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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: Outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan #91 of the Washington Redskins sacks quarterback Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter at FedEx Field on October 29, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – OCTOBER 29: Outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan #91 of the Washington Redskins sacks quarterback Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter at FedEx Field on October 29, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Defense: Ryan Kerrigan dominates despite minor injury

The defense was one of bigger strengths for the Redskins on Sunday. They had a lot of success on third down, and despite the fact that they allowed a lot of longer runs, the Skins were able to find ways to stop the Cowboys.

It may not look like it on the surface, but the Redskins defense did really well to limit the Cowboys. Because of the turnovers committed by the offense, they constantly found themselves backed up, and they managed to limit the Cowboys to 143 passing yards. They were able to consistently force Mike Nugent field goal attempts and prevented many touchdowns throughout the contest. The final score doesn’t reflect how effective the unit truly was.

One of the better performers for the defense was Ryan Kerrigan. The star pass rusher was able to generate a lot of pressure against the Cowboys, and he recorded two sacks during the contest. Kerrigan used his strength to overpower the strong Dallas linemen and he really gave the defense the pressure they needed early in the game.

Must Read: Redskins halftime takeaways from Week 8

However, Kerrigan did suffer a minor groin injury early on that did impact him for a bit. It kept him off the field for a bit, but he did return. He wasn’t quite as dominant after that point, but he still did everything he could to help the defense out.

At the end of the day, the defense put forth an effort that could have won them the game. They only allowed 26 points, excluding the late, meaningless pick six for the Cowboys, and did so despite constantly being in bad field position. Considering the losses the unit had suffered, this was an encouraging performance.

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