LANDOVER — Redskins wide receiver Jamison Crowder ’euro-stepped’ once he reached the end zone and went to make a layup with the football through the goalposts.
The move, which Crowder said was inspired by NBA star James Harden, was well-earned — given the Redskins’ initial difficulty in scoring a touchdown.
The Redskins offense overcame a slow start in Sunday’s 27-11 win over the Denver Broncos.
Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins started with six straight incompletions. By the end of their first two drives, they had -2 yards. For an offense that managed less than 250 yards the last two weeks, Washington looked like they were in for a long day against the league’s No. 1 defense by yards allowed.
But Cousins finished with three touchdowns and almost 300 yards. So what changed?
“The play calling was really good all day long,” said Cousins, who was wearing a Christmas-themed suit. “Jay [Gruden] did a good job looking at their subtitutions and looking at who they had on the field, how to attack that and giving me some multiple play calls in the huddle where I could get to a better option based on their defensive alignment.
“We got into some optimal plays as a result.”
Redskins coach Jay Gruden said he tried to spread the defense in different formations and open up the field. That was successful, as the game started to turn when Cousins found wide receivers Ryan Grant and Crowder in the middle of the field.
Crowder, who finished with four catches for 47 yards, said working the middle of the field was part of the game-plan.
It makes sense. The Broncos have shutdown corners in Aqib Talib and Chris Harris, and a notable pass-rush led by linebacker Von Miller.
The Redskins had to get the ball out quick and work the ball away Harris and Talib.
“Honestly, we wanted to take a few more deep shots this week, but [the middle of the field] was just an area where we thought they had trouble defending,” said Crowder, who scored with 2:07 left in the first half.
The Broncos’ defense was also worn down as the game went on. The Redskins’ defense held the Broncos to just 115 yards in the second half and Denver’s passing game was largely ineffective.
By the fourth quarter, Cousins was finding his receivers with regularity. The Broncos’ misread a play and Josh Doctson broke free for a 48-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Later, with a little less than five minutes to go, Cousins found Vernon Davis for a 31-yard touchdown to go up 27-3.
Perhaps the most surprising element of Sunday’s game, however, was that Cousins remained largely upright. Before Sunday’s game, Cousins had been sacked a career-high 7.5 percent of the time.
But Miller — as well as the rest of the Broncos’ defense — wasn’t able to record a sack.
“We just stayed to the play,” right tackle Morgan Moses said. “We’ve got a great quarterback behind us that gets the ball of fast and we’ve got a great offensive line coach. … Anytime we’re clicking like that, it makes it a lot easier.”
The Redskins weren’t perfect Sunday. Cousins threw a poor interception in the end zone, and a botched snap resulted in Cousins slamming his helmet on the sideline.
Still, since the Redskins lost running back Chris Thompson to a season-ending broken fibula, their offense struggled to find a rhythm. In the following five games, the Redskins offense was inconsistent at their best — and absolutely horrid at their worst.
But the Redskins got back on track Sunday, even with a slow start.
“After the first couple of possessions, I didn’t even know if we were going to get 100 yards on them,” Cousins said. “That just goes to show you that you have to keep playing.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.