Redskins: Studs and duds from the team’s Week 1 loss to the Eagles
Dud: The secondary
Speaking of the secondary, they weren’t great during this contest. And in the second half in particular, the Redskins secondary had some major issues.
As the Eagles were able to establish themselves more against the run, it became easier and easier to pass. This almost always ends up being the case for NFL teams, but for the Redskins, the quality play from the secondary eroded once this happened.
In the second half, the Redskins couldn’t contain DeSean Jackson. Josh Norman had given up a long score to him in the first half, but it was just because he was a step slow. However, after halftime, the ‘Skins had trouble staying with him. Jackson caught a long touchdown pass off an apparent miscommunication between Norman and Montae Nicholson. This allowed the Eagles to quickly strike and get back into the game.
Following that, the Redskins struggled to get quality coverage from their secondary. Jackson was left open on a number of occasions. Norman struggled to keep up with the speedster. Quinton Dunbar took a bad angle on a ball that almost ended up being a touchdown for Zach Ertz. Jimmy Moreland, at times, looked like a rookie.
The team did deal with some injury issues at the position — Dunbar cramped up at one point and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had to leave the field as well — but it doesn’t explain exactly why they went from having solid coverage skills to being completely unable to stop the Eagles’ aerial attack.
Moving forward, the Redskins are going to need to get better and more consistent play out of their secondary, Dunbar and Norman in particular. The players back there can be effective in their various roles. But the team needs to iron out the communication issues that caused some big plays and make sure that they are better able to contain speed options moving forward.
Next. Three takeaways from Redskins loss to Eagles. dark
It’s easier said than done, but if they can’t do it, their defense won’t be as strong as some were hoping it could be. And if that happens, the team could be in the market for some new starting corners to replace Norman and possibly Dunbar in 2020.