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In a last-second and hard-fought victory over the Miami Dolphins, the Washington Redskins may have found an identity that could help them going forward in their season.
The Redskins picked up their first win of the season and snapped a five-game skid to start the 2019 campaign. In doing so, Washington for the first time all season produced a 100+ yard rushing performance.
Running back Adrian Peterson led the Redskins best rushing attack of the season with 118 yards on 23 carries. The future Hall of Fame back produced his 55th game of 100-plus rushing yards.
All week long Redskins interim coach Bill Callahan spoke of the importance of getting the running game in a rhythm and possessing a balanced offensive attack.
While speaking to media after the game from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Callahan was happy with what he saw from his offense which was also led by rookie wideout Terry McLaurin who continues his special first year. The Ohio State product finished with a game-high seven receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns. He is the first player in franchise history to record four touchdowns in his first five games and the 11th rookie to record four or more in a single season.
“I really thought we ran the ball well,” Callahan said. “Through three quarters, I thought we pounded it pretty well. ‘A.P.’ (Adrian Peterson) had a nice day, had over 100 yards. We came into the game thinking rush attempts, we wanted to have more attempts. We weren’t really concerned about the yardage. The Yardage worked out; but the attempts were really, really important. I thought we mixed it up. We had more back-to-back runs. That played a big part of it. I wish we could have had a couple of those run-action passes back. I know that Case Keenum would like to have that back, but that’s the way it goes. We had a couple of drops. Overall I thought we’ll go back and work a little bit more on our drop-back passing game, see if we can be a little bit more productive there. Overall I thought (Offensive Coordinator) Kevin O’Connell called a really good game. My hat is off to him and what he did, prepared for in a week, getting himself ready to be a play-caller and doing a good job. Of course (Defensive Coordinator) Greg Manusky and the defense, along with the pressure that they put on the passer today, with five sacks, that was huge. That was absolutely big. It was tight. When (Ryan) Fitzpatrick got in the game, he’s an experienced vet a salty, savvy veteran coming in late in the game. He came in there very cool and proceeded to obviously take advantage of some of our coverages. Again, to our defense’s credit, they answered when they had to. We came away with a good win today.”
In the performance, the Redskins may have found a recipe that can again work for them. That would be running the ball with Peterson and play-action passes that could open the field up for McLaurin’s big-play abilities. Another strong defensive performance will also be needed if the team can continue to build off the first win of the season.
Offensive lineman Morgan Moses spoke about the importance of a balanced attack after the game as well.