ASHBURN — There was an awkward roar of applause from the FedEx Field crowd after Miami Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry returned a punt 69 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in a 17-10 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday
No, it wasn’t Redskins fans cheering for the home team’s demise.
It came from the horde of Dolphins fans in the crowd who made it feel like the game was being played in South Florida, and they were fully charged after Landry’s momentum-swinging play.
Not only did the play result in a Redskins loss, it had coach Jay Gruden pining for a better performance from the special teams unit when they host the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.
“It is deflating,” Gruden said Monday at Redskins Park. “We’ve got to flip that script. We have to get some of those. We have to change the momentum in our favor. Seems like the last couple years, the kickoff returns have gone against us, the punt returns have gone against us, the blocked punts have gone against us. We have to start doing that ourselves, blocking some punts, returning some kicks.
“It’s going to take work and these guys have got to come out and buy into what they’re doing on special teams. I think we’re coaching them up well. We’ve got to coach better and we, obviously, have got to play better, but we have got to do better on special teams.”
The Redskins started their special teams overhaul on Monday by cutting kicker Kai Forbath and signing Dustin Hopkins. Gruden pointed to Forbath’s shortcomings on kickoffs that ultimately cost him his job — not his 87 percent field-goal accuracy in his three-plus seasons in Washington.
The next step could be to implement speedy receiver Rashad Ross as a kickoff returner. With wide receiver DeSean Jackson expected to be out the next three to four weeks with a strained left hamstring, Ross will get more playing time.
Gruden said he’s uncertain whether Ross is ready to play meaningful snaps as a receiver against the Rams, but he mentioned adding him on special teams.
Running back Chris Thompson had one kickoff return for 36 yards on Sunday, but Ross’ speed makes him appealing option.
“Him and Chris [Thompson] both can do it,” Gruden said. “We like the way Ross does it. We have a couple days of practice, see how much we can get out of him [offensively]. Worst case, he can be a good kickoff returner. He’s an excellent kickoff returner.”
Ross, who made the 53-man roster after excelling in the preseason, was inactive on Sunday. In the preseason, his only kick return went for 35 yards. He also returned punts, but that role will be left to rookie Jamison Crowder.
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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