Washington Redskins: Everything You Expected and Worse

In my preview I stated that the Redskins would attempt to cover TO with a single cornerback, Springs, hoping that their best would be good enough to shut down his best. They did not do this on Sunday. Instead, they pulled into a Cover 2 scheme and consistently left the big guy open. Yes, Springs was involved in three of TO's four touchdowns, but it was the entire defensive zone that failed every time. The Cowboys, as a team, were awful on Sunday and should have lost convincingly at home to the Skins. However, TO was amazing on Sunday and his size and speed simply shredded any hope the Skins had at staying in this game. It blows my mind when I watch the replays of his touchdowns how he got so open, why did no one cover the most talented receiver on the field? The cornerbacks didn't jam him at the line and the safeties didn't roll over into coverage. What else did they think was happening?

Patrick Crayton and Jason Witten are good players but they don't deserve that much attention. There is only one guy on that field that the Redskins had to account for and they didn't do it. They looked scared, and when everyone in the stadium knows exactly where the ball is going and it still goes there, something is wrong. This Redskins defense, which was supposed to be the backbone of their squad, looked scared, hesitant and unaware of what was happening. TO didn't pick on one guy; he lined up on all sides of the field, on the fly, in the slot and burned everyone. Looking at the way the Redskins played on defense it's inexcusable that they lost this game, but not unexpected. This again shows the kind of team that they are and why they sit at 5-5 and the Cowboys sit at 9-1.

Jason Campbell had his most prolific game as a Redskins passer, completing 33 out of 54 passes for 348 yards, 2 TDs and only one pickle, but continues to struggle winning ball games. In the Redskins final two possessions, when they were putting themselves in a position to win the game, Campbell was only 3 of 10 for 31 yards and a redzone INT.
I'm going to be highly critical of a guy who only completed 61.1% of his passes and choked when it really mattered. Yes, there were other opportunities and missed chances throughout the game, and no game is determined by one play, but it can be determined by one player. These situations are piling up for the young quarterback, situations where he goes the distance but doesn't have it in him to grab the win. It happened against the Giants, It happened against the Packers and now again versus the Cowboys.

The Redskins' offense as a whole doesn't have a dagger mentality. They simply can't finish games or put away opponents. They are habitually forced to settle for field goals after their inability to make the big play keeps them out of the endzone. It's nice to know that Shaun Suisham can kick 40+ yard field goals, but in a game where the Redskins dominated in every other offensive statistic: 28 first downs, 423 total yards, 73 total plays, it was their failure to get six points that denied them the win. In the end, just like John Madden says, the team that scores the most touchdowns is going to win the ballgame.

-The Hokie