WASHINGTON — The Redskins have reached the halfway point of the NFL season with a 3-5 record. It’s familiar territory: This is the fifth straight season their record stands at 3-5 after eight games.
The Redskins’ romance with mediocrity makes this week’s home game against the Saints another Code Red game, even though head coach Jay Gruden may not be using that phrase, like he did before the meeting with the Buccaneers at FedEx Field.
The 27-10 loss to the Patriots was not unexpected, but it was surprising that the Redskins dropped seven passes that could have made the game at the very least more competitive. The Redskins could have been better on Sunday, and need to be better going forward to avoid spiraling downward.
I know the comeback win over the Buccaneers was great, but falling behind by 24 points to start a game is not a blueprint for success. This was supposed to be a run-first team, but has morphed into a run-least team. The Redskins had only 37 yards rushing Sunday, and over the last three games have barely averaged over 2 yards per carry on the ground.
The Redskins need to find their ground game by this Sunday and beat the Saints, or a season that once showed signs of promise will be grounded.
