Redskins Challenge: D.J. Swearinger, it’s time to ‘Put up your Dukes’

Believe it or not, the Redskins are playing meaningful football games in December. If they’re to pull off the upset against the Philadelphia Eagles, they’ll need a strong game from safety D.J. Swearinger.

Immediately after the Washington Redskins dropped to 6-5 after a 31-23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, D.J. Swearinger blasted his teammates’ practice habits. It was not the first instance, as he did so at several points earlier this season after losses against the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints. One of the more prideful players on the team, Swearinger’s no-nonsense approach to the game is vastly different than some of his teammates.

On his fourth team in five seasons, D.J. Swearinger has found a home in Washington and has carved out his niche as the tone-setter and emotional leader on defense. Swearinger is one of the more transparent players on the team.  And you can see that in his comments following the Cowboys loss, per John Keim of ESPN.

"We can go out there and do whatever on teams that aren’t good — like I said, against Tampa, we can do whatever we want on teams that ain’t good. But when you’ve got teams that can play with you, you gotta prepare. You gotta tackle. You gotta do the simple things right. If you don’t do the simple things right, you gonna get embarrassed on national TV.That’s why we don’t get respect as the Redskins — we don’t do the simple s— right. We do the simple s— right, I guarantee you we get respect. So we don’t need no damn respect. I see why we get disrespected, ’cause we don’t win the big game. We gotta win the big game. Only way you win the big game is you prepare for the big game. That’s every day. And that’s gotta be in your heart.That laughing s—, man, that s— for the birds when you’re losing. If you’re losing, if you ain’t no championship team, it ain’t no reason coming in the building and laughing — unless it don’t mean that much to you. Unless you’re just doing it for the money. But if you’re doing it from the heart, that s— gonna mean something to you when you walk in that building after you lost two games in a row. It’s gonna mean something to you."

It’s pretty hard to disagree with Swearinger’s remarks. The Redskins are constantly disrespected and it’s warranted. The defense was top ten in points allowed and yards per game halfway through the season, but has been reeling the past four weeks. The game against the Cowboys was more salt on the wound.

However, Washington is 6-5 and would be the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs if the season ended today. With a win against the Eagles on Monday night, the Redskins would not only save their season, but they would be tied for first place in the NFC East with the rival Cowboys.

It was tough sledding for D.J. Swearinger and the Washington Redskins last year against the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only were the Redskins swept, but Swearinger had some of his worst games in coverage against Philadelphia. In the first game of the season, Swearinger was burned for a 58-yard Carson Wentz touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor on a busted coverage. In the second meeting, Swearinger was once again burned for touchdowns: a 64-yard touchdown pass from Wentz to Mack Hollins and a four-yard touchdown from Wentz to Zach Ertz.

In these type of games, you need your best players to perform. The Redskins have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons and a win versus the Eagles would sort of ‘stop the bleeding’. With five winnable games remaining, the defense has to return to midseason form if the Redskins are to earn a playoff berth. So D.J. Swearinger, I challenge you to ‘Put up your Dukes‘ set the tone on defense and lead an inspired performance by the Redskins defense against the Philadelphia Eagles.