Flip the script

One thing. This Redskins team has proven one thing this season: you never know what to expect. It's like they pride themselves in being unpredictable.

And again, while it's available.

No part of this season could have led anybody to believe that the Redskins would bet the allegedly resurgent Ravens 16-10 in a defensive contest. Coming into the game, the Redskins had the NFL's 29th ranked defense: a point that has been brought up and beaten to death, especially in this blog. There wasn't a lot of reason to expect a win like this, or even, at the very least, have confidence in this defensive unit. 

But it happened. The defense was able to hold Baltimore to an impressive 10 points and questionably "elite" quarterback Joe Flacco to only 210 yards passing and a lone touchdown. For the second straight week the Redskins did not allow an opposing receiver to gain 100 yards after giving up three 100-yard games to start the season. After last week's less than stellar performance defending the running game, the defense stiffened and only allowed 118 rush yards in the game.

Offensively, well, at least they put up more points than the Ravens. Jamison Crowder got the scoring started in the first quarter with an electric 85-yard punt return touchdown. Kirk Cousins was 29-41 with 260 yards, a touchdown and an interception to match. The balance of the offense suffered a bit of a reversion as the Redskins ran the ball only 20 times, compared to 41 pass attempts. Furthermore, Matt Jones had another less than stellar game, managing only 31 yards on 14 carries, with 12 of those yards coming in a single play. The offense's lone touchdown came via a 21-yard pass from Kirk Cousins to Pierre Garcon with 8:28 remaining in the third quarter. 

Next week's unpredictable mess of a game comes against NFC rival Philadelphia. The Eagles are coming off of their first loss at the hands of the Detroit Lions 24-23. The game is another 1:00 affair, this time at home.