1. A defense can allow 130 yards rushing to one player and still feel like it contained him » Tennessee’s Chris Johnson gained that many yards, but 78 came on four runs. And Johnson didn’t score on any of those carries, nor did they lead to points. He could have had some bigger runs, but tackles by DeAngelo Hall on one run and H.B. Blades on another prevented that from happening. The Redskins could stick with their base 3-4 defense much more than normal because the Titans weren’t major threats in the air. Had they been forced to play more nickel, then Johnson might have broken more runs — ones that could have hurt.
2. The NFC does not have a powerhouse team, but they have a lot of teams close to that level » And it likely means a 10-6 record is the minimum for making the postseason — unless you reside in the NFC West. Seven teams already have six wins and five have seven. This does not include the NFC West, of course, where 5-5 Seattle has a one-game lead for first place. So this means the NFC East might just get one playoff spot as Green Bay, New Orleans and Tampa Bay all have a lead over the New York Giants for the two wild card spots. Incidentally, the Redskins are 3-1 vs. NFC teams that currently have seven wins. But can they go 5-1 down the stretch? Very doubtful.
3. When the offense is clicking, it’s fun to watch » Sunday, they found a way to get many players involved. That’s easy to do when you run 86 plays, a result of finally converting on third downs. That means more opportunities to open the playbook. So we saw the screen to Fred Davis, and the in-route to Brandon Banks, and the shovel pass to Santana Moss. Ten players caught passes and four players had receptions of 20 yards or more. The deception game worked. But it was also surprising how ineffective Tennessee’s defense was — the Titans could never overpower an interior that has struggled vs. power players.
4. It’s hard to understand why Tennessee wasn’t better able to take advantage of the Redskins’ offensive line injuries » The Titans’ front lacked powerful players, the sort who have given Washington fits all season. There were times when they’d bump some players back, but it was not with any regularity. And some of their rushes left guys bunched up; and on more than a couple occasions one lineman was able to slow two rushers.
