Game Recap: Redskins Over Cardinals, 24-6
The Redskins logged an uncharacteristic season-opening win on Sunday, drubbing Arizona 24-6 and giving fans their first strong start since Pierre Garcon, RG3, and Alfred Morris manufactured a stunner in New Orleans way back in the 2012 miracle season.
But now’s not the time to think of the past. All of that’s in the rear-view. The release of Kirk Cousins this offseason signalled the final shrugging-off of that bygone era, while strong performances yesterday from Alex Smith, Adrian Peterson, Chris Thompson, and more, ushered in the start of a new one.
Let’s start with Smith, who sliced and diced AZ’s defense yesterday to the tune of 255 yards and 2 TDs. It was a vintage game for the 34 year old quarterback, rife with rollouts, play action, scrambles, and crisp short passes. There’s little to complain about here, but it’s worth noting that the receiving corps failed to generate much besides Crowder’s 32 yards, and they struggled mightily to get open throughout much of the second half. Smith even tossed a couple throwaways that had Steve Wilks screaming on the sideline for a grounding call that would never come. The Redskins avoided those penalties, but in general the team struggled to create separation and stretch the field outside of their running backs.
Yeah. The running backs. Those two. Adrian Peterson and Chris Thompson. That’s a one-two punch that’s sure to bloody many a nose in the NFL this year. Both spun and juked their way to stellar performances on the ground and through the air. I won’t bore you with stats readily available elsewhere, but consider this: Washington had 429 total offensive yards on the day. Peterson and Thompson were responsible for 294 of them. Through week one, they are our offense.
Two plays caught my eye on Sunday, both in the second half. The first was a right-side rollout by Smith that turned into a short shovel to Thompson, who turned and scampered up field for 17 yards. The second was a run to the left by Peterson disguised by three receivers stacked up to the right. This one also went for 17. Both of these plays were flawless in scheme in execution, and neither were particularly fancy. Nothin’ to see here, just good old fashioned misdirection and well-played football.
Outside of those two, Reed and Crowder were the only two offensive Redskins to make much noise, though Paul Richardson absolutely laid out for a deep-ball in the second half that would have made the league’s highlight reel had he come down with it.
We had a day on defense. Boy, did we. It took Bradford and co. the better part of 3 quarters to find the scoreboard, and what points they did get were gifted by a head-scratchingly loose late game Washington defense. Quinton Dunbar, a guy some fans didn’t necessarily care to see back this year, moved at blink-and-you-missed-it speed on Sunday, logging 3 passes defended, five tackles, and an interception delivered right on the numbers by Bradford. Swearinger and Norman had fantastic games in the backfield alongside him. This unit delivered.
Of course, some of that success has to be attributed to the stellar performance by our lineman and linebackers. AZ running back David Johnson was probably heading into this game hoping for a strong start back from an injury that sidelined him for most of 2017. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Johnson mustered 37 yards on the ground and added another 30 through the air before the final whistle blew. That’s a huge step-up for a Redskins defensive unit that placed last in rushing defense last year.
Sunday’s game went about as well as we could have hoped. With Alex Smith eating up huge chunks of the game on long offensive drives, we kept pressure off our defense and limited the Cardinal’s first-half TOP to about 7 minutes. Then the defense went out and delivered. That’s a recipe for success.
I started this by harkening back to the last time the Redskins won a season-opener six years ago. It’s been too long, and this win was critical for team and fan base morale. But it’s also critical for practical reasons; next week brings a winnable game against the Colts, and after that bouts with the Saints (they lost a close one 48-40 this week) and the Packers (authors of a stunning 4th quarter comeback yesterday against the Bears). It doesn’t get any easier from here.
Like I said, Cousins and Griffin are in the rear-view. The road stretches before us and we’re back behind the wheel. We’ve got our shades on, tunes pumping, engine revving. This win put our foot on the gas. Now it’s time to peel out with the pedal down and tear across the highway of this season.
We made enough noise on Sunday for folks to watch out when we come to town.