The Washington Redskins took a few steps forward in Week 10 only to take about three steps backwards in the loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Redskins struggled as Kirk Cousins returned to his turnover ways and the rest of the offense stalled out. After contract talk went swirling around Cousins, the Redskins struggled to capitalize off the momentum, as several players come under fire for their issues.
Outside of Cousins' turnovers, the lack of a run game is killing the Redskins. Matt Jones now has four fumbles to his name while recording zero yards off five carries. Alfred Morris got two carries for zero yards as well. The team managed just 14 yards of rushing in the game against the Carolina Panthers which was their biggest issue outside of the turnovers. The Redskins have been trying to get the run game moving this season and neither Jones nor Morris have managed much of anything this year. If the Redskins cannot run the ball, they will not win games. Head coach Jay Gruden is more concerned about the ball security issues for Jones.
"That's something [running backs coach] Randy Jordan does every day in individual [drills]," Gruden said, via the Washington Post. "He spends the first part of individual every day working on ball-security drills, and we'll continue working on it. He's got to understand as a running back in the National Football League, once you have this M.O., the only way to shake it is to protect the ball. If you don't protect the ball, then you won't be a running back in the NFL for very long. We have total faith in him that he's going to fix this, but he has to himself make sure he understands the importance of the ball. All running backs do."
To make matters worse, the Washington Post is reporting that Morris injured his ribs against the Panthers and is now day-to-day with the issues. The Redskins might not have another option than to turn to Jones for Week 12. Meanwhile the receiving game has become a two-man show with DeSean Jackson and Jordan Reed. Both Pierre Garcon and Jamison Crowder struggled against the Panthers and they will need to step up quickly when facing the New York Giants in Week 12.
The biggest issue for the Redskins is turnovers. An interception and two lost fumbles from Cousins along with fumbles from Jones are plaguing the Redskins more than missed throws or stalling runs. Gruden made it clear that this simply cannot continue to happen as the team prepares for another big game in the division.
"We have to look at ourselves very closely X's- and O's-wise," Gruden said via ESPN.com, "and do what we can do to get better and protect our team and eliminate the self-inflicted wounds. If we can do that, we've shown that we can be pretty good. We've shown we can be pretty bad. It's unreal how good we've been and how bad we've been all in the same season within a week of each other. We know the capabilities this team has."