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Redskins Halftime Takeaways: Defense, run game carrying team

By Jacob Camenker

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: Chris Thompson #25 of the Washington Redskins leaps for the pylon to score a touchdown over Maurice Alexander #31 of the Los Angeles Rams during the second quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: Chris Thompson #25 of the Washington Redskins leaps for the pylon to score a touchdown over Maurice Alexander #31 of the Los Angeles Rams during the second quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /
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LANDOVER, MD – JANUARY 01: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins hands the ball off to teammate running back Rob Kelley #32 in the first quarter at FedExField on January 1, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – JANUARY 01: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins hands the ball off to teammate running back Rob Kelley #32 in the first quarter at FedExField on January 1, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Offense

Of course, the team’s offense has also looked great as well. And it isn’t Kirk Cousins leading the charge. In fact, Cousins hasn’t done much more than manage the game and work the intermediate part of the field. Rob Kelley and the ground game has carried the offense.

Kelley was able to surprisingly rip off huge chunks of yardage against the Rams defense. Despite the return of Aaron Donald, the Rams have struggled to deal with the Redskins offensive line in running scenarios. Kelley has 12 carries for 78 yards right now and he has been the best player on the field today. He looks a whole lot different than he did in the season opener. Unfortunately, he went to the locker room after suffering a rib injury midway through the second quarter and is questionable to return.

In addition to Kelley’s improved performance, Chris Thompson has continued to be a solid situational weapon. He had a nice touchdown run that saw him run around the left end and dive over the pylon for a touchdown. He also had an unbelievable run on a delay that saw him use his speed to hit the hole and run for another touchdown. It looks like he and Kelley will carry the load, while Samaje Perine was mixed in more during the first half as well. Perine looked good, but he will just spell Kelley if the second year pro keeps running like he has in the first half.

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While Cousins hasn’t looked particularly strong in the first half, he has been efficient, which is more important. He is throwing accurate passes to his receivers and is avoiding mistakes. Some may point to his multiple fade routes that went out of bounds inside the five, but that was more of a play calling decision. Cousins decided that the option was not there, so he put the ball where nobody else could get it.

The top negative for the Redskins was that Terrelle Pryor hasn’t gotten involved in the offense. He didn’t see many targets, but he had a bad drop on one of them. He needs to clean that up if he wants to be the team’s top receiver.

Additionally, the pass protection by the offensive line hasn’t been very good. While their run blocking has improved, Cousins has still been under heat. This is an area for improvement as the team looks to make halftime adjustments.

Next: Redskins live game blog NFL Week 2

Jay Gruden deserves a good deal of credit for turning around this offense after last week. The Redskins look a whole lot better, and if they can become a physical, run first team, they will be in good shape moving forward.

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