Skins Cant Afford a 3 and Out come Sunday
By author
No I’m not talking about the Skins league worst 22% 3rd down conversion rate what I’m talking about is the type of 3 and out that does not just kill drives it can kill entire seasons……
That’s right folks I’m talking about 3 losses in a row because if the Skins lose Sunday they might as well as just punt the season because their playoff chances are just about done. A loss on Sunday would put them at 4 and 6 and there is already 8 NFC teams with 5 or more wins
NFC East– Giants 6 and 3, Eagles 6 and 3
NFC North– Packers 6 and 3, Bears 6 and 3
NFC South– Falcons 7 and 2, Saints 6 and 3, Bucaneers 6 and 3
NFC West– Seahawks 5 and 4
Plus you have the Rams with 4 wins, Cardinals with 3, 49ers with 3 and the Vikings with 3 and none of these 4 play against each other this week.
So if the Skins lose this week there is a chance 9 teams will have more wins than them and another 3 teams could have just as many wins as the Skins. So if there has ever been such a thing as a must win game for the Skins it would be this week.
So lets talk about the Skins week 11 matchup vs the Titans
2 Possible factors working in the Skins favor
1. Like the Skins the Titans are also on a 2 game losing streak
In my opinion the best way to break out of a bad stretch of losses is to go against another team that has hit a rough spot in their season. Catch a team when they are cold and hope that you can continue their losing streak.
2. Titans are 31st in the NFL in passing yards per game
One of the Redskins biggest problems this season is they have gotten torched through the air giving up 286.6 yards per game receiving. In 4 out of the Redskins 5 losses they went against teams that ranked 3rd, 7th, 9th and 11th in passing yards per game.
The Titans are just not that great of a passing team and with Britt out it makes them even a little less dangerous through the air. No knock on Nate Washington or Randy Moss they are capable receivers but I’d rather face them than say DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Macklin any day of the week.
2 Possible factors working against the Skins
1. They have a very strong running game in Chris Johnson
Compared to last year he is having a bad season but overall he is still third in rushing yards and second in rushing touchdowns. If Washington can manage to slow him down the Skins chances of winning will increase greatly. In 4 of the losses Johnson has played in this season teams kept him under 60 yards rushing for the game in 3 of them.
2. Titans defense
Although they give up 350.8 yards total offense a game they manage to keep teams out of the end zone giving up only 19.9 points per game and just 15 touchdowns on the season.
The Skins offensive line will have their hands full vs the Titans who already have 27 sacks on the season. For the Skins offense to have a chance the o-line will need to play better than it has in recent games and McNabb will have to limit his interceptions (which the Titans defense has 14 of tied for 3rd best).
Is the game a winnable one for the Redskins? Yes…
Titans are a good team but not an elite team… If the Skins offense can manage to muster up a couple touchdowns and the defense can limit Chris Johnson forcing the game to be put on the shoulders of Vince Young they have a good shot at winning.
Im thinking this will be a low scoring game