Alfred Morris, Matt Jones split carries

Alfred Morris rushed for 121 yards for the Redskins, who built an early 10-point lead and led by three in the fourth quarter.

The Redskins, though, like their blueprint, one that revolves around a powerful run game and stout defense (they’re tops in the NFL in each category after two games). The Rams are looking to get another win after their good win over the Seattle Seahawks.

So it has become quite the vicious cycle. The Rams boast a hell of a lot of talent on their defense. No, they had 13 attempts for 67 yards. Washington had 239 total yards, compared to St. Louis’ 55 yards.

“Pressure is the key to stopping any quarterback“, coach Jeff Fisher said of Roethlisberger after practice Tuesday night. “It’s getting off blocks”, Fisher said. The team showed that, consistently, for the first time Sunday. 17 years is nothing to scoff at, and yes, those six winning seasons brought him postseason births including a Super Bowl appearance, but overall the numbers speak for themselves.

After a light workout Tuesday night, Fisher was non-committal on running back Todd Gurley playing this week.

On offense, the Rams converted only two of 12 third-down opportunities against Washington, or 17 percent. Rams tight end Jared Cook said. These first two games, this revamped defense has been terrific and the attitude and play calling can be attributed directly to Barry. “They out-executed us in third down”. At 2-0, we would see things that aren’t there. That came on a third-and-2 play in the second quarter.

Jones, unlike most runners, does this very well, reminding some of Marshawn Lynch in his physicality and ability to stay on his feet through contact, use his hands to push off tacklers and keep his feet moving forward.

In the play below, Jones takes an outside-zone run, turns the corner around the tackle and immediately plants to work vertical. It was a combination of, as a staff, putting them in some bad positions.

Nick Foles was 17 of 32 for 150 yards, with one highlight: a 40-yard TD pass to Kenny Britt.

The carries are likely to remain near 50/50 for the foreseeable future, as both running backs can benefit from the added rest and the surprisingly fantastic offensive line play of the Redskins.

Cornerback Janoris Jenkins was among a group of players who thought the Rams started “sluggish”, and weren’t able to regroup. Repetitions are king – until you fail to take advantage of them.

What was a 10-point game in the third quarter – a 24-14 New York lead – turned into an embarrassing blowout. They need to understand what they have and tinker the game plan around that. He’s averaging less yards per carry than Jones and isn’t attacking defenses with the same explosive tenacity.

“I don’t really care who is in there”, Gruden said. We had a number of instances where had the back pressed the hole, then we might have picked up some additional yards.

In fact, he’s hitting every note and turning up the tempo after registering a +10.1 rating from Pro Football Focus, besting the second best performance by a tackle – Oakland Raiders’ Dan Williams – by three points and leaving the rest in the dust. Neither was the case against Washington.