Well, it was another miserable Sunday witnessing my beloved Redskins lose to the Cowboys 31-21. Though there were some good moments in the game, mainly in the 1st quarter when our defense was holding off Dak, Zeke, and company from scoring. We ended up scoring first to take a 7-0 lead in the 2nd quarter, but the Cowboys responded with back to back scores to take a 14-7 lead at halftime. Things were still manageable, and the game wasn’t out of hand yet, I was feeling very optimistic in our chances to pull off a victory. In the 3rd quarter, we scored 7 points, as did Dallas, so by the end of the 3rd quarter the score was 21-14 (still very manageable), but the 4th quarter is where we let things get completely out of hand. We score 7 points, and the Cowboys scored 10, bringing the final score to 31-21. This brings us to 0-2 in the division, which complicates our chances to win the division. We got 4 games left within the division, games that we MUST win to have a shot to make it into the playoffs.
Look, our defense has to play better, I know they are banged up, and depth continues to be an issue, but for us to have a shot at making the playoffs, we need to win divisional games. Our defensive schemes have to be designed to stop players like Zeke, Dak, Cooper, Wentz, Barkley, to name a few. Not having Jonathan Allen, Quinton Dumbar and Fabian Moreau hurts, but Manusky (Defensive Coordinator) has to figure out ways to get this defense to step up and play up to their potential, which is high. Our offense is showing flashes of greatness. This kid McLaurin is the real deal; Paul Richardson is currently our best wide receiver. Adrian Peterson was more effective with his running than Derrius Guice was in week 1 against the Eagles, and now that Guice is injured and gone for a few weeks we need Adrian Peterson and Chris Thompson to continue to alternate, and we need to stay committed to the run no matter what. Jordan Reed is needed desperately. It would be tremendous if we could get both Reed and Vernon Davis together on the field and healthy. Next week we have the Chicago Bears with their strong defense waiting for us, and to make things worse, playing on Monday Night Football hasn’t brought us any fortune as of late. We can’t be 0-3 by the end of week 3.
The rest of the league:
Eagles 20- Falcons 24: Atlanta took care of business! Any team that beats any of my Redskins division rivals gets kudos from me.
Browns 23-Jets 3: Baker Mayfield and company rebounded nicely after last week’s debacle. Sam Darnold’s absence has affected the Jets more than I expected, or maybe they were always this bad?. They shouldn’t be this bad, especially, with offensive weapons like Leveon Bell, Jamison Crowder, Robby Anderson, and Demaryius Thomas. They need to figure out their QB situation pronto! They have Belicheater and the Patriots heading their way next week.
Giants 14-Bills 28: Eli Manning played well considering the lack of talent, but the Daniel Jones whispering had already begun midway through the game, and as I finished this post the Giants announced Jones as their new starting QB, benching Eli. I think this decision was too premature; this is only week 2. They might end up regretting benching Manning this soon in the season. Saquon Barkley is their one and only bright shining light. The Bills are 2-0 and seem to be a solid team; we’ll see once they play Tom Brady and the rest of the Belicheaters.
Chiefs 28-Raiders 10: Patrick Mahomes is magical; this team is my SuperBowl pick (for now). Derek Carr struggled, but I give Jon Gruden and company a hard pass since their opponent is playing at a very high level. The Raiders will be better than last year.
Saints 9-Rams 27: Sean McVay’s Rams continue to do their thing–they put up plenty of points and have a balanced offense. Drew Brees will be gone for a few weeks due to a thumb injury, which means Terry Bridgewater will be taking over starting QB duties for a few weeks. Curious to see how things play out here. The NFC South is up for grabs.
49ers 41-Bengals 17: As I said before, Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch are building something very special in San Francisco, tune in, they will make a lot of noise in weeks to come. The Bengals are an enigma, they played well on week 1 against the Seahawks but got completely dominated on week 2. Is their rookie head coach Zac Taylor over his head? We’ll see how things play out.
Chargers 10-Lions 13: Detroit’s defense is looking good, and it may be better than I thought. Phillip rivers moved the ball around on the Lions but struggled to put up points. It’s obvious to me that they miss not having Melvin Gordon.
Steelers 26-Seahawks 28: Russel Wilson was on fire and Seattle is 2-0 to get the season started. Big Ben got injured and will be gone for the rest of the season, so is now the Mason Rudolph show in Pittsburgh. If this kid plays well and shows promise, there will be talks regarding Big Ben’s future next season.
Panthers 14-Buccaneers 20: Something is not right physically with Cam; he doesn’t seem like himself. I was stunned by how much they struggled offensively. McCaffrey barely got 37 yards in the entire game, after putting up great stats in week 1 against the Rams. Old men, Greg Olsen, put up solid numbers and was their best offensive weapon. The Bucs needed this victory badly, Bruce Arians is an excellent coach, and he will make things tough for their opponents. We’ll see if he can turn Jameis Winston into a better QB. Carolina is now 0-2, and Tampa is 1-1. The potential loss of Drew Brees will make this division very interesting.
Patriots 43-Dolphins 0: The Belicheaters made the Dolphins look like an amateur football team. The Dolphins are playing for the future, stockpiling draft picks for next year’s draft. Don’t expect much from Miami this season.
Vikings 16-Packers 21: Gary Kubiak is bringing his zone scheme into Minnesota, something Kirk Cousin is very familiar with since he ran an almost identical scheme with my Redskins back when Mike Shanahan coached him in Washington. The game was close, but Kirk needs to get going fast, he has way too many weapons to only score 16 points, and the expectations are high for the Vikings. The Packers defense showed up again and kept them in the game. It was a big division win for Aaron Rodgers and company.
Colts 19-Titans 17: No Andrew luck? No problem. The Colts are trucking along with Jacoby Brissett and managed to upset the Titans.
Cardinals 17-Ravens 23: Lamar Jackson is one of the most dynamic players I’ve ever seen. The Ravens struck gold with this kid. Kyler Murray played better than week 1, he is a work in progress and so are the Cardinals.
Jaguars 12-Texans 13: The Jaguars without Nick Foles made things tough for the Texans, but they pulled off the victory at the end. Jacksonville is showing signs of dysfunction within their ranks. I also do not expect much from the Jaguars this season.
Bears 18-Broncos 14: The Bears got it done. They have a strong defense, and they will keep their offense in games within a manageable chance to win games. Denver seems like they are rebuilding, they won’t make the playoffs, and they need to find a Quarterback soon, it seems Flacco is not the answer.
My overall disposition regarding the Redskins heading into week 3: Very concerned…HTTR!!!
Rod Rioja 