The Redskins ran the ball 39 times in Sunday’s 27-20 win over the Rams, a ground-and-pound approach that was a departure from the pass-heavy attack the team has favored in recent years. Washington didn’t completely alter its offensive game plan because it was going up against first-year Rams Coach Sean McVay, who served as the offensive coordinator in D.C. for the past three years, but Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins said his former mentor was in the back of his mind as he led a game-winning drive that culminated in a touchdown pass to Ryan Grant.
“I think we were very aware of it,” Cousins said Monday on 106.7 The Fan’s “Grant and Danny Show” when asked how much the Redskins counterprogrammed their offense in anticipation of facing McVay. “We didn’t want to overdo it. We didn’t want to give that too much credit, but we had to be aware of it. I felt like it was pretty smooth. I didn’t feel like there was too much we were giving away, but believe me, when we were in the two-minute drill and I’m giving hand signals to the receivers, I’m scared to death that he’s on the sidelines, or coaches are on the sidelines shouting out to the corners what the routes are, because at the end of the day you can’t change your whole offense in four days. So there’s some things you have to just roll with and trust that you can be as discreet as possible about it. Fortunately, we found a way to get the win and it’ll be nice after these first two weeks not having to play a team that knows a lot of our stuff as a result of having people that have been in our meeting rooms as of very recently.”
The Eagles signed quarterback Nate Sudfeld to their practice squad a day after the Redskins released him and one week before the NFC East rivals met in the regular season opener. Unless Marshawn Lynch spent his year away from the NFL analyzing Redskins game tape with the same fervor as Scot McCloughan, the Raiders, who visit FedEx Field on Sunday night, won’t be nearly as familiar with Cousins and the Redskins’ tendencies as Washington’s first two opponents.
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Cousins, who averaged 38 attempts last season and threw 40 passes in Week 1, completed 18 of 27 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown Sunday. He fully approved of the game plan, even though his role was diminished. Cousins said the offensive line had a look in its eye against the Rams and “some mojo” on Washington’s final drive, which included seven run plays.
“It felt different than last year,” he said. “Obviously, I was used to last year throwing the ball 40 times, and expecting to be throwing it on first, second and third down. Yesterday I think the plan all along, going into the game, was let’s try to run the ball. First down, let’s commit to run the football throughout the game, let’s not get away from it even if it’s not succeeding. And then when it did succeed, and we had so much production, I think we wanted to run it even more first, second down as much as we could. That obviously takes away opportunities in the passing game, but I’m not complaining about it. I’m happy to hand the ball off and have production there and move the football. I think still you’d love to see more production through the air, regardless, but I think for the most part we played the game that was called, we played the game that came to us. Not every game calls for a lot of drop backs on first down and chucking the ball downfield. I think each game calls for a different plan. As long as we get the win, I think we executed the plan that was called.”
McVay wasn’t the only one who could’ve predicted the Redskins would attempt a goal-line fade, a staple of the Redskins’ playbook since last season, at some point on Sunday. Grant Paulsen asked Cousins about his conversation with Redskins Coach Jay Gruden on the sidelines after his incompletion on a fade to Josh Docston — and an incompletion to Chris Thompson on the next play — forced the Redskins to settle for a field goal in the second quarter.
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“The coaching point there is, if you take a three-step drop, you buy a little bit of time, allow Josh to close the cushion on the defensive back, and then now really make it a true jump ball where Josh is already in the end zone waiting for the ball before it’s even left my hand,” Cousins said. “What I did was I really took a one-step drop, and while Josh was still closing the cushion on the [defensive back], the ball was already up in the air. He would have to be running to it as opposed to waiting for it and jumping up for it. So Jay’s point was really, the play was there, we got a great matchup, we really have a mismatch there for a fade, and we’ve got to give him an opportunity. When you throw the ball the way you did, you kind of doom the play from the start. Josh doesn’t even have an opportunity to go show what he can do. The coaching point there was set your feet, take three steps, buy some time and put it up. That’s where we’ve got to go back and talk about how we want to throw fades, and the details there, because each guy we throw a fade to wants it a little differently, and each DB technique that we go against changes it, and then what yard line we’re on changes it. That’s where we’ve got to establish some rules down there to be able to play with.”
In other words, don’t expect the Redskins to stop attempting the fade going forward, no matter the opponent.
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