In a week 7 matchup, the 4-2 Washington Redskins travel to take on the 3-3 Detroit Lions. The Redskins are riding a four-game win streak into Ford field while the Lions are coming off of last second victory over the Los Angeles Rams. This has the makings of a good game. Here are five things that the Redskins need to do to be victorious.

Off-Scheduled Plays

The Washington Redskins did a great job last week of converting on off scheduled plays. If this continues, the sky is the limit for this offense. If Cousins can make these plays more and more throughout the year, the Redskins will be able to compete with the best teams in the conference. This is all up to Cousins, however. His will to succeed of off-scheduled plays will be the Redskins way.

Stopping the Run

The Washington Redskins have done a great job over the past two weeks of stopping the run. Particularly in the second half of balls games. That will be the key this week. The Lions are not a very solid ground team. Making them a one-dimensional team will only make your defense that much stronger. Look for the Redskins to be aggressive in this game early to make everything fall on Matt Stafford.

Kirk Cousins

Cousins needs to maintain his outstanding play through these last four games. He has 8 TDs and only 3 INTs during the win streak. If he maintains this high level of play, the Washington Redskins are a contender. This is a prime game for him. The Lions defense is one of the worst in the league against the pass. Opposing QBS are averaging 74% completion against the Lions pass defense. With all the weapons at Kirk Cousins’ disposal, this could be fun.

Man-to-Man

The Washington Redskins Defensive Coordinator Joe Berry has challenged his CBs. He has played a majority of man coverage during the last three games. This has not only helped the CBs, but it has also helped in creating a pass rush. He can free up some rushers and come up with some creative blitz and rush packages by doing this. If the Redskins can do that this week against some weaker receivers, they should once again have a successful afternoon.

Big Plays

Like I said earlier. The Lions are one of the worst pass defenses in the league. As a matter of fact, they are ranked 23rd in the league in passing yardage. The Lions are also the eighth worst team in total yardage giving up 380 yards per game. This should lean heavily on the Redskins offense. They are quietly becoming one of the best on the league and so playing a defense that has holes in it, like the Lions, should only make that offense better. It will also leave open many opportunities for big plays. Not only shots down the field but shorts shots with lots of YAC as well.

The Washington Redskins are facing a prime opportunity to put a solid turn onto their season. With games this week against the Lions and next week against the Cincinnati Bengals, there is a strong chance that the Redskins can put a firm grasp on the season going into the bye week. Tune in Sunday to see if the Redskins can make it 5 in a row. ALWAYS HTTR!!!!