There were some exciting moments, but for the most part, the Washington Redskins laid an egg, losing an all-important home game to a winless team with a rookie quarterback. Typically, the three keys to winning any football game are to run the ball successfully, stop the run and win the battle for time of possession. The Redskins failed on all three counts, as the Tennessee Titans down the Skins, 25-22.
Passing Game
There were a few highlights in the passing game on Sunday, most notably, the 52-yard catch by Brandon Lloyd. Lloyd made a tough catch over tight man-to-man coverage to set up a Portis touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. This was clearly the highlight of the game. Cooley also had a nice catch. Unfortunately, something seemed amiss between Brunell and Moss. After a fast start, the pair seemed to have difficulty maintaining their timing.
The pass blocking was good enough that the team should have been able to move the chains with much more success than they did. Unfortunately, the Redskins were unable to take advantage of the chances they had.
1 quarter
Running Game
The game started with passes to Portis and Betts, sandwiched between two end around runs by Moss. It was not until the fifth offensive play that Clinton Portis ran the ball for the first time. This seemed to set the tone for the Redskins offense from the get-go. Portis finished the game with 15 carries and that spells almost certain defeat for the Washington Redskins. Betts carried the ball twice for -2 yards.
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Defense
To quote the person who does the voices on EA Sports NFL Street, “What defense? I don’t see no defense.” In all fairness, the defense did record four sacks, but that is where the highlights stop. In what is becoming a pattern, the Redskins where good on first down, but killed themselves on second. Too many times this season, the Redskins defense has forced a second and 15 or more, only to give up 10 or more yards. Travis Henry set a career high with 178 yards rushing, and the secondary was beaten early and often.
Coming into this season, if someone said that the Redskins would score 22 points, with this defense, most people would have chalked the game in the win column. After six games, it is clear that something is not right. The injury to Shawn Springs, the injuries to Joe Salave’a and Cornelius Griffin are certainly a problem, but they should not make the Tennessee Titans look like the Indianapolis Colts.
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Special Teams
Rock Cartwright and Antwaan Randle-El both had good days, adding some excitement to the return games. The coverage units were serviceable, and Nick Novak did not miss any field goals (granted, he did not attempt any either). Derrick Frost looked like the inconsistent punter from last year. There is not much more to say.
1 quarter
This was a must win game, a game against an 0-5 team at home. While the incessant booing by the fans certainly did not help anything, this should have been a blowout. Now sitting at 2-4, 0-3 in the conference and 0-2 in the division, the Washington Redskins have a lot of work ahead of them, if they wish to even be in the hunt for a playoff spot.
– Scott Hurrey
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Scott Hurrey