Moving forward, the Redskins will have to step up to ‘heights we never have before’

The Washington Redskins lost backup quarterback Colt McCoy just two games after losing starter Alex Smith and subsequently lost an ugly game to an NFC East division rival (the Philadelphia Eagles) in front of the nation. Even though they are 6-6, the prevailing thought around the DMV seems to be that Washington’s season is over. Apparently, now that the Burgundy and Gold are down to their third quarterback with four games left to play and have a defense that has regressed, there’s nothing they can do to save the season.

Providing he stays healthy, veteran signal-caller Mark Sanchez will be under center now and a host of other players must fill in at other positions. Offensive guards (Tony Bergstrom and Jonathan Cooper) and an outside linebacker (Ryan Anderson) are just three of the injuries the team sustained in the 28-13 loss to Philly Monday night. The defense was already missing star defensive end Matt Ioannidis as well as CB Quinton Dunbar and the wide receivers group lost Paul Richardson, Jr. some time ago. RB Chris Thompson was back but didn’t look like his usual explosive self and the play-calling was baffling at times, with not enough run plays on the books after a 90-yard touchdown run by Adrian Peterson.

The prevailing idea is that all is lost.

But Redskins coach Jay Gruden begs to differ and can see the silver lining surrounding the clouds on the horizon.

“Well, we’re 6-6 and we still have a lot to play for,” Gruden said during a conference call Tuesday. “We’re not out of anything right now. It’s not like we’re 0-12 and we’re just playing for whatever. We’re actually playing to try to get into the playoffs… possibly win the division. Heck, we still have a lot out in front of us. Defensively, we’re fairly healthy. There is a silver lining there. We just have to play better. We have to play more physical. We’ve got to be more sound. We have to tackle better, we have to do everything better on defense. We have to step up our game to heights that we never have before and it just has to be done in order for us to get where we want to get. Great defenses can overcome a lot of deficiencies within your football team and that’s what we have to expect from our defense. So, there is a silver lining, we’re healthy on defense, we have a quarterback that has some experience, we still have some weapons around him that are getting healthy with [RB] Chris Thompson, [WR] Jamison Crowder coming back for the first time. [Tight ends] Jordan Reed [and] Vernon (Davis); [and WR] Josh Doctson is playing well so we’re OK. The edges with [offensive linemen] Trent [Williams] and Morgan [Moses]… they seem to be OK right now so that’s a good thing.”

The coach is correct in that the team is 6-6 and, in other circumstances, were one to acknowledge just that fact, things wouldn’t seem so bad. In many seasons, ending with a 10-6 record (if the remaining four games are victories) should put a team in a wild card spot, at least. But there are so many factors contributing to the negativity surrounding the organization right now that it’s hard to see Washington winning all four of its remaining contests, much less any ‘bright side.’

Unfortunately, a large part of the problem the Redskins face stem from off-the-field drama that, before now, the team had avoided in 2018.

There was the claiming of LB Rueben Foster, recently charged with domestic violence accusations, off waivers that left many scratching their heads and angry. That Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Williams was the person the organization put in front of the media to explain it — rather than team President Bruce Allen — is perplexing and inexcusable, when, given his position; claiming Foster was clearly Allen’s call.

Something is going on in the locker room that is affecting the play of the team and it’s likely not the claiming of Foster. Things have been sliding for weeks. Whether it is unhappiness with the coaching staff or with each other or both is yet unknown (publicly) but it’s there.

Is the season over?

In the end, whether the Redskins win another game or not will depend on the players and coaches ignoring the outside noise and playing for each other. It depends on guys that have been on the team for a while giving 150-plus percent and backups (backups-to-the-backups, in some cases) proving they belong on an NFL team by playing like starters. The coaches need to self-scout mercilessly and figure out what their contributions to the situation have been. Guys still healthy must stay that way and a little game-time luck would go a long way… something the Redskins haven’t had a lot of recently (whether it’s what the officials see and call — or don’t — or the way the ball bounces after kick-offs).

At 6-6, Gruden is correct. With the state of the NFC and some of the wins and losses of Week 13, there is a lot to play for. In the NFL, stranger things have happened than a team in the Redskins position winning four straight. But they need do it without imploding and that will take every coach and every player in the building.