In a must-win game for the 0-5 Washington Redskins, new Head Coach Bill Callahan needed to establish an identity over a team that many felt had less talent. In its 17-16 win over the Miami Dolphins today, Washington showed significant improvement on both sides of the ball but of both, the defense was most impactful and clearly traveled to Miami to win.
Early in the game, there was a serious commitment to the run although there wasn’t much initial success. For example, the team’s first three offensive possessions yielded just 20 yards on nine plays. But this gave the defense a great test and D-coordinator Greg Manusky’s unit answered the bell, showing resilience in the face of adversity. On the Dolphins’ first three possessions, the Redskins defense held them to 21 yards.
Washington’s defense picked up where it left off last week against the New England Patriots. It applied consistent pressure on the quarterback and finished the game with five sacks (safety Landon Collins had one, DT Jonathan Allen had two, DT Matt Ioannidis had one and DT Treyvon Hester had one). Manusky’s unit did a great job of pushing the pocket while maintaining their gap responsibilities.
After giving up a staggering 39 of 69 of opponent’s third-down conversions through the first five games, Washington only allowed three of 14 third-down conversions (21.42 percent) against Miami.
Over the past two weeks the #Redskins defense has 8 sacks and 3 turnovers. Washington has also improved in getting there opponents off the field on third down only allowed 8 of 29 for 27.58% #HTTR #WASvsMIA
— Dujunnea Bland (@NotBland21) October 13, 2019
The Redskins’ defense finally exhibited what many hoped would be their calling card (getting off the field on third down and creating turnovers) while the offense worked to establish cohesiveness. That said, this defense still needs to improve on putting their opponent away when the game is in balance.
Manusky’s squad finished the game allowing Miami only 217 total yards, an average of 4.3 yards per pass and four yards per rushing attempts. He has been more aggressive in his play-calling and his players have responded well.
If the Redskins’ defense can continue this upward trend, and the offense can reward its counterpart with scoring drives; Washington could finally have a formula that will allow the team to string together some wins.