5 Keys To Victory: St. Louis Rams At Washington Redskins – Revisited

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

1.) Contain QB Colt McCoy on the edge

McCoy was swallowed up in the pocket all day, as expected. He never really made any plays from outside of the tackle box against a defense that was playing fast on Sunday. McCoy ended his day with a neck injury before throwing two interceptions and getting sacked six times.

2.) Stuff RB Alfred Morris

Morris had his worst game of the season by far. He was held to six yards on eight carries and he also caught one pass for 11 yards. His previous low of the season was in a game agaist the Seattle Seahawks where he rushed for 29 yards on 13 carries. McCoy had more rushing yards than Morris with 11. Third string RB Silar Redd had more yards rushing than Morris and he only carried the ball once.

3.) Watch WR Desean Jackson deep

Jackson was deemed inactive right before the beginning of the game. This took him out of the equation for the Rams defense and allowed them to take some more chances on blitzes. As mentioned above, St. Louis ended the game with seven total sacks, six of which came against McCoy.

4.) Play with confidence

The Rams played with intensity and their usual swagger on Sunday against a lesser opponent. In years past the Rams were prone to play down the the level of their opponents; no more. They have beaten some of the best teams in the league this year and they go into every game knowing the have a chance to walk away victorious.

5.) Test the Redskins’ secondary

The Rams did a great job of taking deep shots throughout the game. QB Shaun Hill ripped through the secondary to the tune of 213 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions. One of his scores was a 35 yard pass up the seam to TE Jared Cook as he was left wide open. He also nearly connected with WR Kenny Britt on a deep post but the ball was just out of Britt’s reach as he got behind the defense. His longest pass to Britt was 41 yards and he also hit WR Stedman Bailey for a 36 yard gain.

Check back with us before the Rams take on the Cardinals for our 5 Keys to Victory.