The Washington Redskins remain in the hunt for the postseason as they battle the New York Giants for the NFC East. Coming off a win against the Chicago Bears, Kirk Cousins is thriving with efficiency despite the struggles in the ground game. The receivers are playing a huge role in the team getting the wins as an injury to DeSean Jackson could hurt the effort with the team preparing to play the Buffalo Bills.
According to CSN Washington, Jackson hurt his knee in the third quarter in the win over the Chicago Bears. He did managed to play through it, but the receiver is in pain. According to Jackson, it is more soreness than a true injury as he admits to just being banged up at this point in the year. He expects to play against the Bills in Week 15.
"It's all right," Jackson said, via CSN Washington. "It's a little sore and banged up a little bit. But it's nothing too serious that would keep me out. I played through it."
Jackson sounds likely to play in the Week 15 game which will be a big help for Cousins. While Jackson might have just had two catches for 43 yards against the Bears, he draws the defense which has left tight end Jordan Reed to cash in. Reed has been the x-factor for the team this year. He put up nine catches for 120 yards and a touchdown against the Bears. He has been one of the best at his position this season and the Redskins need that to continue.
"I think the biggest thing is having him out there, because for so long, he wasn't out there," Cousins said, via CSNWashington.com. "When he is, he's a difference-maker. He works hard. He's very engaged."
The Redskins need an efficient passing game as the ground game continues to sputter. Both Alfred Morris and Matt Jones have been hot and cold all season. Head coach Jay Gruden has stressed that Morris is their lead back, but he is not playing like it while Jones is not either. They combined for under 99 yards in the game against the Bears which is the new normal for both backs. According to Gruden, he still has faith in Morris and will continue to feed the run game in order to get into the playoffs.
"He's a good player for us and it's just unfortunate how it worked out, the number of plays that he played, but situationally it was a unique game unfortunately," Gruden said, via the team website. "We were playing a lot of catch up there. Catching balls out of the backfield and running routes is really not his forte. He's more of a 'In the I-formation, running outside zone, inside zone and all that stuff. We just didn't have that many opportunities to give him the ball unfortunately. It has to change in the coming weeks for us to have a chance. I look at the stats and see how many times we threw it and how many times we ran it."
