Redskins Challenge: Terrelle Pryor, it’s time for you to “Put up your Dukes”
It’s been a slow start for Terrelle Pryor in 2017. As the Redskins prepare for the Oakland Raiders on Sunday night, look for Pryor to have his best game as a Redskin against his former team.
Terrelle Pryor has had quite the NFL journey. Now on his fourth team in five years, Pryor is looking to prove 2016 was no fluke. Last year, Pryor had 77 catches, over 1,000 yards and four touchdowns. Prior to 2016, Pryor had never played the wide receiver position. He was able to post solid numbers, despite playing with five different quarterbacks.
Pryor has yet to find a rhythm with quarterback Kirk Cousins. Through two games, Pryor has eight catches for 97 yards and zero touchdowns. Despite the lack of production so far, he’s predicting big things in Week 3.
Despite its high-octane offense, the Raiders have deficiencies defensively that the Redskins can exploit. Oakland’s top-3 defensive backs features first-round pick Gareon Conley, former Redskin David Amerson, and veteran Sean Smith. Conley is a talented player, but he’s playing in only his third NFL game. Amerson struggled tremendously with the Redskins. The former second-round pick allowed 10 touchdowns in 2014. Amerson was released a year later after two games. Smith has been hampered by a neck injury and is the only Raider questionable for the game.
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In last week’s “Put up your Dukes” column, head coach Jay Gruden answered the call with a run-heavy game plan against the Rams. The Raiders run defense is allowing nearly five yards per carry. (4.8) Now that there’s confidence in the running game, big-plays could be in store for Kirk Cousins.
Play-action passes would be the best way to get Pryor going offensively. Last year, Cousins was one of the better play-action passers in the NFL. At one point last season, he completed 76.7 percent of his throws on play-action, averaging 11.1 yards an attempt. Being consistent with the rushing attack forces teams to bring extra defenders in the box.
Next: 5 Redskins to watch in NFL Week 3 vs. Raiders
There’s no doubt the Redskins miss the production of Pierre Garcon and the explosiveness of DeSean Jackson. However, Pryor is one big game away from making Redskins fans and coaches forget about the talented duo. Could that game be this Sunday against the team that drafted him? So Terrelle Pryor, “Put Up Your Dukes” and come through to help the Redskins against a tough opponent.