Our Washington Redskins ended the 2017 NFL regular season with a loss to the New York Giants by the score of 18 to 10. Twelve of those points came at the start of the game after the Redskins won the coin toss and chose to defer. On 2nd down and 10 yards to gain, Eli Manning was in the shotgun after no huddle and handed the ball off to Giants running back Orleans Darkwa who ran off right guard and 75 yards later he was in the end zone for 6 points. Redskins Anthony Lanier blocked the extra point so the Giants led 6 to 0. They kicked off to the Redskins and on 3rd down and 7 yards to go for a 1st down, a Kirk Cousins pass intended for Josh Doctson was intercepted by Kelvin Sheppard who ran the ball to the 19-yard line. On 2nd down and 7 to go, Eli Manning threw a touchdown pass to Travis Rudolph to make the score 12 to 0. The Giants tried a two-point conversion but failed, so the score remained 12 to 0. The end result of the 1st 2:12 minutes of the game, the Redskins gave up 12 points. The rest of the game was mainly a defensive struggle.
Redskins Preston Smith got his hands up and blocked and then intercepted an Eli Manning pass and was tackled at the Giants 20 yard line. On 2nd down and 2 yards to go at the 12-yard line, quarterback Kirk Cousins ran around the left side for a Redskins touchdown thanks to a great block by tight end Vernon Davis and two blocks by left tackle Tyler Catalina. That put the Redskins back in the game at 12 to 7, but the Redskins could only kick a field goal the rest of the game. Field goal kicker Dustin Hopkins missed one of two field goal attempts. The Redskins offense could not score anymore points against the Giants defense. The Redskins defense kept the Giants from scoring any more touchdowns and limited them to two field goals to make the final score 18 to 10.
Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins probably had his worst game with no touchdown passes and 3 interceptions. Here are some statistics: The Giants had 17 first downs to the Redskins 10. The Giants ran on the Redskins 260 yards and the Redskins only rushed for 61 yards. The Giants had 44 run plays to the Redskins 16 run plays. The Skins got 3 sacks on Eli Manning and the Giants sacked Kirk Cousins twice. The Giants only had 1 turnover but the Redskins had 3. Both teams punted 9 times. Time of possession was Giants 31:53 to Redskins 28:07. One can see why the Redskins lost. Three interceptions and only 1 touchdown and the defense could not stop the Giants running game. Giving up 12 points during the first minutes of the game was the main cause and we cannot overlook a 7.69% 3rd down conversion rate.
Now the 2017 NFL season is over for the Washington Redskins who ended up with a 7 wins and 9 losses record. We loyal fans will put this injury-plagued season behind us and still support our Washington Redskins. During the offseason, some players will remain Redskins players and some will not be on the 53-man roster in 2018. The Kirk Cousins contract issue will be resolved sometime in the offseason, probably in March. Most of us believe we need another deep threat and fast wide receiver who demands double coverage and can take the “top off the other team’s defense” like we had in DeSean Jackson. Most agree we must have a couple of powerful, big nose tackles who can stop the run up the middle and push their center back into the backfield.
Many believe our “strength and conditioning” department needs to be overhauled since our team had an incredible number of injuries. I know President Bruce Allen, Senior VP of Player Personnel Doug Williams and Head Coach Jay Gruden will be signing players to future contracts, extending some contracts, cutting some players as well as getting some good players in Free Agency and the 2018 NFL Draft. This new year 2018 will be exciting and interesting between now and the time the 53 active roster is complete in September. I believe a healthy Redskins defense under Greg Manusky and Jim Tomsula will be a top 6 defense in 2018 with a healthy Jonathan Allen as part of it. The offensive line and tight ends guru Bill Callahan will have an exceptional offensive line with depth. Happy New Year and HTTR!
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