Before heading into their bye week, the 4-3 Washington Redskins fly to Wembley Stadium in London to face the 3-4 Cincinnati Bengals. Here are four storylines to keep an eye on as the Redskins look to jump to two wins over .500.
Injuries:
The Redskins head into Week 8 with a lot of health related questions. Matt Jones, Trent Williams, Josh Norman and Jordan Reed are all banged up and are limited in practice this week. Whether they ultimately play this Sunday will determine the outcome of the game at Wembley Stadium.
Response to last week’s defeat:
In the midst of a four game win streak, the Redskins strutted in to Kirk Cousins’ hometown at Ford Field with newfound confidence and swagger. Despite offensive struggles and an abundance of inexcusable turnovers, the Redskins still found themselves up 17-13 with under two minutes to play in the 4th quarter. Despite being stout all game, Matt Stafford proved to be too much for the Reskins defense and delivered a last minute strike to Anquan Boldin in the end zone, clinching the victory for the Lions. Facing a tougr Bengals defense, it will be interesting to see how the Redskins offense rebounds from the Lions, a team with arguably the worst secondary in football. Wiith a banged up and demoralized Matt Jones, a woeful Cincinnati secondary and an emergent passing down back in Chris Thompson, expect a big week from Kirk Cousins.
Josh Norman vs AJ Green:
For now, assume that Josh Norman (concussion protocol) will play and will defend Bengals’ star wide receiver AJ Green. Norman’s play this season has met the high expectations (and high salary) but he has had his biggest struggles against tall WRs. Terrelle Pryor gave Norman trouble in the first half of the Week 4 showdown against the Browns although Norman ultimately held his own in the second half. AJ Green and Pryor both stand at 6'4" so expect a lot of physicality at the line of scrimmage from Norman as he tries to stifle. If Norman is gimpy coming into the game, Green will run roughshod through Joe Barry’s defensive schemes.
Redskins Pass rush vs Bengals O-line:
The rebirth of the Redskins defense has been a key reason for the teams 4-3 start. The Redskins are tied for 4th in the league in sacks with 19, and Ryan Kerrigan and Trent Murphy are tied for fifth in league in individual sacks with six respectively. The Bengals might be missing starting tackle Clint Boling and the Redskins pass rush should be able to take exploit that hole in the O-Line. The defensive pass rush might prove to be the decisive factor if they can wreak havoc on Andy Dalton and force him into errant throws and turnovers.