Written by Liz Clarke at Washington Post.com
With formidable opponents looming in Weeks 3 and 4, the Washington Redskins couldn’t afford to follow their season-opening defeat with a cross-country trip that ended with a loss at the Los Angeles Rams.
To avoid that fate, Coach Jay Gruden recast his offense’s identity, replacing a pass-happy attack that wasn’t close to good enough in the Week 1 loss with a heavy dose of running. And it worked, keeping the Rams’ fierce pass rushers at bay, for the most part, and gobbling up enough of the clock to muzzle the Rams’ offense through the first half.
As quarterback Kirk Cousins predicted, the contest at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum came down to the final possessions. And Cousins delivered the game-winner — an 11-yard strike to wide receiver Ryan Grant with 1:49 remaining — to clinch a 27-20 victory in a game in which the Redskins never trailed but came close to letting slip away after getting fooled on a fake punt that enabled the Rams to tie it midway through the fourth quarter.
The win allowed the Redskins (1-1) to steady themselves after a rocky season opener heading into back-to-back games against 2016 playoff teams, a Sunday night game against the Oakland Raiders and an Oct. 2 visit to Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, a Monday night game. Both the Raiders and Chiefs are off to 2-0 starts.
The Redskins also handed Rams Coach Sean McVay, Washington’s former offensive coordinator and Gruden’s protege, the first defeat of his young NFL head coaching career.
“We’re a work in progress on offense, trying to find our identity, what we do well and what we want to feature,” said Cousins, who was 18 of 27 for 179 yards and one touchdown. “It’s always good to make plays in the passing game, but make no mistake: It’s nice to hand it off to Chris Thompson and watch him go 50, 60 yards for a touchdown.”
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