As my dad always said, a win is a win. The Redskins still looked sloppy but the new-look defense was able to hold Sean Mcvay and the Rams to 20 and a last minute drive plus a quick interception by Foster sealed the win. This win helps solidify the fact that a good defense means way more important to a team than a good offense.

Gruden stayed committed to the run, rushing the ball 39 times for a combined 229 yards and controlled the clock chewing up 36 minutes (granted 61 of those yards came from one spectacular Chris Thompson draw play).  Cousins wasn’t at his best this week. However, he didn’t turn the ball over and was able to cap off a late game-winning drive.  The Redskins showed some signs of improvement and find themselves suddenly on top of the division. Here are some players that stuck out and their grades:

Montae Nicholson:

Boy was I wrong about #35 when we drafted him. Nicholson started the game at safety alongside Swearinger and was making plays all over the field. Here he is first drive of the game coming on a perfectly timed blitz and blowing up the play.

Weirdly enough, he was subbed out on 3rd downs for Everett. Redskins coaches must know something I don’t about his coverage skills. Nonetheless, Nicholson is a breath of fresh air after the Cravens situation.  This guy can play and I’m excited to see him grow.

Grade: A

Rob Kelley:

Rob Kelley had a decent game before he got injured but he has to start playing better. Look at the first run of the game:

Look at the size of that hole and the open field in the second photo. My grandmother could have picked up 20 yards on this play. This is a inside zone left with an unbalanced line. Kelley instinctively cut it back and had nothing but day light but for some reason went back inside and I don’t know why. Check it out from the end zone camera:

My goodness.  However, Kelley still was able to get 5 yards here and make it a positive play. Kelley would get better as the game went on.  Here is another missed opportunity on the first drive of the game.

Kelley again has a hole but elects to put his head down and try to run over someone instead of hitting the hole.  Granted, the rams #90 Aaron Donald feels the hole open and drives Lavou into it but if Kelley simply follows his lead blocker (Nyles Paul #84) here he could’ve sprung through the hole and be off the races. He still is able to get an easy 6 yards but if he had better vision he could’ve had an easy 6 points.

For what it’s worth, Kelley did make plays.  Here is his third carry of the drive:

Now here is a good run by Kelley. This appears to be another inside zone to the left but this time the offensive line goes right and Kelley gets immediate pressure in his face. He stops, jump cuts to the left then jump cuts back to the right off Crowder and is able to pick up 2 yards after what looked like a busted play.

Kelley finished wth 12 carries for 78 yards and would’ve had a ton more had he not hurt his ribs. Thankfully, he did not break a rib so he should suit up next week. Samaje Perine, for all of his promise, still doesn’t look like he has the confidence to carry the team.

Grade: C-

Kirk Cousins:

I recall saying to myself during the game that Kirk has regressed to captain check down this week. However, after re-watching the game he made plenty of throws to the contrary. He didn’t have a great game by any extent of the imagination but he did enough to get the job down. I hate the term “game-manager” but this is the kind of game that lends you to describe Cousins as such. He didn’t go deep once or try to force a ball.  He simply took what the defense gave him and handed it off 39 times. Lets start with the good.

Here is Kirk’s second throw of the game – a three-step drop out route to Pryor for an easy first down. Just a great pitch a catch. Kirk is throwing it right as Pryor makes his break and the DB, who is in a deep off coverage, has no chance. Easy first down. This is the kind of west-coast play that Kirk excels at.

Here is some of the frustrating parts of Kirks game. 

The rams bring a little pressure with 5 men and play man across the field. Now either Kirk read the blitz pre-snap and focused on Thompson or the play call was a HB read over the middle. Either way, Kirk missed a wide-open TD to Vernon Davis (#85 bottom of the screen in the 3rd picture on the 15 yard line) here. Davis runs a stutter-go and is wide open. He even had Thompson still but the ball gets batted at the line mostly because Kirk double clutches it and tries to side arm it to him off-balance. Bad play here by Kirk.

Chris Thompson:

Have yourself a game #25! For a minute there, I thought Thompson was going to score every single one of the Redskins TDs this season. Thompson got a new contract week 1 and has been paying off ever since. The 61 yard draw play was a thing of beauty and reminder that strength punishes but speed kills. I’m not sure what Thompson needs to do to see more playing time/ touches but I feel like I speak for everyone when I say please give him the ball more. Here is a perfect example of why Thompson should get the ball more.

Thompson takes a pitch play that looked like a 4 yard gain max and cuts it up last minute for 9 yards and a first down.