The Washington Redskins are 0-2 after starting the season against a pair of NFC East opponents.
Even worse, the team now has to play under the national spotlight of Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears, owners of an elite pass rush and overall defense.
For head coach Jay Gruden, the only approach that makes sense is urgency.
“When you lose a home game and two division games, you’ve got to have some understanding of a sense of urgency,” Gruden said, according to Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post. “I believe [the players] know. … They’ll be told again. They were told before the Dallas game. They were told before the Philly game. They’re told before every game, really.”
Gruden has been quoted earlier in the week as saying it isn’t time to hit the panic button — which seemed more in line with his player-friendly personality.
But the reality is simple — an 0-2 hole in the NFC East, not just overall, is a serious problem. And that could easily turn into 0-3 after Monday night. Week 4 is indeed a game against the down New York Giants, but they’re turning to exciting rookie Daniel Jones under center. That’s a road game too, by the way.
After that in Week 4? A visit from Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Understandably, it isn’t hard to see why Gruden has been preaching urgency since the season started.
