Redskins Vs. Eagles - Studs and Duds

As usual, the Redskins came out and laid an egg in their season opener. The surprising part about this loss at home, was that the Redskins have completely owned the Eagles as of late...well, not on Sunday afternoon. The roles were completely reversed as the Eagles defense dominated the game, forcing costly mistakes all afternoon.

Below are my Studs and Duds of the game.

Studs:

Ryan Grant - I almost can't believe I am writing this, but yes, Ryan Grant played very well on Sunday. He made some great catches at key times during the game, and was probably the most consistent of the Redskins receivers on the day.

Chris Thompson - Thompson keeps making his case for even more touches in this offense. He had 4 catches for 52 yards, and his touchdown reception was a thing of beauty!

Ryan Kerrigan - Kerrigan was a man-child against Philly, showing up all over the field, while recording 1/2 sack, multiple pressures,  some really nice tackles, and a huge interception which he returned for a touchdown (the 3rd of his career).

Preston Smith - Smith had multiple pressures on the day and notched a sack while recording 4 tackles. He looked fast and aggressive off the edge.

Zach Brown - Brown was all over the field Sunday, combining for 12 total tackles (2 for a loss), and a sack when he wrapped up Wentz who was called "in the grasp", but a personal foul call over-road the sack.

Josh Norman/Bashaud Breeland/Kendall Fuller - The corner trio played very solid all afternoon making plays in both run support and pass defense. All three had beautiful passes defended where they almost came down with the interception. Fuller led the trio with 5 tackles, one of those for a loss.

Duds:

Kirk Cousins - Now, this loss was not all on Cousins, as he was under extreme pressure all afternoon, but he was not accurate on the day, often missing high to open receivers; one of which resulted in an interception in the red zone.  Although the fumble-that-never-was in the fourth quarter was bad, it was still a blown call by the refs. Kirk finished the day 23-40 for 240 yards and 1 touchdown, 1 interception and 2 fumbles. He was sacked 4 times.

Terrelle Pryor - I know Pryor did make some big catches on the afternoon, but his drops also continues to plague him. Even though the play didn't count on the stat sheet, the deep ball that hit him right in the bread-basket in the end zone was inexcusable. So was the slant that hit him right in the hands that would have resulted in a key first down.

Morgan Moses - Moses played about as poorly as an offensive linemen could play Sunday, giving up multiple pressures, three sacks (two of which resulted in fumbles recovered by the Eagles), and not blocking particularly well in the run game. It's being reported he was seen leaving the stadium in a walking boot - maybe this was Gruden's way of attempting to cover for his piss-poor play by saying he was not 100 percent during the game...who knows. What I do know is whoever is grading this game HAS to give Moses a 0.0 for his play!

Brandon Scherff - None of the linemen were particularly good on Sunday, but Moses and Scherff stood out as being worse than the others. Scherff gave up multiple pressures on the day as well, sometimes getting driven like a cheap car into the backfield. He also whiffed on some downfield blocks (gotta keep your head up, son!).

Trent Williams - I guess by now, we all expect a high level of play from our Pro Bowl left tackle. Trent Williams did not deliver that on Sunday against the Eagles. He was uncharacteristically inconsistent on the afternoon, missing blocks and having some mental mistakes in protection as well. His play this preseason was not good, and it looks as though that rust has not come off yet.

Vernon Davis/Jordan Reed (blocking) - I know neither player is know to have great blocking skills, but both Davis and Reed were just awful on the day when called upon to block. Reed was also called for a holding and offensive pass interference penalty on the day. Maybe it's time to activate Jeremy Sprinkle.