Washington Commanders

The Knee Jerk Reaction: Redskins 16 - Ravens 10

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Don’t expect this Redskin team to dominate anyone — but they will show up to play.

The Washington Redskins narrowly escaped M&T Bank Stadium with a win Sunday over the Baltimore Ravens, 16-10. The defense bent, a lot, but didn’t break. The special teams provided a spark with a touchdown and big return. And the offense did just enough to win the game.

After starting 0-2, the Redskins are riding a three-game win streak with two very winnable games in front of them. Or are they?

Here’s the pattern I’m seeing so far. Outside of the debacle against Pittsburgh, Washington plays down to their competition — a perfect example is last week’s mediocre 31-20 win over the hapless Cleveland Browns. I’ll be honest, I expected the Redskins to lose this one, especially after their slow start.

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None of the Redskin’s wins have been dominating — for example, today they only ran for 50 yards. Last week, the defense was torched but managed to cause a controversial turnover, which was the difference in the game. Against the New York Giants, Washington settled for five Dustin Hopkins’ field goals and two well-timed interceptions. In all of their games, their defense has shown that it has trouble tackling and gives up a lot of yards.

The Washinton Redskins are going win and lose ugly — this might be the only consistent thing about this team.

So, what are the Redskins doing right?

Adjustments at halftime and taking advantage of the few mistakes their opponents make. Washington is also making the most of their opponent’s’ mistakes.

Does their type of play instill confidence in the team? Not really. Is this Washington Redskins team for real? Not sure. Don’t look at their schedule and try to predict their remaining record…unless you are a masochist. Instead, think of the Redskins as an “any given Sunday” type of team. They are going win and lose ugly — this might be the only consistent thing about this team. At the end of the day, all that matters is the W.