tight end Jordan Reed who injured his foot against the Giants and could also be lost for the remainder of the season. These injuries have clearly had an adverse effect on Jay Gruden’s squad and been a contributing factor in their losing five out of their last six games.
However, the Jaguars entering the season were a team that appeared to be on the verge of being a consistent playoff contender. They have floundered all season long, unable to establish any sustainable success on both sides of the ball. Jacksonville has been on a similar track as the Redskins for different reasons as they have only won one game in their last five outings.
With that in mind let us inspect some points of emphasis for the Redskins to take advantage of a reeling Jaguars squad and end their four-game losing streak.
1. Fundamentally Sound Defensively
The Redskins over the past two weeks have struggled in consistently executing the fundamentals defensively. In the past three weeks, the Redskins have given up 167.7 rushing yards per game. Greg Manusky’s unit has been caught out of position often and unable to make clean secure tackles while giving up countless chunk plays.
On Sunday against the Giants, Washington struggled severely in their ability to stop the off-tackle runs and screens in the passing game. New York finished the game with 227 yards on the ground. The Redskins defense gave up 170 of those yards to Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
The Jaguars offensively have struggled to protect their quarterback and in the last three games have given up an average of 3.3 sacks. Jacksonville is ranked 20th in rushing averaging 107.3 yards per game. However, over the past three games, they have found a measure of success on the ground averaging 121.7 yards per game.
A Redskins win over Jaguars would …
Doing the little things will be extremely important against a strong and physical running back in Leonard Fournette. Fournette hasn’t been effective as of late as he is averaging 36 yards a game only mustering up 2.6 yards per rushing attempt over the past two weeks. This could be a week that the Redskins defense turns things around against a struggling offense.
Sound Gap responsibility and solid tackling will need to be at a premium for Washington if they want to be successful and make the Jaguars one dimensional.
2. Get the Run Game Going
The proof is in the pudding when it comes to the Redskins efforts on the ground. Washington is 6-1 when they run the ball a combined 25 times or more and have lost every game they have failed to adhere to this formula. Giving Adrian Peterson carries early and often has clearly been the spark that gets the physical fire burning along the Redskins offensive line.
When Bill Callahan’s unit is able to play physical they get off of the ball in the running game faster. This also seems to improve there pass protection and gives them an edge by wearing down an opposing teams defense. A solid ground game also provides balance and stabilizes the Redskins offensive attack.
The Jaguars in there last three games has allowed opposing rushers 5.7 yards per attempt. If the Redskins want to have success in the passing game, they must take advantage of Jacksonville’s defense that is giving up a whopping 157.3 yards per game over there last three contest.
3. Converting on 3rd Down
Washington has struggled to sustain drives due to their ineptness on third down. Jay Gruden’s offense is ranked 26th in the NFL in third-down conversion percentage (35.75%). Washington in their past three games has been a woeful 25% on third down and struggled to sustain drives. It’s understandable that the Redskins struggles can be attributed to being down to quarterback number four who has limited practice time.
With that said, Washington has to do a better job of avoiding costly penalties that often result in the offense being in countless third and long situations. Being more disciplined in this regard will help them sustain drives that could lead to scores but at the very least gives the defense a breather.