Oakland Raiders: 5 reasons not to panic after Washington loss
By John Buhler
Washington might be a playoff team in the NFC
It’s still very early in the season, but it might be a playoff year for the Redskins. The NFC East is very much up for grabs. Philadelphia looks good. We’re not sure how much Dallas has regressed. Then the Giants are just a total grease fire. The Redskins could win the division for the second time in three years.
If you look at it that way, losing a primetime game on the road against an eventual division winner lessens the embarrassment marginally. It was still a terrible effort by the Raiders, but Washington was easily the best team that the Raiders have faced in three games. The Tennessee Titans might be a division winner as well, but Washington looks to be the more complete team over the Titans.
Being that the Raiders and Redskins play once in an olympiad, this is the first time Oakland has seen Cousins as a full-time starter in Washington. With Denver coming up in Week 4 and Cousins’ contract situation with the Redskins, it was easy for the Raiders to overlook Washington on Sunday.
It’s not just Cousins that makes the Redskins a solid team. They have a great pass rush with Jonathan Allen and Ryan Kerrigan. Even their secondary played well. Josh Norman was outstanding at cornerback and D.J. Swearinger made some big plays at safety. This loss is still rough for the Raiders, but it’s not like it came against a bottom feeder. Washington looks really good in the early part of the season.