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Redskins Breakdown: Team crushed by injuries, offensive ineffectiveness in Week 8 loss

By Jacob Camenker

LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 29: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins walks off the field after losing to the against the Dallas Cowboys at FedEx Field on October 29, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 29: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins walks off the field after losing to the against the Dallas Cowboys at FedEx Field on October 29, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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LANDOVER, MD – OCTOBER 29: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins reacts after an incomplete pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the fourth quarter at FedEx Field on October 29, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – OCTOBER 29: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins reacts after an incomplete pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the fourth quarter at FedEx Field on October 29, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Passing Game: Kirk Cousins doesn’t perform as well as he should have

Kirk Cousins’ performance was one of the more frustrating parts of this game. Despite the fact that he had fairly good ball placement on most of his throws, he was far from a strength for the offense.

For most of the contest, Cousins was forced to throw checkdowns to his running backs and short passes to his receivers. A good portion of the blame for the downfield ineptness can be placed on the receivers, as they were unable to do much at all downfield. Also, his lack of quality blocking made it difficult for him to have enough time to push the ball downfield.

At the same time, Cousins didn’t do enough to push the envelop and help us win. Our own Ian Cummings had a perspective on the performance of Cousins, and said the following of him in the immediate postgame recap.

More from Riggo's Rag

"In today’s affair, the Redskins’ offense couldn’t mount any long drives. Kirk Cousins was rendered inept, not only by subpar offensive play and receiver drops, but also by his own inconsistency and unwillingness to throw past the sticks. The play calling was as uninspired as it’s ever been, and it looked to be a loss from the very start, even when they were up."

This analysis is sensible. The trio of factors, the poor receiver play, lack of blocking, and mediocre play calling, all factored into the demise of Cousins in this contest. But he should shoulder some of the blame. The throws that didn’t go past the sticks were particularly uninspiring, as it cost the Redskins first downs in numerous circumstances. It’s fine to do that once or twice, but a veteran quarterback should not consistently throw short of the sticks.

Overall, this was a subpar performance for Cousins. He needs to improve moving forward and perhaps he will as the rest of his offense continues to get healthy.

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