The Washington Redskins are off to an 0-2 start, which means everyone involved – players, coaches, front office and fans – are desperate for a win in Week 3 as they face off against the Detroit Lions at FedEx Field this Sunday.
It’s a critical game in a lot of ways. Detroit historically is not a good road team and has never won in Washington. Further, the Skins travel across three time zones next week to play at Oakland. If the Skins can right the ship this week and pull off a win on the other side of the continent the following week, they would sit 2-2 at the bye week and perhaps by that point, Robert Griffin III’s “preseason” will be over and he and the team can return to the business of defending the NFC East title they earned last season.
But a loss this week to a dynamic Lions offense and a poor showing due to travel and at 0-4, someone could very well get fired.
The Detroit Lions (1-1) are currently second behind the Chicago Bears in the NFC North. The Lions are coming off of a 25-21 loss to the Arizona Cardinals and have plenty of weapons, but also have some serious issues with injuries, the most significant of which is to RB Reggie Bush’s knee.
Bush has bounced around from the New Orleans Saints to the Miami Dolphins and now to the Lions, where he has become a huge part of their offense. Bush is highly regarded for his ability to run the football as well as his prowess as a receiver out of the backfield.
For the second straight day on Thursday, though, Bush was not able to practice with his Lions teammates and is listed as questionable on the team’s injury report.
If Bush isn’t in the lineup Sunday against the Skins’ beleaguered defense, they can focus on superstar Calvin Johnson and underrated tight end Brandon Pettigrew. The bottom line is the Redskins will have a better chance of winning if the Lions have fewer weapons on the field with which to attack the so-far porous Redskins defense. If the defense can produce some three-and-outs, the offense will have more opportunities and better field position to work with.
The recipe is there for the Redskins offense to explode on Sunday and have an excellent day. The Lions pass defense is middle-of-the-pack at best.
The key for the Skins is to get the ball rolling in the early part of the game. They need to get Alfred Morris involved early. They really need to put some points up in the first quarter to establish some momentum for the rest of the game and put pressure back on the traveling Lions. The Redskins offense hasn’t been able to score on in the first half of the ENTIRE season. That desperately needs to change Sunday.
If the Redskins are going to win they have to do two things:
- Cover Calvin Johnson: Not the easiest task. Expect the Redskins to double-team “Megatron” and rotate safties over the top to help out with deep coverage. If the Lions throw to Johnson successfully and QB Matthew Stafford establishes good chemistry with the Pro Bowler early, then it’s going to be a long day for the Redskins defense.
- The Redskins offense needs to score early and often: If the Redskins offense scores early, hopefully that will allow RGIII to relax and will help get this Redskins offense back to the high gear it operated in in 2012. Look for them to run the ball early so the play action pass can be a big factor later in the game.
- Stay the course. Unless a new injury pops up, there’s no reason to remove Griffin from the game. The only way to get batter in this league is through live snaps, and this is just game three of Griffin’s preseason. The growing pains hurt, but if the Skins are able to establish the run early, Griffin should be able to get into more of a rhythm.
DSP Staff Intern Brandon Enroth contributed to this report.