The Washington Redskins are 0-5 to start the year. It's hard to imagine a year starting much worse than their's has.
The Redskins have fired their head coach (Jay Gruden) and haven't had their star tight end all year (Jordan Reed). Running back Derrius Guice hasn't played since Week 1 and superstar tackle Trent Williams is still holding out.
The defense was supposed to be great and they've been pretty miserable all year. Washington's blown leads and looked hapless most of the time.
They've used three quarterbacks already and are back to square one in that regard (Case Keenum was the starter in Week 1 and he's back in that role).
So why should they win this week? They are playing the 0-4 Miami Dolphins.
A win is definitely possible. Will it happen though? Here are four bold predictions for the Redskins in their Week 6 game against the Dolphins.
Terry McLaurin Has Career Day
Rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin has been very good for the Redskins. In fact, he's been one of the few bright spots this year.
McLaurin started his career with three straight games of five-plus receptions for 60-plus yards and one touchdown. However, he sat out due to injury in Week 4 and in Week 5 had just three receptions for 51 yards.
Let's give him the benefit of the doubt there though. McLaurin was coming off an injury and facing the most stifling defense in the NFL in the New England Patriots.
Oh, and he was doing so with Colt McCoy at quarterback. McCoy didn't exactly look healthy out there.
Now McLaurin is facing the worst defense in football. He'll feast as the number one option, as you should expect Keenum to look his way early and often.
McLaurin could easy surpass his high of six receptions in a game and reach over 100 receiving yards for a second time. Maybe he even has his first multi-score day.
Adrian Peterson Hits 100 Yards Rushing
The Washington rushing attack has looked dreadful this year. However, interim head coach Bill Callahan has made it abundantly clear that they will be running the ball a lot now.
That's right up Adrian Peterson's alley. The Redskins offense shouldn't have a lot of issues with Miami's defense.
Without issues, Washington should be able to get into that groove and run the ball a lot.
So far, Peterson has just 108 yards on 40 carries (2.7 yards per carry). He's got a big chance to prove he still has something left in the tank this week though.
The Dolphins are allowing an absurd 175.8 rushing yards per game. There's no reason to believe Peterson can't pick up 100 on the day. Especially with Callahan's run-heavy offense put into place.
Defense Gets Back on Track
The Washington defense was supposed to be special this year. They would be the saving grace. Yes, the offense would struggle, but the defense would win them some games.
However, the defense has been dreadful so far. It really makes no sense too.
The secondary isn't great but Landon Collins is a great safety (don't let anyone tell you otherwise, he's done a lot better this year than a lot of people say). Quinton Dunbar is a solid cornerback too.
The defensive line is fantastic and the linebackers are good enough. The pass rush that should be coming from Jonathan Allen, Da'Ron Payne, Matthew Ioannidis, Ryan Kerrigan and Montez Sweat is deadly.
Add in Tim Settle (who I love and who has looked great this year) and it should be one of the best front seven's in football.
The defense looked solid against the Patriots for a while in Week 5. But the offense giving them no time to breathe bit them in the butts in the end.
Now they have the Dolphins though. A team that has the second-least amount of yards per game (225) and the least amount of points per game (6.5).
Washington will take advantage of this. They're facing a young inexperienced quarterback with basically no weapons and a terrible line. Expect quite a few sacks and some forced turnovers.
This will be the dominant performance everyone's been waiting for out of this unit. Yes, it's “just” the Dolphins but maybe it will get things rolling for them.
Redskins Win By More Than Two Scores
The Redskins have been bad this year. Are they really that bad though? Let's run through it all.
The quarterback situation isn't good. Neither is the running back situation. The weapons aren't great but McLaurin provides them with a serious threat that they didn't think they'd have and Paul Richardson, Trey Quinn and Steven Sims Jr. can all contribute. (Expect Sims Jr. to have his moment in this game too.)
While the offensive line isn't great, Ereck Flowers has been really good at guard. That's a spot people expected to suffer and there aren't issues.
The defense has been bad but has the pieces to be great.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins are actively tanking.
This should be a “pride” game for Washington. The players and coaching staff want to prove themselves.
Yes, the Dolphins are the same way but at least the front office is trying to tank, Washington's isn't.
The Redskins will head into Week 6 0-5 but walk out 1-5 with a blowout victory to try and begin flipping the script on their season.
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