Washington Redskins Defeat St. Louis Rams, 24-10

The Redskins seem to have two different teams, each playing a different half.  For the first two quarters, Washington put a solid offense and a stout defense on the team.  Compared to the Rams, the Redskins earned more than double the number of first downs, tallied 52 more passing yards, ran for 117 more yards, and were awarded one more penalty for ten more yards.  (Okay, so the last stat isn't a good one.)  The team struggled to get things going again after halftime, and the burgundy and gold went 3-and-out on their first possession, followed by a fast and furious St. Louis drive that ended with Britt in the end zone and Zuerlein scoring the extra point.  However, Kirk Cousins and Matt Jones led the team on a 13 play, 77 yard drive near the end of the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

In terms of offensive gains, the team was fairly balanced between the ground and the air.  Cousins, who was sacked twice, went 23 for 27 for 203 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions.  The offensive line cleared the way for two touchdowns from Matt Jones (19 carries for 123 yards), complemented by running from Alfred Morris (17 carries for 61 ards).  It's worth noting, however, that Jones did lose a fumble in the second half.  Jordan Reed, who was called for a holding penalty again this week, led the team in receiving yards with 82, and Pierre Garcon had a few important catches, showing again why the team can and should be using him on a regular basis.

The defense continued to be the team's strongest unit, putting up a stat they hadn't seen in four years: a first half shut out. They held the Rams to numerous third-and-outs, giving the ball back to the offense and giving themselves a chance to not tire out.  Stephen Paea recorded a sack, and the front seven spent most of the day keeping Foles on his toes and stuffing the run.  Trenton Robinson led the team with 6 tackles (5 solo), followed by middle linebacker Keenan Robinson, who had 6 tackles (4 solo).

The special teams unit did not cost the team anything, but their play was inconsistent again.  New kicker Dustin Hopkins put several kickoffs out of return range and went 1 for 1 on field goals with a 46 yard kick and 3 for 3 on extra points.  Tress Way punted 6 times for an average of 40.7 yards, though he nearly escaped having one punt blocked.  Finally, though the team has hoped for a spark from Jamison Crowder on punt returns and Rashad Ross on kickoff returns, they failed to find one today.  Crowder had 5 returns for 12 yards, averaging 2.4 yards per return, and Ross had 1 return for 23 yards.