The Washington Redskins are desperate for a win and the only way they are going to get that is by getting the run game moving. The Redskins have had one of the worst rushing attacks all season which is causing Kirk Cousins to carry the weight of the offense while things stall out. With pressure mounting on Alfred Morris and Matt joens to begin stepping up, can the running backs turn things around in order to secure their futures?
Morris is playing on an expiring deal. The running back is in the final year of his rookie contract and while the Redskins stated in the preseason they intend to keep him around, that might be changing with the struggles this season. Morris and Jones are coming off another disappointing showing in Week 9 and head coach Jay Gruden is not happy with the offense way off-balanced for Cousins to work with. Morris is well aware that improvement must come.
"I haven't had an answer since the third week of the season as to why our running game hasn't been working," Morris said, via the Washington Post. "It just hasn't. Really don't know why. There were some holes early on. Matt Jones did a really good job of exploiting those opportunities. But they did a good job of game-planning. We knew it was going to be a tough job coming in. We just didn't rise to the occasion."
Morris had just 10 yards on four carries in Week 9. Jones had 11 carries for 27 yards while the Redskins completely abandoned the rookie after yet another fumble ended a promising drive for the Redskins. Gruden stressed to the media that getting Morris going was a priority along with Jones and he simply has no answer as to why they are struggling.
The Redskins have offense issues that reach far past just the run game. None of the receivers appeared to want to catch passes from Cousins as drops were an issue. DeSean Jackson made it clear he was not thrilled over his lack of targets after his return from a hamstring injury. Cousins looked the way of Pierre Garcon, Jordan Reed and Jamison Crowder more times than not which did not account for much. Getting Jackson more involved in the offense statistically shows that the run game will follow as the offense opens up. Preparing to face the New Orleans Saints in Week 10, the Redskins need more production out of their role players.
"We do have high expectations for DeSean once we get him rolling, but yesterday wasn't his day, wasn't our day as an offense," Gruden said, via FOX Sports. "But hopefully next week, we'll see more balls flying his way and he can go get them."
