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NEW ORLEANS – The Washington Redskins were optimistic about the fifth week with a big showdown Monday night in New Orleans.
Washington was Monday night in Washington and fell to the feet of the New Orleans Saints 43-19 and it was not even close.
Here are Rich Tandler's observations following the defeat of the Redskins at the hands of the Saints.
1. No contest
The Redskins were not there at the end of the week, but they did not play football either. The offensive was eliminated after kick-off and then the defense imposed stupid penalties (detailed below). Even before you knew it, the Saints had a lead of 26-6 at the end of the second quarter. They expanded to 40-13 in the middle of the third quarter. It was just not a contest.
2. A bad day for Peterson and Smith
Alex Smith released late statistics, but he just could not get things done as he did against the Packers last week. One of the reasons for the difficulties faced by Smith was that the Redskins had not developed anything that looked like a hasty game. Adrian Peterson had only four runs for six yards. He had a hyperextended knee and a combination of that and the unbalanced score kept him on the bench for almost the entire second half.
The Saints have entered the game with one of the worst defenses of the NFL against the passes, but they are really healthy against the Redskins tonight.
3. Muted defensive errors
The Redskins defense could not get out of its way at first. The Saints nearly took out three and went out for their first possession, but a pending call continued the drive, resulting in a touchdown. The next time Washington was on defense, Ryan Kerrigan stopped them with a bag on the third dive, but a stupid personal foul on Montae Nicholson kept the player alive. The Saints finally got a TD following another penalty of a third try, a wait. In total, the Saints had 264 yards and four touchdowns on their first four.
The Saints had six touchdowns on six touchdowns by the time the third quarter was halfway through. The Redskins must return to the board and understand what happened to a top-five NFL defense before the game.
4. Unable to cash
The Redskins' offense had some chances in the first half, but she simply could not cash it. A nice shot brought them back to the Saints five but instead of hitting in to take a quick lead of a sack, they were forced to try a goal. A late incursion into the territory of the Saints is bogged down and resulted in three other points. They did not touch any touchdowns until the end of the first half, when a Pernell McPhee breakaway gave them a short field. At half-time, playing against one of the weakest defensemen in the league, Alex Smith had barely completed half of his passes (11 of 21) for 131 yards.
It was not much better after halftime. Smith launched a fourth interception down that the Saints turned into a touchdown to end the competitive phase of the match. The rest of the contest was extended garage time.
5. Where to go from here?
They go back to where the calendar makers say they're going, two home games starting on Sunday. The Panthers arrive in town first, then the Cowboys. Tonight, Redskins erased many of the positive feelings they had created by winning two of their first three. They have the opportunity to rebuild those who are on friendly ground over the next two weeks.
In this game, they had the chance to experience a raging Monday night atmosphere as fans were ready to explode when Drew Brees broke the all-time NFL record with career passes. And Brees forced them. By the beginning of the fourth quarter, he had accumulated as many touchdowns as he had incomplete (three of each) and averaged 13.4 yards per attempt. The good news is that they will not face another quarter as good as Brees the rest of the season. The bad news for next week is that they have never beaten Cam Newton.
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