When week 2 ended, the Washington Redskins were looking 0-2 directly in the face. They faced a must win as the traveled to the New York Giants in week 3. This was a place that has not been too kind to the Redskins in recent history. That may have changed on Sunday it what was a stellar game. Here are four things we learned in the victory over the Giants.
Redskins will fight
Washington will be in every game. The defense stiffened enough to keep the Giants out of the end zone when needed. Although they had some trouble containing the run, the defense pressured Eli Manning and the Giants offense into mistakes. The defense was critical in the victory.
The run game is there
The Washington Redskins finally ran the football, and they did it against a team that they were not supposed to. The Redskins ran the ball 30 times for a total of 90 yards. Remember folks. It is the quantity, not the quality. This allowed play action passes and gave quarterback Kirk Cousins the needed time to take shots down the field. The Redskins even used the run game to kill the clock late in the game. If the Redskins can continue with this commitment and success, the season should turn around.
Kirk Cousins returned
Although he had a brain fart at the end of the first half, Cousins was back to 2015 form. He was hitting receivers down field and making terrible throws from the pocket. The snafu at the end of the half could have been avoided by a timeout being called after the Jordan Reed. This is another coaching blunder that could have been avoided. All in all, however, Cousins had an excellent game and kept the Redskins in good situations all game.
Special teams are the second-best group
The Redskins offense gets a lot of talk and press and is probably the team’s best unit. However, the special teams unit may have perhaps been the best unit on Sunday. The punting of Tres Way keeps the Redskins from having to defend short fields. He also proved that he could be used as an emergency QB on any given day. The throw he made on the fake punt in the 3rd quarter was perfect. Place-kicker Dustin Hopkins is perfect on the season and has shown great depth on kickoffs. The Redskins special teams have had its issues in past seasons. Here in 2016, the unit has been strong.
The Washington Redskins may have just salvaged their season with the victory on Sunday over the New York Giants. The next four games include the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. These games were once viewed as a soft section. Now maybe they can ride this momentum wave into something positive going forward.