Redskins Reality Checks Week 12: Redskins ruin Thanksgiving with loss in Dallas

5. Reality Is, Dallas has more to lose and more pressure in this game.

There is no doubt that the Cowboys’ backs were more against the wall in this game. A loss to the Redskins would have left them with a nearly insurmountable deficit in the division and needing to, likely, win their final five games to even have a chance. I reminded us all that whenever there is not a major talent disparity among two teams, it seems that the more desperate team usually finds a way to dig deeper and put forth the effort needed to get the win.

I expected the Cowboys and their home crowd to be amped up for this game given the make-or-break nature of it for their season. I expected the Redskins to do what’s necessary to keep the game close, and I expected the game to come down to a few key plays late in the game.

Reality Check: The Cowboys played less sloppy than the Redskins, held onto the ball, tackled better, and benefitted from a major disparity in penalties called and missed. But ultimately, the Redskins just didn’t have enough to match the Cowboys in this game.

6. Reality Is, this is a unique opportunity for Jay Gruden.

Colt McCoy runs Jay Gruden’s offense exactly the way Gruden wants it to be run…right on the edge between precision and recklessness. Many believe Gruden would have been perfectly content to start Colt McCoy this season rather than trading away assets to bring in Alex Smith. In some ways, he is the perfect test case for evaluating Gruden as a head coach. I wondered if Gruden’s offense would flourish with a talented but flawed quarterback if that quarterback ran it just as intended. I also wondered if Gruden could take his team to the playoffs in spite of losing his starting quarterback.

This game represented the difference between two divergent paths for this team, for its coach, and for its new starting quarterback. Would they seize the moment and deal the knockout blow to their hated rivals, or would they succumb to the adversity and limp to the finish line of another middling season? I predicted Gruden would have the team ready. I felt they’d respond to getting punched in the mouth early on, keep the game close, and manage to take a lead late in the game on the back of some Colt McCoy heroics. But in the end, I felt the Cowboys would get a game-winning drive.

Reality Check: It wasn’t that close. The offense showed glimmers of hope, and the pass rush had a good first half. But overall, this team didn’t seem that well prepared.

This game felt like a game where the players and coaches weren’t on the same page. They did some nice things, but those were overshadowed by a couple of major gaffes in the secondary and a rash of interceptions by Colt McCoy.

The bad news is that this game felt like a game in which the Redskins were good enough to win, and yet they failed in a big spot. The good news is that the reasons for this loss are fixable errors. Now the question is, can they get them fixed in time to not let this season slip through their fingers. We’ll begin to find out next Monday Night.

Look for my next Redskins Reality Checks article later this week. Until then, connect with me on Twitter @TheRealityIs__ #HTTR