Redskins’ Best Shot At Beating New England – Perfection, Passing… And Prayer?

John Matthews
WMAL.com

ASHBURN, VA — (WMAL) The Washington Redskins enter Sunday’s game against the defending World Champion New England Patriots as 14-point underdogs, and there are many people who believe the Las Vegas oddmakers are being kind to the Burgundy and Gold.

The Redskins seemingly have every advantage possible in preparing for the Patriots. They are coming off a bye week, which followed a dramatic come-from-behind win against Tampa Bay. The break gave several players time to recover from injuries, including wide receiver DeSean Jackson, cornerbacks Chris Culliver, Beshaud Breeland and DeAngelo Hall, and linebackers Ryan Kerrigan and Perry Riley.

But let’s be honest. There aren’t a whole lot of people picking an upset in Foxborough.

“Well, now would be a good time to get religion,” says WMAL Redskins analyst Trevor Matich. “The Redskins, I think, will have to depend on scoring a whole lot of points, because I don’t see any way they’re going to be able to slow Brady down,” he added.

That Brady, of course, would be Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, perennial NFL MVP candidate and four-time Super Bowl winner. Redskins coach Jay Gruden knows a little about him.

“His mechanics in the pocket are perfect. His reads, his leadership, his accuracy, he’s got great touch on the football when he needs it, his pocket presence is outstanding, but there is really not anything you can say negative about the guy,” says Gruden. “Obviously, we’re going to have to get him off his spot. We’re going to have to rush the passer in order to have a chance, somehow, some way.”

The Redskins are also going to have to avoid mistakes to have a shot at an upset.

“When you make that mistake, that’s when they cash in,” says Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry. “That’s what makes [the Patriots] great and that’s what makes them one of the best teams at least in the last few years. Again, it’s more about us – us focusing on our job, us doing our job better than we’ve done it all year because they’re waiting for you to screw up. They’re waiting for you to make a mistake and then they pounce on you. We can’t allow that to happen.”

It will be tough for the Redskins to play error-free ball, but they face an even bigger challenge in trying to force Brady to make a mistake.

“The goal every week is just to try to make the quarterback think it’s one thing and give him the other thing. It does happen, doesn’t happen that often with No. 12, but it does happen. We’re going to do our best to try to make it happen repeatedly,” says Barry.

On the offensive side, the Redskins are hoping the return of their deep threat, DeSean Jackson, will open the field and allow Kirk Cousins to move the ball.

“The Patriots’ secondary is just mundane,” says Matich, “and if Jackson and Cousins can have good chemistry, that gives the Redskins their best chance to keep up on the scoreboard.”

Getcha popcorn ready, and if you’ve found that religion… please say a prayer.