The stakes
There is no such thing as a must-win game in Week 2, but this is about as close as it gets for the Redskins. A loss to the improved but still bottom-feeding Jaguars would send Washington to 0-2 to begin the season, with losses against teams that won a combined six games all of last year. Not good. When asked repeatedly if this is a must-win game, coach Jay Gruden and his players talked all week about the importance of winning every game, taking care of business at home, etc. But there was a lingering feeling behind those words. They know what we know: this is a very winnable game, and they need to take advantage of it.
Offensive key: WR DeSean Jackson
And, by extension, Gruden, who will be responsible for calling plays to best utilize him. The first-year coach said this week that he would like to take more shots down the field against Jacksonville, and he would be wise to take more than a few of them with Jackson, his fastest and most dangerous receiver. Jackson can change the complexion of the game with one play. If he gets — and makes the most of — just two or three opportunities, it will open up the rest of Washington’s offense for the rest of the afternoon.
Defensive key: NT Chris Baker
Chris Neild and Barry Cofield are on injured reserve, and Kedric Golston, who is listed as doubtful, likely will not play because of a groin injury. That leaves Baker, who will shift from defensive end, as the lone defensive lineman in the rotation with significant experience at nose tackle. As such, he will need to not only play well but also play a lot. It’s a big burden for a guy with only four NFL starts under his belt, but he has the size (6 feet 2, 298 pounds) and instincts to handle it.
Scouting the Jaguars:
Inside linebacker Keenan Robinson, on Jacksonville’s offense:
“You’ve got to be good with your eyes. They do a lot of things that get you seeing one thing, and they’re coming back another way with something else. So you’ve got to make sure everybody’s reading their keys, everybody’s doing their job because they do some things that can trick you. It’s kind of like a college offense a little bit. And things they do can hurt you, like they hurt the Eagles in the first half.”
Coach Jay Gruden, on Jacksonville’s flexibility in coverage:
“They play their Cover-2 shells, they play their single-high [safety] and they play man-to-man with tight coverage, they play loose. So, it’s important for us to take advantage of whatever look they play. Whatever game plan they have for us, we have to be ready for and be able to adjust our scheme accordingly. But every pass play we have, we have different types of patterns –- some guys going deep, some guys going short –- and it’s important to hit the right one based on the coverage.”
Quarterback Robert Griffin III on Jacksonville’s defensive similarities to Seattle:
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“They have got very similar techniques to what Seattle does. They throw in a little bit of different things. Seattle has the personnel and the players to [do] whatever they want. Jacksonville has those players, too. I’m sure we’ll see a little bit everything, but you can kind of look at Seattle’s defense and know what to expect from them.”
Prediction: Washington 28, Jacksonville 23
The Redskins won’t be throwing any parades after this one, but they’ll get enough out of their deep passing game to build a second-half cushion and hang on for the first win of the season.
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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