Patriots vs. Redskins: 6 Bold Predictions
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
4. Redskins won’t have a pass play over 30 yards
Elaborating on the pass defense, here’s another bold prediction: the Pats won’t surrender a pass play over 30 yards. That may sound like a random number, but it’s not.
Redskins’ pass catchers have simply not been stretching the field this season. The longest pass play the Redskins have completed was a 43-yarder to little-used wideout Rashad Ross. The ‘Skins have recorded just 17 pass plays of over 20 yards thus far this season, while their opponents have done that 25 times. The Patriots have done it 29 times.
Considering how little success Cousins has had in getting the ball down the field, it’s not unreasonable to say that the Pats won’t let a Redskins pass catcher get past them for 30 yards. Especially when you take into account how well the pass defense has been playing considering the Mass Cornerback Exodus of 2015.
Read about it: Patriots keys vs. Redskins
While certainly not perfect, the Patriots’ cornerbacks have been getting the job done. As was mentioned previously, Butler is living up to his Super Bowl hero billing. And while neither Logan Ryan nor Justin Coleman are guys that Pats fans enjoy watching in single coverage, they have been serviceable. All told, the Pats are allowing just 7.1 yards per pass, the 12th-best average among the 32 pass defenses.
In terms of passing yards allowed per game, the Pats rank middle-of-the-pack at 15th having surrendered an average of 249 yards in each game through Week 8.
Now you see the reasoning behind this prediction. Don’t be surprised if the Pats prevent the Redskins from getting much happening through the air.
Next: 3. Pats won’t allow more than 60 yards rushing