No RGIII? No DeSean? No Problem. Redskins Blow Out Jags
By Luke Sims
The only injury DeSean Jackson and Robert Griffin III did today was to their owners’ fantasy teams. The Washington Redskins didn’t miss a beat when their star receiver and quarterback went out of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kirk Cousins came in and looked every bit an NFL starter (again), completing his first 12 passes while carving up the Jaguars for 250 yards and two scores.
The Jags looked in trouble from the start of the game, being unable to stop the Redskins from advancing. As RGIII was pulled from the game the Jaguars still watched as Kirk Cousins led the ‘Skins in for the first score of the game.
The Washington offense never slowed down. Pierre Garcon got just four targets but it didn’t matter as Cousins spread the ball around, with tight end Niles Paul leading the day with eight receptions for 99 yards and a score. Alfred Morris also had a decent game on the ground with 22 carries for 85 yards and two scores. They racked up a total of 449 yards on the day.
But it was the defense that managed to steal the show.
The Jaguars’ offensive line allowed a franchise record 10 sacks against the Redskins. Ryan Kerrigan got the plurality with four. (Yes, that is the same guy the Redskins drafted at 16 overall after trading picks for the Jaguars to trade up for Blaine Gabbert a few years ago) The ‘Skins defense had 18 quarterback hits and completely overran the Jags’ offensive line, which proved to be the biggest concern going forward.
The Redskins held the Jaguars to under 100 yards of offense into the 10:00 minute mark on Sunday, allowing their offense to dictate the pace of the game. The Redskins held the ball for almost 40 minutes and ran 81 plays to the Jaguars 48. At one point Jaguar punter Bryan Anger had as many punts as quarterback Chad Henne had completions (eight). He still finished the day touching the ball as many times as all Jaguar wide receivers combined.
The Jaguars didn’t show up today and the Redskins were able to dominate, even without some primary contributors. The Jaguar coaching staff needs to get back to the drawing board after this one while the Redskins will have to really think about what to do with Kirk Cousins going forward.