Showing vs. Cowboys gives offense confidence ASHBURN — The game provided a boost to their sagging offense, restoring confidence. The return of a top receiver adds to their belief. It was the start of something.
The running game is still struggling. The Redskins haven’t crafted consecutive good games offensively for two months. Their quarterback has a track record. It was an aberration.
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Good luck trying to predict where the Redskins’ offense is headed after an improved showing vs. Dallas. It still has gaping holes, but it showed life in a 27-24 overtime loss to the Cowboys.
Even the Redskins are not sure exactly what that game meant.
There’s realism:
“We’ll see,” quarterback Rex Grossman said. “Right now it’s just one game. Until we prove otherwise it was just one game.”
And optimism:
“I’ve got a lot of confidence, [and] I feel like something clicked,” Grossman said. “It’s just a gut feeling. Our offense has maybe finally turned the corner, but you can’t say that until you go out and prove it week-in and week-out.”
Seattle’s defense ranks 11th overall and 13th in scoring, so it’s good, but not great. The Seahawks allow just 3.5 yards per carry (and just shut down St. Louis’ Steven Jackson and Baltimore’s Ray Rice). The lack of a consistent ground game — a mixture of backs missing holes and veteran linemen missing blocks and injuries — could be troublesome.
But the return of Santana Moss will help as well, giving the Redskins a proven and consistent player in the slot. Two weeks ago Leonard Hankerson caught seven passes for 106 yards. Last week, Donte Stallworth caught four for 51 yards in the fourth quarter and overtime. So the Redskins had productivity, but they say it’s different with Moss.
“He can do so many things that not many can do,” Grossman said. “His speed, his route running, his quickness and overall knowledge of how to beat man-to-man coverage is huge.”
Said Moss: “I get a lot of different looks than normal guys. Guys say, ‘We’ll take him out of the game and let someone else beat us.’ Hopefully if that’s the case somebody’s going to be wide open. If not, maybe I’ll be the guy that’s wide open and they’ll forget about me.”
How bad has it been this season? The Redskins haven’t posted consecutive 300-yard games since the first two weeks of the season. Before managing 339 yards vs. Dallas, the Redskins endured a five-game stretch in which they averaged 273.4 yards. The NFL’s 31st-rated offense, Indianapolis, averages 275 yards a game.
With a sputtering ground game, there’s more of a burden on the quarterback. Grossman’s teammates liked what they saw last week, when he threw for 292 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
“You could see it. He just had that confidence and that look in his eye,” receiver Jabar Gaffney said. “You definitely pick up on it and feed off it.”
And maybe a lesson was learned last week. The Redskins’ first four possessions netted 14 yards. Their next four gained 144.
“They were a little more comfortable with each other,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “You gain confidence as time goes on. You understand when things don’t go right, you don’t panic. You just kind of relax, guys get together, everybody does their job.”
