Welcome back to the B&G Report Post Christmas Victory Monday Edition! Hope everybody in Redskins Nation had a Merry Christmas and enjoyed the Skins 27-11 pounding of the Denver Broncos! The Cowboys were officially eliminated from the playoffs later in the day, which made it a truly enjoyable Christmas Eve! I understand that the Broncos had nothing to play for and have a horrendous offense. The Redskins are also in a similar position to Denver at this point in the season as well, but Kirk Cousins and company showed real heart against the Broncos in the second half. This very well might be Cousins last home game as a Redskin, but he showed the front offense what he can do without true playmakers on offense. Although Samaje Perine was active, once again he put the ball on the ground. I haven’t given up hope that The Oklahoma Kid can still be a good player though, but a #1 back he is not. The offensive line had a really good game, not giving up a sack all afternoon. They accomplished that feat without Franchise LT Trent Williams playing. All Pro Von Miller and the top ranked Bronco defense, was caught out of position all second half. This performance could go a long way for the continued continuity on the Skins O-Line. The Left Guard position is still a glaring weakness though, but they seem to have found a corner stone Center in Rookie Chase Roullier. The defense had another good showing for the second week in a row, facing a bad offense. The Skins Defense forced three turnovers on the day. Denver’s run game was productive finishing with over 150 yards. Denver unexpectedly went away from the run though, when they started losing. This Skins defense needs to improve on stoping the run, but showed hustle to the ball all day. The defense only gave up 171 passing yards on the day though and held Denver without a touchdown until a late garbage time score by Denver’s CJ Anderson.
Offensive Performance of the Game
Cousins was the clear offensive MVP against Denver. The Michigan State product threw for 299 yards and 3 TD’s. Cousins did have a horrible interception in the Broncos end zone though. Kirk started the the gane slow/inconsistent, but he made multiple big plays in the second half. Those plays included a wide open 48 yard TD pass to Josh Doctson and 31 yard TD pass to Vernon Davis. I’ve read all the back and forth arguing between Skins fans on social media regarding Cousins, but talent shouldn’t even be in the discussion for retaining his services. The issue with Kirk returning to Washington is salary at this point. I don’t envision Snyder/Allen presenting a realistic contract to Kirk, so once again the Franchise Tag seems to be their last option. I’m off the Transition Tag bandwagon, after reading multiple reports that the Skins aren’t interested in a bidding war. So for the third year in a row, we must stay patient as fans and wait for the chips to fall.
Defensive Performance the Game
Although Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith dominated, my defensive performance came from Kendall Fuller. The second year cornerback finished the game rated as the best defensive player ofthe game, per Pro Footbsll Focus. Fuller was often covering Broncos best pass catchers, but only gave up one catch on five targets. The Virginia Tech product is getting better every week and is becoming the Skins best cover corner. The defense finished the day allowing Denver to convert only 5 of 17 third down conversions. Again I realize Denver’s offense is bad, but Fuller and the defense have shown that this is not last years pathetic/underwhelming group.
What’s Next?
The Redskins conclude their 2017 campaign with a final road game in New York on New Year’s Eve. Although the Giants are having an historically bad season, this divisional matchup always seems to bring out the competitive juices in both teams! After next week we go all in on Draft Prospect evaluations, as well as Redskins roster review. I believe this team can still be successful going forward, even if they have to move on from Cousins. They have a really good nucleus on defense and an O-line that can be top ranked next year, but who replaces Cousins will be the $150 million dollar question heading into the offseason. Adding to that thought, drafting a game changing running back is the other offseason priority for Washington and could help with a potential semi-rebuild if Cousins departs. I’m looking forward to reading some great reader feed back, as well as your Skins questions for the next edition of Skins Q & A!
HTTR🏹🏈