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Last week, the Washington Redskins rushed for an NFL-high 182 yards behind what was dubbed a dynamic duo between Adrian Peterson and Chris Thompson. On Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, that rushing attack was silenced. So much so, a wide receiver, Jamison Crowder, led the team in rushing with 29 yards.
The Colts defense did a great job stifling the Redskins’ running backs. Adrian Peterson, who was coming off a 96-yard performance at Arizona, was held to 20 yards on 11 carries. That’s 1.8 yards per carry. That also includes a 14-yard gain. Do the math that’s six yards for his other 10 carries.
Chris Thompson was no better, gaining one yard on four carries. That’s right that’s not even one yard a carry. Robert Kelley had one rushing attempt it went for one yard. In all the Redskins’ running backs rushed for a combined 22 yards on 16 attempts, an average of 1.4 yards per carry between the three.
The Colts confused the Redskins offensive line, beat them to spots mostly using stunts. And when the Redskins could get past Indy’s brick wall, Colts linebacker Darius Leonard was there to gobble up runners in tune for 18 tackles, 15 of which were credited to being solo stops.
Indianapolis who played a combination of Cover-2 and single-high safety looks, was able to keep the football in front of them whether the Redskins were running or passing. The dump off passes and screens were simply not there for the Redskins and because there was not enough of forcing the football down the field, the Colts could guard against the run while defending the pass.
Gruden laments the lack of balance. They got off track a ton, meaning they were behind the chains on down and distance. Throws everything off.
— Craig Hoffman (@CraigHoffman) September 16, 2018
As a team, Washington rushed for 65 yards on 22 rushing attempts. Crowder broke off a sweep toss for 25 yards on the Redskins first offensive snap. That would not only be the Redskins’ biggest run of the game, but the only run of any significance the remainder of the game.
#Redskins faked the end around and TE sift off this look last week. This week, they give it to Crowder for a big gain pic.twitter.com/PmXom731ys
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) September 16, 2018
An offensive line that dominated Arizona a week ago got manhandled for much of the game. Gaps where clogged, lanes cut off, and the speed of the Colts linebackers and safeties cut off any chances on the outside.
Washington’s offense is different this year than it was before under head coach Jay Gruden the previous three years. Protecting the football and being able to control the time of possession behind a strong run game is key to their success. Sunday against the Colts, they did neither and for it never could sustain momentum in a game playing catch-up from the opening drive.
The defense of the Redskins played well enough to win, holding an elite-level quarterback in Andrew Luck to 21 points is no small feat. Throw in the fact he was intercepted twice, the Redskins could have played better. However, without getting the ground game on track, nearly every possession ended with a punt or field goal attempt.
Washington has to get the ground game going to have any success offensively. Their running backs cannot have a combined 22 yards on 16 carries like Peterson, Thompson, and Kelley did on Sunday. Not many teams can win football games without throwing the ball down the field and barely getting one yard a carry from its running backs.
In Sunday’s game there was a old Adrian Peterson sighting the one that couldn’t muster more than 3.5 yards per carry last season between New Orleans and Arizona. By the way through two games, he is averaging 3.1 yards a carry with the Redskins.
The Redskins have to collectively fix the issues that were presented on Sunday. An offensive line that is considered among the upper echelon of the NFL cannot be dominated by a young Colts front the way they were on Sunday. And they’ll have to do so by next week’s game against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, another elite-level quarterback. Keeping Rodgers off the field is key for the Redskins’ success, and it will be an onus for the run game to keep the chains moving, something they failed to do against the Colts.
