5:03 pm | October 21, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:
LANDOVER, Md. — Early last week, Washington Redskins defensive tackle Daron Payne sat at his locker and discussed what must be done Sunday. For Payne, drafted to play in games like Sunday’s against the Dallas Cowboys, it was simple. There was one guy on Dallas’ side they must control: Running back Ezekiel Elliott.
“Dominate up front and stop the run,” Payne said, “and make them one-dimensional.”
Making them one-dimensional led to plays such a sRyan Kerrigan‘s stripping Dak Prescott deep in Dallas territory. Preston Smith picked up the fumble at the 1-yard line and stepped into the end zone for a touchdown. The Redskins still needed some late good fortune, as the Cowboys’ last-second, 52-yard field goal attempt that would have forced overtime bounced off the left upright.
But the defensive effort is a big reason why Washington is now 4-2 and leading the NFC East by a game and a half after Sunday’s 20-17 win over the Cowboys. Both Dallas and Philadelphia are 3-4.
Running back Adrian Peterson controlled the game for Washington’s offense, topping 90 yards for a fourth time this season — all wins. Peterson rushed for 99 yards on 24 carries. He’s now 26 yards shy of passing Tony Dorsett for ninth place on the all-time rushing list.
“I have to take my hat off to the defense,” Peterson told a CBS reporter after the game. “Offensively, we didn’t really do it. … We did enough, but our defense saved us today.”
The key was stopping Elliott, something they hadn’t done in their first three games against the Cowboys’ All-Pro running back. Elliott had rushed for 330 yards in those three games, leading Dallas to three wins.
On Sunday, his longest run was 6 yards, and he managed 31 yards overall on 14 carries. The Redskins’ defensive front, with Payne, Jonathan Allen and Matt Ioannidis, controlled Dallas’ offensive line. When the Cowboys’ run game works, their line is moving defenders off the ball. That wasn’t happening Sunday, and that helped clog run lanes and let the linebackers fill gaps for stops. At times, the Redskins used three safeties with their base defense to help against the run.
But Payne and Allen were the big keys. The Redskins admitted they drafted Payne in the first round this year in part because of Elliott. Their power has helped solidify the front and provide optimism for the entire defense. Allen drew a holding penalty that wiped out a first down on the play before Smith’s touchdown, setting up a third-and-14.
“They want to play big guys up front like this,” linebacker Mason Foster said. “The way those guys have been playing together, it definitely makes you feel better playing a back like Elliott. It definitely gives you more confidence.”
The Redskins’ defense should have plenty of confidence. It entered the game ranked fifth in yards allowed per game and eighth in points. It stopped Carolina in the last seconds to win a week ago. Outside of a bad loss in New Orleans, they defense has played as well as the front office had hoped. For the Redskins to stay in the hunt for an NFC East title, it will need the formula they used Sunday: powerful runs by Peterson and an improving defense.
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