Denver Broncos vs. Washington Redskins Preview and Pick – Point Spread

Denver Broncos (6-2 6-2 ATS) vs. Washington Redskins (2-6 2-6 ATS) FedEx Field, Landover, MD 1 PM EST Sunday November 15, 2009 on CBS
by Jason Green at Predictem.com

Point Spread: Broncos -5 / Redskins +5
Over/Under: 36.5

On Sunday afternoon in the Nation’s Capital the Washington Redskins host the Denver Broncos. The Redskins are struggling, big time, and they have lost 4 in a row and the playoffs may be just a pipe dream for them. After a red-hot start the Broncos have lost 2 games in a row and now they only lead the AFC West by one game over the San Diego Chargers, who they face next week. The Redskins have had major problems with turnovers and their offense is the 2nd lowest scoring one in the NFC. Denver once had the top-rated defense in the league, but they have given up an average of 29 points in their 2-game losing streak. Denver needs to get back to winning or they may repeat what happened last season when they fell apart and handed the AFC West division crown to the Chargers.

Last week the Redskins lost to the Atlanta Falcons 31-17 and the Broncos lost to the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers 28-10 on Monday night.

In the Redskins loss to the Falcons they simply could not stop the run, as they gave up 176 rushing yards. Falcons’ RB Michael Turner has struggled this season, but against the Redskins he blew up rushing for 166 yards and averaging 9.2 yards per carry. The Redskins actually had more total yards, but they were killed by penalties to the tune of 10 penalties for 88 yards. In the game the Falcons jumped out to a 24-3 halftime lead and the Redskins and their weak offense simply could not catch up. The Redskins were underdogs by 8.5 points so they did not cover the spread and the posted total of 41 was surpassed.

In the Broncos loss to the Steelers on Monday night the allowed Pittsburgh to run all over them with 173 rushing yards while they only amassed 27. Worse than that is that the Steelers averaged 6 yards per carry and the Broncos only averaged 1.9 yards per carry. Kyle Orton only had 1 INT coming into the game, but he was picked off 3 times. The Broncos were underdogs by 3 points in the game so they did not cover the spread and the posted total for the game was 41.5 was not reached.

The Redskins’ problems are too many to name, but they have to get back to running the ball. That may be more difficult in this game since RB Clinton Portis suffered a concussion in the Atlanta game.

The one bright spot for the Redskins this season has been their defense. They are giving up an average of 126 rushing yards per game, but they have the top-ranked pass defense in the league.

The Broncos’ rushing offense has struggled in the past couple of games and they need to get back on track since the Skins have such a solid secondary.

Denver only has the league’s 19th ranked offense and in their last 2 games they have scored a grand total of 17 points.

Washington needs to have a good game from QB Jason Campbell, which they have not gotten good play from this year. Campbell needs to catch fire in the 2nd half of the season or he may not have a job in D.C. next season.

The Redskins have 21 sacks this season and they need to pressure Orton and not give him time to find his targets, especially WR Brandon Marshall (44 rec 468 yds 4 TD).

Orton began the season on fire, but in Denver’s last 2 games he only has 373 yards passing with 0 TD’s and 3 INT.

The Redskins have been killed this season by mistakes, whether it is turnovers or penalties. If they play a smart game and play solid run D they have a good chance to win this game.

Jason’s Pick: OK, so the Skins have lost 4 in a row and their offense has been dormant. However, the Broncos may not be the team that everybody though after they have lost 2 in a row and have struggled on both sides of the ball. The Redskins’ fans deserve a solid game from their beloved team and I think they will get it in this game. The Skins will run the ball and play good D, which will send the Broncos to their 3rd straight loss. Take the Skins and the points in this game.