They say honesty is the best policy. And Redskins coach Jay Gruden isn’t even trying to hide the fact that he’s not expecting much out of his ground game come Monday night against the Bears.
The Redskins are averaging 37.5 rushing yards per game this season, and that number isn’t bound to get better against the league’s second best run defense in the Bears.
“I say we want to run the ball, but they’re a very difficult team to run the ball against,” Gruden said of Chicago’s defense on Wednesday, via the Sun-Times. “I might have to wait until next week.”
Washington’s leading rusher is 34-year-old Adrian Peterson, who has a whopping 25 yards on 10 carries in last week’s 31-21 loss to the Cowboys.
While the Redskins haven’t had much of a run game in the first two games, it’s been their passing game that has put up some gaudy statistics. But stats can be deceiving, especially when your record is 0-2.
In two games, Redskins quarterback Case Keenum has thrown for 601 yards, a 70.3 completion percentage, five touchdowns and no interceptions for a 111.2 passer rating.
But Keenum hasn’t played a defense like Chicago’s this season.
“They’re very sound in what they do, not overly complicated,” Gruden said. “They’re just in their right gaps and they play a physical brand of football. Old school Chicago Bears football.”
If the Bears defense can manage to contain the Redskins’ run game, like the Eagles and Cowboys have before them, Keenum will find himself commanding a one-dimensional offense with one of the NFL’s most ferocious defenses bearing down on him.
