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The Detroit Lions continue their tour of the NFC East this week with a visit to tangle with the Washington Redskins. For Detroit, it’s the first time since 2013 the team has played against the Redskins on the road in the regular season, and prior to that moment, it wasn’t a place the team had success.
Plenty of Detroit’s historical problems winning in Washington D.C. ended on that day, but the danger still exists for a let down against a Redskins team which is facing down a serious mutiny from their fanbase amid a tough season on the field. Things haven’t gone great in Washington, so seemingly, the Lions could look at this as the week to get things on track for their team for a push in the second half.
What is there to know about the Redskins? Here’s a look at what to know this week.
Redskins Player To Watch: Dwayne Haskins, QB
The rookie out of Ohio State has been thrust into the spotlight as the team’s starting quarterback, and thus far, it hasn’t gone great for Haskins. It seems as if he is completely alone on the field in terms of caring about what happens in between the lines. That doesn’t change the talent he is operating with and his ability to make plenty of plays and plenty of throws on the field. The Lions will have to prevent him from gaining any shred of confidence against a defense that has been abysmal over the past few months.
Redskins Key Personnel Group: Defensive Line
On the defensive side of the ball, the Redskins might not have much talent, but they have enough up front to frustrate the Lions and bog down their offense. Ryan Kerrigan is a player capable of pressuring the pocket along with rookie rush linebacker Montez Sweat and Jonathan Allan. In the middle, defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis has piled up 4.5 sacks. Getting pressure on the quarterback is not an issue for this group, and the Lions will need to make sure Jeff Driskel has the time to survey the field and make throws. This group has not stopped playing hard even in spite of the frustrating nature of Washington’s season.
Redskins Biggest Name Missing: Paul Richardson Jr., WR
The Redskins lost Richardson last week with a hamstring injury and that was tough news for Washington given he has put up 239 yards and 2 touchdowns this season for the offense. Detroit’s defense has been bad, so any help the Redskins can get for their group to put up points would be big. If Richardson could not go, that would be bad news for the Redskins and good news for the Lions.
Can They Defend
No. Any team that allows the New York Jets to come to down and drop a 34 point bomb does not qualify as a team that has a consistent defense. The numbers aren’t that bad for the Redskins considering they only allow 235.6 passing yards a game and 1,339 rushing yards a game. As a whole, though, the Redskins are merely a middle of the pack defense. They allow 369.5 yards per game. The Lions offense is dinged up, but they can manage to move the ball against this defense.
Headset Heads Up
Bill Callahan has been plenty of places before, but until he was thrust into the interim role with Washington, he had not been coaching NFL football as a boss since 2003, when he was leading the Oakland Raiders. Since, Callahan has mostly served as an offensive position coach around the league, and that’s exactly what he was doing with the Redskins until he was thrust back into the league as a boss.
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