5 bold predictions for Redskins vs. Jaguars in NFL Week 15

5. No Redskins RB averages more than 3.0 yards per carry

Since Washington’s Week 9 loss to the Falcons, their running game has mostly been in shambles. Adrian Peterson has had his moments, but excluding the 90-yard TD run he had against the Eagles, he is averaging merely 2.6 yards per carry in his past six games. And the rest of the team isn’t doing much better.

It’s abundantly clear that a big part of the problem here is the offensive line. The team is starting it’s fifth- and sixth-string options at the guard position while tackles Trent Williams and Morgan Moses have been banged-up in recent weeks. That lack of quality blocking has definitely had a major impact on the ability of the backs, but it’s also notable that the top backs have their own issues.

Peterson is starting to slow down as the season goes along and that is partially due to age. He is already 33, and he faded down the stretch last year for the Cardinals. He still has some nice runs in him, as evidenced by his solid ability at the goal-line and with the 90-yard score, but there are also a lot of plays where he just crashes into the line of scrimmage and can’t do much. Without better blocking, Peterson just can’t continue at anywhere near the torrid pace he started the year with.

Meanwhile, Chris Thompson has missed a lot of time with injuries this year. He’s great in space, but this offensive line can’t open that up for him. And also, the team is probably trying to avoid getting him too many touches between the tackles because of the rib injury he is dealing with.

With that said, it’s going to be hard for the Redskins backs to get going in this game. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them all average under 3.0 yards per carry. The run game is just virtually non-existent because of the offensive line problems and that is compounded by the minor issues each of the two top backs has had in the last couple months.