On a cold brisk day at Bank of America Stadium, the 4-5 Washington Redskins took on the undefeated 9-0 Carolina Panthers, led by their charismatic quarterback Cam Newton. Washington actually has led the two teams’ series with a 7-4 record and, after their convincing win over the New Orleans Saints last week; the team wanted to get to 5-5 and into the NFC East division lead mix by coming away from Charlotte with a win.
There was a lot on the line for both teams. For the Panthers, it was the opportunity to be the only undefeated team in the NFC and a step closer to locking in home field advantage in the playoffs. For the Redskins, a win would give them a huge momentum boost for a possible playoff run.
Unfortunately for them, the Redskins’ hopes did not come to fruition.
Washington won the coin toss and started with a squib kick that was fielded at the 30-yard line. Its defense played with authority early, stuffing the run and getting to Newton, forcing a very quick three and out. On the Redskins’ first offensive possession, they had a very nice drive. But on the fifth play from scrimmage (a third-and-five), the Panthers brought the pressure. Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins escaped the pressure (with help from rookie running back Matt Jones who provided a great block to pick up the blitz) but the ball got away from Cousins and was picked off by Panthers DB Kurt Coleman who returned it 28 yards. This set Carolina up perfectly.
The Panthers would take advantage of the great field position, scoring quickly on a three-play, 31-yard drive that would be capped off by a 12-yard touchdown catch-and-run that would put them up 7-0. That lead would be short-lived however, as Cousins would come back firing to wide out Pierre Garçon on the first play of the next drive. It was a 17-yard reception and the Redskins were off and runnning.
After a run by Jones that would go for a loss of two, the Burgundy and Gold would go back to the air again, looking for their speedster WR DeSean Jackson. He delivered in a big way, taking Cousins’ pass 56 yards for a touchdown and tying it up 7-7.
Unfortunately, Carolina began having their way with the Redskins’ defense, getting into a rhythm by mixing it up with their no huddle offense. Washington failed to get them off the field on third downs and, because of some Redskins miscues, the Panthers would go on a 13-play, 78-yard drive which took 7:45 off the clock. Washington’s special teams did make a positive contribution with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by receiver Andre Roberts but this would be the last time the team would get in the end zone.
Offensively the Redskins struggled to move the ball or sustain drives. Dropped balls and four fumbles would result in 27 points for the Panthers. Carolina’s DC Sean McDermott really appeared to have Washington’s number, holding them to 14 yards rushing on 12 carriers. The lack of the running game combined with the turnovers put the Redskins in a deep scoring deficit that made them one dimensional.
Washington’s defense displayed the same problems that have plagued it all year. Missed tackles by initial defenders to the ball allowed for the Panthers to continue moving down the field with ease. Once again the Redskins defense allowed a 100-yard rusher (Jonathan Stewart ended with 102 yards on 21 carries), giving up a grand total of 142 total yards on the ground. Redskins’ cornerbacks giving a considerable cushion on the outside gave Newton easy targets. The Panthers QB would end up throwing for five touchdowns on the day.
There is a lot of blame to go around for this Redskins loss… the blame doesn’t lie in one person. Deficiencies on the defense were certainly obvious but the offense’s inability to hold on to the football completely killed drives. The quickly-occurring turnovers put the defense out on the field for a considerable amount of time after having just been there, tiring them out and exposing there inconsistencies.
Washington must clean up the mistakes, to be sure. Even more, there must be a better level of focus on the road. Head Coach Jay Gruden took the blame for the team’s poor performance Sunday, saying he needs to have them better prepared. It’s commendable that he would put it all on his shoulders as the head coach but the coaches aren’t the ones pads.
At some point, the players — or someone — must stand up and say “enough is enough.” Mediocre play and not paying attention to details (especially on the road in a hostile environment) should not be tolerated in the locker room.
The one saving grace in this recent loss against Carolina is that the Redskins have a home game coming up next against the division rival New York Giants for a share of the NFC East lead.