Redskins vs. Texans: 5 players to watch in Week 11
By Ian Cummings
No. 2 – OLB Ryan Kerrigan
After kicking off the season with exactly zero sacks in his first three games, Ryan Kerrigan has improved with time. In the Redskins past six games, Kerrigan has 5.5 sacks. His power-rushing style doesn’t always get consistent meaningful pressure, but he’s starting to ramp up production, and he has a chance to build on that progress this week.
The Texans aren’t known for the strength of their offensive line. In fact, they haven’t often been, since the inauguration of the franchise. David Carr’s career was more or less derailed by blocking woes, and while Deshaun Watson has gotten off to a promising start, his line hasn’t given him any favors.
Per NFL Matchup on ESPN, Watson has experience the most pressure per drop back of any quarterback in the league, facing pressure on 41.3 percent of his passing snaps, more than three percent more than the next worst team.
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If the Redskins’ defensive line is anywhere close to what they’re capable of being, they should be able to get plenty of pressure on Sunday. But pressure will never be enough against Deshaun Watson; he has to be contained, and it takes a strong edge presence to accomplish that feat. Ryan Kerrigan will have his hands full, and the Redskins will need the veteran to step up.