Opinion: It's time to move on from Jay Gruden
Monday night football is always an anticipated prime-time game in the NFL. Coming off losing their first 2 games of the season, this game was important for the Washington Redskins. Unfortunately, it didn't go their way, losing against the Chicago Bears at home with the final score of 31-15.
There was nothing good to say about both sides of the ball in terms of the Redskins. Sloppy play-calling and the lack of proper defense combined handed the Redskins their third loss of the season. This is the first time that head coach Jay Gruden has gone 0-3 at the start of the season since he was hired in 2014. After this game, fans are calling to fire Gruden and I couldn't agree more.
While the signing of Gruden brought hope, the hope has been lost for the past year or two. Sloppy play calling by him and defensive coordinator Greg Manusky have taken wins from this team. Given that Gruden has had to deal with several injuries throughout several seasons, it shouldn't be an excuse for basic play callings, such as putting one offensive lineman on All-Pro pass rusher Khalil Mack which they did Monday night. On the defensive side, there was little to no attempt to rush the offense on 3rd downs. The Bears came into the game against the Redskins with just 1 touchdown on offense. But the Redskins defense allowed Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky to throw 3 touchdowns.
Coming into the season, there was certainly promise on the defense and would likely see an average offense. The offense thrived for part of the first game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles, but later on lacked momentum and energy. Redskins quarterback Case Keenum was underminded and showed that he can keep the offense going, but against the Bears he threw 3 interceptions and fumbled the ball 3 times.
This isn't an issue about the Redskins players not playing properly, it is the lack of proper coaching and preparing for games which showed on Monday night.
Redskins fans have had enough and so have I. This is the right time to still have hope for the 2019 season if Redskins owner Dan Snyder and general manager Bruce Allen realize that Gruden and Manusky need to be relieved of their duties. The past offseason, the Redskins promoted Kevin O'Connell to offensive coordinator who should replace Gruden as interim head coach. The time is now to show the league the Redskins can be a serious team with proper internal changes.