Redskins Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down: Week 16
It was a nail biter. It shouldn't have been. Nonetheless, the Redskins won their six consecutive game and set up a perfect scenario for the NFL, it all comes down to the last week of the season, Dallas v. Washington. Talk about injecting energy into one of the greatest sports rivalries. The Redskins defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20 in Philadelphia to improve to 9-6. They have guaranteed themselves their first winning records since 2007. So who gets the Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down?
THUMBS UP (We are giving three instead of two this week)
LB Ryan Kerrigan: Kerrigan continued his impressive streak of outstanding performances. He is Pro Bowl worthy. Kerrigan recorded 5 tackles, 2 sacks, and a forced fumble. He is adding the pass rush that was absent for swaths of game this season. His timely forced fumble came on a drive the Eagles were sustaining in the late part of the second quarter. Kerrigan has helped propel a resurgent Redskins defense over the course of the 6 game winning streak. He now has 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles over his last 6 games.
LB London Fletcher: Fletcher recorded 10 sacks and had a pass interception. It was the third consecutive game Fletcher picked off a pass. He has 4 picks in his last 5 games. Fletcher has 5 total picks on the season. With a suspect secondary, the linebackers have taken over the turnover machine for the Redskins and Fletcher has been an integral part of that. Redskins linebackers have 9 total interceptions on the season, led by Fletcher's 5. He keeps getting older, but his level of play has shown no sign of wearing down.
WR Pierre Garcon: Garcon led the Redskins with 8 receptions for 89 yards. He came up big for his hobbled rookie quarterback. The Redskins have improved to 8-1 on the season with Garcon in the lineup. There is no bigger player on the field that has made such an impact on the Redskins six game winning streak. He also made two very nice critical blocks today.
Honorable Mention: Give up for a sensation TD reception by Santana Moss, in the on the side of the endzone with an incredible foot drag to get both feet in. Just an incredible catch.
THUMBS DOWN
DJ Johnson: When you think the Redskins secondary can't get any weaker, enter DJ Johnson. For the second consecutive week, Johnson gets beat deep. Shameful.
