Redskins Reality Checks: Team loses game, Alex Smith, but not hope
By Tim Payne
No. 4 – Reality Is, the patchwork offensive line has a big challenge this week.
The offensive line held up admirably last week with three backups and a gimpy Morgan Moses in the lineup. They started the same five this week, and had their work cut out for them both in pass protection and run blocking.
I predicted Cooper would turn some heads with another strong performance, and the unit as a whole would hold their own and avoid catastrophe. I predicted the Texans would notch three sacks and keep the Redskins in third and long much of the afternoon.
Reality Check: Catastrophe was not avoided. Alex Smith was sacked three times, and McCoy was sacked twice, although the sack that resulted in Smith’s broken leg looked to be a blown blitz pickup by Byron Marshal. Ultimately, the offensive line wasn’t the reason the Redskins lost this game, and there is hope that Trent Williams will be back to bolster the line very soon.