ASHBURN, Va. - Washington Redskins rookie wide receiver Jamison Crowder caught all eight passes thrown his way by quarterback Kirk Cousins. The fourth-round draft pick out of Duke has taken the slot receiver job from veteran Andre Roberts. He has also caught 26 passes in his last three games out of 31 targets for 197 yards. Crowder set a career high in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (87) in the Atlanta loss. Those numbers may not continue once Jackson and Reed return from injury.
"It'll be a good problem to have," head coach Jay Gruden said.
--The Redskins finally forced some turnovers in the loss to Atlanta. It's been a problem for two years running now. They intercepted quarterback Matt Ryan twice and linebacker Will Compton recovered a Ryan fumble after defensive end Chris Baker hit him. It was a rare afternoon when Washington actually had the better turnover margin (3-to-2). The Redskins also sacked Ryan three times and now have eight sacks in their last two games.
"We've been preaching turnovers, and we got some today," Compton said. "It's very big. We get a pick, and all of a sudden we turn around field position."
--Cornerback Bashaud Breeland tied his career high with four passes defended. His late interception of Ryan, which included a career-best 28-yard return, also gave the Redskins a chance to extend a 13-12 lead. Breeland last intercepted a pass in Week 16 against Philadelphia last December. He did all that despite a bruised shoulder.
"(Breeland is) a great competitor. You see it out there," Gruden said. "He did some really good things. He competed, tackled well, covered well, made some good pass breaks, had a big interception for us."
--Rookie safety Kyshoen Jarrett had another strong game after recording five tackles in a Week 4 win over Philadelphia. The sixth-round pick has moved to nickel corner to help alleviate the depth issues there given injuries to DeAngelo Hall (sprained right big toe) and Chris Culliver (left knee). Jarrett, who played college football at Virginia Tech, had three tackles and a pass defended against Atlanta.
"(Jarrett has) opened eyes since he got here in training camp," free safety Dashon Goldson said. "He's making good plays - he's a guy we can rely on. We've got a lot of guys injured, and we rely on the young guys to step up, and he's doing it."
Notes: Quarterback Kirk Cousins has three times thrown two interceptions in a game this season. But that's in part because he's willing to take chance. Through five games, his 126 completions are the most by a Redskins quarterback since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Robert Griffin III had 125 through the first five games of the 2012 season. ... Linebacker Ryan Kerrigan moved into fifth all time on the Washington sacks leader list when he recorded two against the Falcons. He now has 41.5 sacks and surpassed former teammate Brian Orakpo (40). It was Kerrigan's seventh career multi-sack game. ... Cornerback Will Blackmon made his first career start with Washington. Signed to add cornerback depth on Sept. 15, he took over for an injured Chris Culliver. Blackmon had a forced fumble. ... Tight end Derek Carrier, starting in place of the injured Jordan Reed, caught his first career touchdown pass from Cousins in the second quarter. Carrier, acquired in a late August trade with the San Francisco 49ers, has six receptions through five games for 53 yards. He had nine catches all last season for 105 yards (11.7 yards per catch). ... Tackle Trent Williams suffered a neck strain on Sunday and didn't speak to reporters afterward. That's a rare occurrence for one of the team's most vocal players. Williams is listed as day-to-day, according to Gruden.
