Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
The Washington Redskins will look to improve their winning streak to four games in road openers with a new quarterback under center. Case Keenum is now the signal-caller who the Redskins will place their hopes on as they look to return to the postseason for the first time in five seasons. Sunday the Redskins will face the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in one of the NFL’s more boisterous venues.
Keenum has playoff history as a starter and he will return to the place that ended his dreams of reaching a Super Bowl. The eight-year veterans last outing in Philadelphia was a loss in the 2017 NFC Championship game when he was the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.
The former University of Houston star understands the tough challenge ahead in facing a possible Super Bowl contender in the Eagles and the fact that expectations are low on the Redskins.
While talking to media members from the teams INOVA Sports Performance Center at Redskins Park, Keenum spoke about several topics related to Sunday’s contest.
“I mean what’s not a challenge? This is Philadelphia Eagles on the road,” Keenum said. “I mean I could sit here and name off the defenders on their team, but you guys know all of them. They have a proven track record of what they can do. Being at home, it’s tough. That crowd is a really, really tough crowd. It’s a hostile environment to go play. We got some young guys on our side of the ball, but heck, nobody is talking about us, nobody expects much from us. I think it’s a pretty good place to be in, man. I think we got a lot of fight in that locker room, especially on our side of the football. So I’m excited to go out there and show what we’re about.”
Keenum will be under center for his third team in as many years but feels like his team has enough to compete with Philadelphia. He likes what he has seen from the offense from training camp through the preseason and is looking forward to Sunday’s game.
“I’ve seen a lot,” the veteran QB said. “You guys if you’ve been here, you’ve seen it too. We have guys making plays all over the field. Receivers: Terry [McLaurin], Paul [Richardson Jr], Trey [Quinn], young guys coming up, two that have made some real big plays and made some big strides from just the spring when I’ve been here and even more so from the film that I watched last year on them. Tight ends: Jordan [Reed], ‘Vern’ [Vernon Davis], ‘Sprink’ [Jeremy Sprinkle], you know, all those guys. I’ve got faith in all those guys. That’s probably one of the better tight end rooms in the league. The offensive line has gelled really well. [Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line] Bill [Callahan] is a great offensive line coach and has prepared those guys for any and every situation. So, however that shakes out, those guys are going to be ready for the task. Whatever fronts, you know different things that they bring at us.
“For me, as far as my preparation, I’ve seen a trend upward of where I want to be. So, I’m really excited about that,” Keenum expounded. “I love the offense and the system that [Head Coach] Jay’s [Gruden] put together here with [Offensive Coordinator] Kevin [O’Connell] and [Senior Offensive Assistant Matt Cavanaugh] ‘Cav’ and those guys. I think we are getting on the same page and it’s been a trend upward for sure. I know we’ll be locked and loaded and ready to go, but I look to improve every week this year. It’s an exciting time.”
The Redskins will have to avoid turning the ball over and sustaining drives on offense. If they can do that, their defense – which is expected to be the backbone of this years team – should be able to present a major early-season challenge to the Eagles offense which is led again by QB Carson Wentz.