Kirk.......Cousins! Come on Down! You're the next contestant on The Price is Right for a Quarterback Who is Improving Through A Season to the Point of Leading the League in Some Statistical Categories, But Not the Categories That Drive High Contract Prices, But Gets You In the Position for the Playoffs That You Were Not Expecting So You Have to Pay Him or Else He'll Go Somewhere Else That Will Pay Him That Much Money And Psychologically You Will Not Be Able to Deal With That Kind Of Rejection. That's not too long of a title for a game show, right? I'll also lay the rhetoric on thick by asking the question; Doesn't this weekend's game between the Eagles and the Redskins seem like one of those bad endings to The Price is Right? Two people at the end of the show who beat out the old lady at the wheel who everyone was pulling for (the Dallas Cowboys) all just to get a shot at 2 jet skis or a trip to the Grand Canyon. It does. All except for the fact that Kirk Cousins is playing for a contract. If you believe the canon being spewed out by the powers that be, Cousins will be back in DC regardless of the outcome of this season. The question is price. The Redskins have the first bid in this Showcase Showdown, and if they beat the Eagles on Saturday Night you can believe that Cousins will fetch north of $20 Million per year solely on the fact that another team (Cleveland, Houston, St. Louis) will pay that much for his services. But if the Redskins balk at the jet skies because it is highly regulated on the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, it leaves room for the Eagles to swoop in and rain on Kirk Cousins' $20 Million Dollar Parade. Here is what the Redskins need to do to ensure that they secure their first playoff berth in three years:
Nail Jell-O to the Wall: The Redskins running attack has gone through peaks and valleys this season. Their run game has come under specific fire after the Rams game in Week 2 for not being dynamic enough, but in all of The Redskins' last four wins they have been able to amass at least 99 yards of rushing or more. The first war on record where the casualties from combat outnumbered the casualties from disease and famine was the Russo-Japanese War of the early 20th Century. Why? Because the combat code of the Japanese (the Bushido) called for Japanese soldiers to have honor and die in combat so they would keep charging the Russians until they all died or they won. The Redskins would do well to heed this "stick to your solution at all costs" mentality as the running game can open up the passing game. Keeping the down and distance manageable and continually coming at your opponent with the same tactics regardless of outcome or success will lead to a degradation of the Eagles' will. The Redskins need to run the football, regardless of their yards per carry average. Alfred Morris and Matt Jones will provide enough support so that all other parts of the team will be able to function. The one area where the Redskins outstrip the Eagles statistically is in time of possession. Feed the ball to Morris and Jones on first and second down and good things will happen. The Redskins will possess the ball and keep the Eagles in a constant stat of panic. This will only work if the Defense does its' job.
Limit Big Plays: Listen to these statistical anomalies. 1) The Redskins' Defense is giving up a higher yards per completion rate than the Eagles, but they are giving up a lower yards per game rate than the Eagles. 2) The Eagles' passing yards per attempt is 0.6 yards less than the Redskins 3) The Redskins are giving up more yards per attempt than yards per game in the running attack than the Eagles. Translation? The Redskins give up big plays. Look no further than last week where the Bills hit on two plays of 40 yards or more in the second half to make a game of what was otherwise a rout conducted by both the Redskins' offense and defense. Also, the Eagles relied on two plays of 39 yards or more to keep pace with the Redskins in their first meeting of the season. If the Redskins expect to win they will need to limit the pays of 40 yards or more, and have their defense pester Sam Bradford into turning the ball over a whopping 15.2%, which is good for 5th highest TO% in the league. Otherwise, the Eagles and Redskins seem evenly matched and it will come down to a matter of wills.
Win and You're In: The narrative all throughout the preseason was how the Redskins need to rebuild, with very few people touting the talent that the Redskins compiled in the offseason (all of it is good, but read the last paragraph). Now we find ourselves bidding first in a Showcase Showdown for the NFC East Title, in a venue and a timeslot that has not been hospitable to us in the past. The last time the Redskins won at Lincoln Financial Field was with Robert Griffin in 2012, and we do not need to rehash the Redskins' impotence once the sun goes down. But four months ago we were saying that six wins would be a successful season. The Redskins have eclipsed that mark and now are one win away from making it to the playoffs. It will not be easy against the Eagles, and I see a back and forth game for the first half. But the Redskins' offense will prove too much to deal with, and the Redskins pass rush will eventually wear down Sam Bradford to the point of him making some costly mistakes in the second half. Get ready HTTR nation. We will not have to wait another decade to see a home playoff game.
Redskins Win: 30-21
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