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ASHBURN, Va. -- It was an issue all year in 2015, but one masked by the Redskins' NFC East title and playoff berth. Washington couldn't stop the run at all. It ranked 29th in rushing yards allowed per play. With only a few minor upgrades in the offseason there was little reason to expect that to change.
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It hasn't. At least not if the season-opening 38-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers can be believed. So concerned with star wide receiver Antonio Brown that they went "light in the box," as linebacker Will Compton said. The Redskins allowed 147 rushing yards on 30 carries. DeAngelo Williams did almost all the damage for the Steelers with 5.5 yards per carry on 26 attempts.
"It's embarrassing because we're a better football team than that," Compton said.
Washington better fix that quick. It faces one of the best offensive lines in the NFL this Sunday when the Dallas Cowboys visit. It is a team well equipped to exploit the Redskins' weaknesses.
"I know our guys have a lot of pride in what they do and we missed some tackles we normally make and hats off to DeAngelo (Williams) too, he made some outstanding runs," Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. "But we have to be where we are supposed to be and we have to make the plays we are supposed to make."
The Redskins are concerned enough about their suspect defensive line that they are expected to sign 13-year NFL veteran Cullen Jenkins.
Jenkins was with the team last month at the end of training camp and had a sack and a tackle for loss in the final preseason game against Tampa Bay on Aug. 31. But he was cut anyway three days later.
Now he will likely return and give the Redskins seven defensive linemen. They kept just six coming out of training camp. At 6-foot-2, 305 pounds, Jenkins has long been more of a run-stopping lineman in his time with Green Bay, Philadelphia and the New York Giants. But at age 35, how much does he have left?
--The Redskins took some heat for how they covered Steelers star wide receiver Antonio Brown on Monday. Top corner Josh Norman was kept to one side of the field and matched with Brown only a handful of times.
Instead, Pittsburgh chose to go after cornerback Bashaud Breeland, a good player who had a rough night against one of the NFL's best. Brown caught two touchdown passes against Breeland and all eight of his receptions came against the third-year pro.
"The issue is, you like to not show your hand in man-to-man all the time and so every time he travels, it's man-to-man," Gruden said. "Then you have issues with pick plays and all that stuff. That's something that we can look at, but we still feel like Breeland can cover a lot of people in the league."
