3 Keys to victory for Redskins in NFL Week 12 vs. Giants
2. Get Kirk Cousins going early
If there’s one sure-fire way to get the Redskins offense going, it’s to get Kirk Cousins off to a fast start. When the offense struggles, it’s often because they end up becoming one dimensional. They start relying too much on the passing game to get the job done and they lose their play action abilities. Considering how important play action passing is to the Redskins offense, this can be a major concern.
Cousins is a quarterback who thrives when working the play action. Out of the gate, the team needs to make sure they utilize this ability to allow him to get an open look on his first pass of the day. When Cousins completes his first pass, it’s easier to get him in a rhythm on the opening drive. That’s part of why the team has done so well at scoring on the opening possession this year. The play action game has aided Cousins.
However, it’s important that Washington looks to keep Cousins hot for the first half as they try to build a big lead on the Giants. While the New York offense hasn’t been very good this year, the Redskins defense has struggled in recent weeks and has given up a combined 72 points in the last two games. They can’t be counted on to definitively hold the Giants back late, so Cousins and the offense are going to be tasked with scoring a lot of points to help give the team the early edge.
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Ideally, Cousins will be able to find a weak point in the secondary and exploit it. The Giants don’t have a solid linebacker corps, but safety Landon Collins will be able to help lock down Vernon Davis. Still, on shallow routes, it would make sense to get Davis the ball in space so that he can work the middle of the field and generate YAC yards. Cousins should look his way early, as Collins may be prone to biting on early down play action calls.
Meanwhile, Jamison Crowder figures to have a chance to get more done against the Giants than the other receivers. His ability to move laterally will prove to be a challenging cover job for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and the others who will line up across from him. Getting him the ball early will get him involved in the short passing game and will bode well for Cousins’ confidence.
Essentially, if Cousins and the Redskins offense starts quickly, they will do as well as they have in the past two weeks. Though they lost both games, the Giants aren’t close to the same caliber of an opponent. So, if the offense plays equivalently to last week, then they will be in fine shape.