The Washington Redskins showed why they can't be taken seriously in loss to Steelers
There was one playoff-worthy team on the field Monday night in Landover, Md., and it certainly wasn’t the Washington Redskins.
The Pittsburgh Steelers showed in their season opener why they’re considered by many to be Super Bowl favorites this season.
Washington showed why they’re a team that cannot yet be considered a serious playoff contender.
Perhaps the Redskins can turn it around — there's plenty of time to do it — but in a game against one of the NFL’s best teams, Washington — a team supposedly on the rise — wasn’t able to come close to matching the Steelers. It was a lopsided contest that illuminated how far the Redskins are from some of their lofty preseason goals.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger carved up the Redskins’ defense with ease Monday — he does that to a lot of teams, to be fair — but it was telling that Washington could only muster one counterpunch.
It took three quarters for the Redskins to mount a single viable offensive attack, going 77 yards with a no-huddle offense — but by the time they figured out how to effectively move the ball into the end zone, Washington was already down 24-9.
It got worse from there.
The Steelers subsequently drove down the field with a professional, methodical 13-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that took 7:13 off the clock. Game over. The Steelers added another late touchdown to emphasize the point that they were the far superior team.
The final score: 38-16.
Pittsburgh might be the singular superior team in the NFL — a loss to them shouldn’t be the end of Washington’s season — but it was the way the Redskins lost — with disorganization, listless offensive playcalling, a lack of any push on either line, and a defense that was devoid of adjustments — that should leave Washington fans concerned.
On top of all of that, there was also poor quarterback play. Kirk Cousins was woeful Monday. Don't let the 30-of-43, 329-yard line fool you — the box score doesn’t tell the story. Until the Redskins went to a no-huddle look when the game was out of reach, Cousins was dinking and dunking his way to field goals in a game — in a league — defined by touchdowns.
The Michigan State product is the 13th highest paid player in the NFL — he makes half-a-million dollars less than Tom Brady — and Monday's was a performance deserving of the $660,000 he made last season.
To make matters worse, the team's fate entirely rode on Cousins' play. Washington, which might boast the shallowest running back corps in the league, only ran the ball 21 times Monday, averaging 2.2 yards per carry — and the quarterback didn’t come close to getting the job done.
Meanwhile, his Super Bowl-winning counterpart posted a virtuoso performance for Pittsburgh. There was no comparison between the two QBs.
Luckily for Washington, they play in a division without a clear leader — Dallas showed its problems in Week 1, the Giants appear to be a prototypical 8-8 team, and the Eagles are starting a rookie quarterback. The Redskins were supposed to separate from that pack this year. It’s only one game, but unless big changes are in the wings, it sure looks like that’s not going to be the case.
