The Washington Redskins shocked many by winning the NFC East and heading into the playoffs, but now the pressure is on as they prepare to play the Green Bay Packers Sunday. The Redskins will need to put their best offensive foot forward which means the pressure is on Kirk Cousins to continue playing well. Part of that will be the players around him stepping up which might be a few names short as injuries continue to be a factor heading into the Wild Card game.
The Redskins currently have four running backs on their roster and they can only bring three into the playoffs. That decision might not be hard to make as Matt Jones is dealing with injuries that could leave him out for Sunday's game. Jones missed the final two games of the season with a hip pointer and has been limited in practice because of it. The rookie running back has been a solid compliment to Alfred Morris, putting up 490 yards and three touchdowns on the groun while having another 304 yards and a touchdown through the air. Jones told the media that he is not certain about his status with the game still a few days away.
"Really, we want to play the three healthy backs, and Jones is limited right now," Gruden said, via the Washington Post. "Unless he shows us some major improvement tomorrow and Friday, he's going to be the odd man out. We'll see how Jones is doing tomorrow, and if all four are healthy, then we'll have to make that determination come Friday or Saturday. Chris Thompson is banged up a little bit with his toe. I think it's between those two [Jones and Thompson] right now. We'll make a determination Friday or Saturday."
Morris will be the featured back as Gruden will then decide who backs him up between who is healthy. It could be Pierre Thomas who signed with the team four games ago and has been a third-down back while also catching passes out of the backfield. The good news for the Redskins is that the run game is the only place dealing with issues as the receivers are all healthy. DeSean Jackson, Jordan Reed and Pierre Garcon have all seen their share of injuries this season, but will all be active on the field Sunday to help Cousins. Jackson told the media this is the best he has felt in a while.
"That was a great thing to have. I'm feeling good," Jackson said, via ESPN.com. "It's not necessarily fresher, but I do feel good."
