Redskins Reality Checks Week 7: Upright rejects Cowboys comeback bid

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LANDOVER, MD – OCTOBER 21: Alex Smith #11 of the Washington Redskins passes the ball against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half at FedExField on October 21, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

3. Reality Is, Dallas’ rush defense is statistically even better than Washington’s.

The Redskins needed to establish the run to offset some of Dallas’ pass rush. They needed to rely on Peterson, who has been their best offensive player this year. But Dallas had been incredible against the run leading up to this week. Realistic expectations were for Peterson to have a lot of touches for a low average.

I predicted Peterson to get 24 carries for 88 yards and 1 TD, to go with 2 catches for 14 yards to just break the 100 total yards mark. Much less than this would have meant the Cowboys’ dominated the line of scrimmage against the Redskins’ offensive line and would have spelled a long day for Alex Smith.

Reality Check: Adrian Peterson ended up with 24 rushes for 99 yards and 1 catch for 9 yards. While he didn’t get into the end zone, he certainly was the single greatest contributor once again for a Redskins offense that struggled for consistency all day. If Peterson can continue to play even at a relatively similar level for the remainder of the year, there is no reason to think the Redskins can’t remain involved in the playoff race throughout.

4. Reality Is, Alex Smith needed to build on the good plays and not the bad ones.

I was hoping that Alex Smith would build upon some of the better plays he had against Carolina and avoid some of the terrible mistakes that had plagued him at points this season. Instead, he continued to struggle mightily in this game.

Smith didn’t turn the ball over, and he did manage to make a few key plays, especially in the first half, to help lead the team to their early lead. But overall, he did not have a good game at all. In spite of good protection and a steady diet of open receivers, Smith looked uncomfortable all night, making countless head-scratching plays.

The terrible pitch that lead to a big loss on a play that was blocked for big yardage, the horrendous miss of a wide-open Jeremy Sprinkle in the end zone, the overthrow of Doctson who was behind the defense, and, worst of all, the inexplicable choice to run out of bounds on the final offensive possession. Those are just a few of the gaffes for Alex Smith in this game. I had predicted the pass rush would be effective in spots but that Smith would manage to put together a complete and consistent game.

Reality Check: Smith had his worst statistical game of the year, managing only 178 yards passing and 1 TD on a 56 percent completion rate. However, he did not turn the ball over, unlike what Redskins fans have been used to in recent years against the Cowboys. That fact, combined with a couple of key third-down conversions and a stiff right goal post kept this from being a total disaster for Smith.

Had the Redskins lost, much of the blame could have rightly been placed on him. There are glimpses of hope that he might soon turn a corner, but so far, he has not been particularly impressive as a Redskin.

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