Redskins Vs. Eagles - Studs and Duds

This one really hurt... both on the field and in the standings!

The Redskins came into Philadelphia guns-a-blazing, and left with an ole’ fashion ass-whooping at the hands of second year pro Carson Wentz, Zach Ertz and company. If anything, this game truly showed us who we are as a team...and we are a long way from being a good one.

It is going to be very tough to win the division after this loss. It may even be tough to make it to the playoffs unless we get healthy fast and start playing better football.

Below are my Studs and Duds of the game.

Studs:

Kirk Cousins - Despite being under intense pressure all night, and having to deal with the death of his grandmother, Cousins put fourth a good effort, going 30-40 for 303 yards and three touchdowns against one interception. The interception came after his arm was hit just as he was about to release the football. Again, he did a nice job of spreading the ball around to his receivers (Niles Paul even caught a pass), and despite the lack of a run game, he managed 18 yards on three carries.

Jordan Reed - Although he still looks far from 100 percent, Reed finally broke out in a big way, hauling in eight receptions for 64 yards and two touchdowns. He still can’t block though, and shouldn’t be asked to do so with any frequency.

Vernon Davis - His old-man juke moves are becoming legendarily hilarious; but they work. Davis had another big game, hauling in four receptions for a game-high 67 yards.

Zach Brown - Brown continues to show his play-making ability, racking up 13 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4.5 tackles for a loss, and two quarterback hits. He did give up the touchdown to Clement out of the backfield, but that was more a result of a perfect throw than poor coverage. The man was all over the field Monday night. Too bad we can’t clone him!

Bashaud Breeland - Yet another Redskin who was not playing at 100 percent, Breeland had a very nice game on the outside in coverage and in run support. He was credited with two passes defended on the evening (I counted more), and his solid coverage was a staple all night. I thought Dunbar did a nice job opposite him, but his two crucial penalties hurt the team.

Nick Rose - 1/1 on field goals and 3/3 on extra points. plus he showed great pop on kickoffs with amazing hangtime. Hey Dustin Hopkins, don’t hurry back anytime soon.

Tress Way - It’s bad when your punter is on the stud list, but Way averaged 47.8 yards per punt with a long of 60, and two downed inside the 20.

Duds:

Jamison Crowder - ANOTHER fumble on a punt return! This is getting ridiculous. Thankfully we recovered this one. He was also pretty much shut down by the Eagles practice squad corners, who limited him to two catches for 28 yards.

Terrelle Pryor - Two receptions for 14 yards and two more drops. It’s safe to say this experiment isn’t working out very well.

D.J. Swearinger - Wow, this was about as bad a game as a safety can have in coverage. Swearinger was abused all evening by the Eagles, and it almost seemed that Wentz was looking to exploit him whenever he got the chance. I told everyone during the offseason that Swearinger was NOT a free safety - any doubts about this now? Ertz was the Eagles leading receiver on the night. Guess who most of his receptions came against? The deep pass to Hollins...well, what can you say. He just got toasted.

Redskins Defensive Line - Carson Wentz is not Donovan McNabb... yet the Redskins defensive line can’t seem to corral him when they needed it most. The play where he escaped the sack and ran for a big gain was a back-breaker. So were half of his throws Monday night with players draped all over him.

The Refs - Ed Hochuli’s crew leads the NFL in penalties called, and that held true again Monday night. It’s almost like this group comes out early and tries to set the tone with how the game will be reffed. Hint: let them play the game!

Who are your Studs and Duds of this game?