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Chris Cooley broke down several plays from the Redskins' 24-21 victory over the Bears Sunday at Soldier Field. Here's a few that showed the dynamic capabilities of the Redskins offense.
(See above video) Tight end Jordan Reed lined up wide, as he did for many snaps on Sunday, and the Redskins took advantage of it. Slanting across the middle of the field, Reed makes a "basketball move" in between two linebackers that lets him extend the route and find open space for quarterback Kirk Cousins to throw.
Thanks to good protection, Cousins is able to go through a few progressions, looking off Pierre Garçon before finding Reed. "I like the spike," Cooley comments.
Cooley gets amped when talking about Reed's 32-yard grab over the middle. Essentially, Reed is running a choice route, where all other receivers' purpose is to draw defenders away from the tight end. Reed begins at about half-speed before using a stick move on the linebacker who has inside leverage on him to slant over the middle.
His separation, and the space he has around him thanks to wide receiver Jamison Crowder settling down underneath, allows Reed to turn on the rockets after the catch and outrun Bears defenders for a nice chunk of yards. Reed displays "an uncanny knack for winning at the top of routes," Cooley says.
Cooley then discusses DeSean Jackson's 14-yard catch over the middle. The offense came out with an empty backfield and five receivers, and Cousins found Jackson, using a spiffy pivot in between two defenders, on his second read.
Cooley notes that Crowder was wide open on the near sideline on a wheel route thanks to the attention Reed attracted on his crossing route. Still, the play turned out to be successful and showed how dangerous the Redskins offense can be with all of its playmakers on the field.
Finally, Cooley examines a play late in the game when running back Matt Jones pushed through the line to finish out the game. The offensive linemen all do their job, but Cooley gives kudos to Jones, who notices guard Spencer Long's gap clog up early and bounces to the outside for more room. Jones' physicality then takes over to gain the necessary extra yards on the play.
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