Redskins fall to Panthers 44-16

“A lot of that has to do with the offense, too”. The Panthers seemed to get fired up after Jonathan Stewart was cheap shot in the knee on a touchdown run. (Half of the Redskins’ points came off a 99-yard kickoff return from Andre Roberts in the first half.) The Redskins gained only 186 total yards, mainly due to ineffectiveness on the ground. Washington also registered a season-high 209 rushing yards in their highest-scoring contest of the season. His touchdown would have put Washington on top early in the second quarter. He got his first TD five minutes into the game, coming off a Washington turnover. The Panthers have covered the number in five of the last six game overall and are a ideal 4-0 ATS in their last 4 against conference foes. Unfortunately this is yet another example that the ever-thickening National Football League rulebook isn’t clarifying the rules of the game; it’s merely giving officials more excuses to fall back on when they make their shitty calls. Newton tied Steve Beurlein’s franchise record for touchdowns in a game and threw four touchdown passes in the first half alone.

Even though Carolina was wobbly after building leads in the previous two home games against Indianapolis and Green Bay, the Redskins didn’t provide a comeback threat. That is easier said than done as the Panthers have been great at controlling the ball throughout the year. This team has been allowing just 5.4 yards per attempt to opposing offenses and they are now sitting at a one to one touchdown/interception ratio. Winston completed 19 of 29 passes for 246 yards and had four of his TD passes in the first half to four different receivers.

With a game on Thursday at Dallas, Panthers coach Ron Rivera removed most of his starters with his team up 44-14. Cousins kept the ball on 7 of 8 plays of the drive as the Redskins drove to the edge of the red zone.

Carolina Panthers’ Kurt Coleman (20) celebrates after an interception against the Washington Redskins in the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, November 22, 2015. There are a number of reasons as to why the Panthers are favored so highly against the team from the nation’s capital.

Washington went 2 of 9 on third down today, compared to 7 of 14 for the Panthers.

-The Panthers’ defense forced a franchise-high five fumbles. On most of those sacks, Cousins never had a chance. With 15 players recording at least one sack, the Panthers have 31 compared to the opposition’s 20. Sean McVay brilliantly called a quarterback keeper on the read-option and Kirk Cousins took it down to inside the five yard line, before a weak holding call on Jordan Reed brought it all back. By week 11, you are what you are.

CB Chris Culliver was the team’s premier defensive signing and he was awful today and has been mediocre all season. The guy who was supposed to help stabilize a shaky secondary has done nothing of the kind.

“That’s a huge momentum swing for them in a very close game”, left tackle Trent Williams said. If it is serious, that’s a devastating blow.

“Every week he’s doing something big”, cornerback Josh Norman said. He also fumbled twice on sacks. Washington will have to live without for now because if he hasn’t fixed it by now, he won’t fix it this season.

Baltimore won despite committing two turnovers and being penalized 10 times for 137 yards. That’s how bad teams lose.

The Redskins have a tough road game against the Carolina Panthers in which we get to see just how much their defense has improved. “I don’t know where his climax is; he might not even climax”. It’s going to take a while to put this right.