Washington Redskins (0-1 SU, 0-1 ATS) vs. Los Angeles Rams (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS)
Week 2 NFL
Date/Time: Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 4:25PM EST
Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
TV: Fox
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Point Spread: WAS +2.5/LAR -2.5
Over/Under Total: 46
The Washington Redskins make the long trip west to face the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday afternoon NFC action from the Coliseum. The Rams had a very fruitful start to their season, smoking the Colts at home, 46-9. With their second straight home game to open the season, they look to start 2-0 under first year head coach Sean McVay, who faces his former employer. Washington had a tougher time of it in week one, suffering a 30-17 home loss to the Eagles. Washington will have their hands full if they hope to avoid what would be a demoralizing 0-2 start to the season.
It was a sloppy game for both teams in the Redskins' loss to the Eagles, but Washington had subpar production across many different levels of play. The offense has to shoulder a lot of the blame and only accounted for ten points on Sunday. Kirk Cousins was 23-for-40 for 240 yards, along with a TD and a interception. Rob Kelley and Chris Thompson were flat in the ground-game, with Cousins leading the team in rushing. That's not a particularly good sign.
What little receiving production the Redskins had came from new Washington receiver Terrelle Pryor. Ryan Grant had some moments, but they got very little out of Jamison Crowder, Jordan Reed, Brian Quick, or former first-rounder and completely silent receiver Josh Doctson. It's unclear if this was a sign of a downturn for the Redskins aerial game. After all, if they stunk it up in midseason, it wouldn't resonate the same way. It's easy to get carried away with week one perceptions and we should be hesitant to shovel dirt on the Redskins' offense just yet. Let's just say first signs weren't great. Look for Cousins to be better after throwing a pick on the goal line and coughing up two fumbles, one of which was returned for a TD.
The Washington defense wasn't terrible in week one, despite the 30 points the road Eagles put up on Sunday. Seven of those points came on a Cousins fumble and it took some quarterbacking magic from Carson Wentz to make it happen. He was side-stepping potential sacks all game. After early in the second quarter, the defense kept Philly out of the end zone. LB Ryan Kerrigan intercepted a ball and returned it for a touchdown. The middle also produced good play with Mason Foster and Zach Brown applying pressure. The secondary, however, was exploited in spots by the Eagles, with Josh Norman, DJ Swearinger, Bashaud Breeland, and Deshazor Everett needing to be better moving forward.
Granted, the Colts looked awful, but a 46-9 win has to music for the ears of Rams' fans. Sean McVay, the youngest head coach in league history, might have stumbled upon the right recipe. If anything, his ability to work quarterbacks into shape seems to already be resonating with Jared Goff. After going 0-7 as a starter last season and looking like anything other than a future elite quarterback, he threw for 306 yards and looked great in commandeering an offense that couldn't get anything right last season. And in holding the Colts to 6 points and no longer hung out to dry by an inept offense, the defense looks great, as well.
The Rams' aerial game looked great. Goff was 21-for-29 and a whole new cast of ball-catchers have surfaced to give this offense hope. Sammy Watkins looked good, as did rookie receiver Cooper Kupp, who is really going to sneak up on some people this season. Sammy Watkins made his return to his hometown and was productive with 53 yards. Todd Gurley caught 5 balls. Now if only Gurley could return to his old form as a runner after another disappointing game where he had a TD, but ran for only 40 yards on 19 carries. His slippage in that category continues to be puzzling. The line has been upgraded and we should start seeing better stuff from Gurley, though we've been saying that for a year now. Also, let's point out that the 46-point total had a lot to do with two defensive touchdowns. Still, it was impressive.
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The Colts' offense really lacks an identity with Andrew Luck not behind center. Still, holding them to 225 yards, ten first downs, and one garbage fourth-quarter touchdown is still impressive. CB Trumaine Johnson recovered a fumble and had a pick that he returned for a TD. Safety LaMarcus Joyner also ran a pick back for a TD. Up-front, the Rams showed their D-line is a handful. Just wait until Aaron Donald gets in there after ending his holdout. Ethan Westbrooks, Tyrunn Walker, and Robert Quinn all registered sacks. In the middle, Alec Ogletree was very active and we already discussed how impactful the secondary was. In addition to the big plays, they also had the Indy aerial game grounded to a halt.
This is a game where we again have to stress the importance in not configuring a roadmap in concrete based on whatever happens in week one. But to think the Rams are ready to step up after week one's performance isn't that nutty of a thought. The Redskins seemed to us to be a team that would pick up steam as the season wore on, as opposed to a team that was going to hit the ground running. I expect them to play better this week, even in this long road trip. But the Rams looked so good in week one, it's hard to pull the trigger on the Skins this week. I'm going with the Rams.
Loot's Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I'm betting on the Los Angeles Rams minus 2.5 points. Tired of your credit card not working for sportsbook deposit? End that problem today and bet the Washington vs. Los Angeles game by signing up at Bovada Sportsbook where your credit card WILL work and where you'll receive a generous 100% sign-up bonus!
