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It’s nearly impossible to win games when your defense can’t play defense.

During the season opener, the Washington Redskins pressured Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz on just 11 of his 41 drop-backs. And when Wentz did face pressure, it wasn’t effective. Wentz calmly completed 9 of 10 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns in those situations, taking just one sack.

In Week 2, Washington’s defense pressured Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott a mere six time out of 33 drop-backs.  Prescott responded by completing his final 18 passes and threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns.

When opposing quarterbacks have all the time in the world, they tend to pick apart defenses with relative ease. On this day, the Cowboys converted 7 of 11 third downs and, through two games, the Redskins have allowed opponents to convert 18 of 28 (64 percent).

Bigger picture, the Redskins’ defense has given up 63 points and 918 yards through two games, which is ridiculously pitiful.

NFL schedule makers did the Washington Redskins a huge favor, assigning them a measuring stick matchup to kick off the 2019 season.

That’s because there’s zero pressure taking on the Philadelphia Eagles, the presumptive favorite in the NFC East, in their hostile stadium when no one outside of Redskins Park gave them much of a chance to avoid embarrassment.

And while most of the football-loving world expected a blowout, Washington refused to follow conventional wisdom. Instead, the Redskins’ offense, which features way more question marks than sure things, came out firing on all cylinders — jumping out to a 17-0 lead that stunned the Philly faithful, who could barely muster up the energy to boo their hometown team.

Unfortunately for the burgundy and gold, they were unable to hold on to their 17-point lead. Like a veteran boxer, the Eagles were able to weather the early storm and then methodically worked their way back into the contest before overpowering their opponent.

The knockout blow on this day, was delivered by wideout DeSean Jackson, who torched his former team as he returned to his other former team — with eight receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

The Washington Redskins dropped their preseason homer opener to the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-13. That said, roughly 10 minutes after the game ended, the vast majority of the football-loving world forgot everything about this irrelevant practice game.

One play that ‘Skins fans won’t purge from memory though was the first touchdown pass by Redskins rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr., who staved off a defender long enough to launch a beautiful pass deep downfield to receiver Robert Davis for a 55-yard touchdown that was unquestionably the highlight of the night.

This preseason has been a bit of a rocky start for Haskins, who looks very much like a newcomer with limited experience trying to learn on the fly. But plays like this, when he’s able to stay calm and composed in the face of pressure, will go a long way towards establishing the Ohio State standout’s confidence moving forward.

The Washington Redskins were hoping for a holiday miracle as they traveled to Nashville three days before Christmas. That’s because, after losing four out of five games, the Redskins needed to win and — and get help from others ahead of them in the standings — just to back into a playoff berth. And while no one likes to see opposing players get injured, Washington had to feel encouraged after knocking Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota out of the game.

But much like everything else that’s gone on during the second half of the season, the Redskins were unable to take advantage of the situation and ultimately saw their slim postseason dreams dashed by below average back-up Blaine Gabbert. While a weekend in the Music City is always enjoyable. These are three hours that most ‘Skins fans would love to get back.

Imagine, if you will, sitting down with a giant bowl of popcorn to watch the latest Hollywood hit. This sports drama takes place in our nation’s capital, where a downtrodden franchise finds itself quickly sinking to the depths of irrelevance once again after losing not one, but two separate quarterbacks to a broken leg. No team can withstand losing their top-two options at the sport’s most vital position, and an already bleak situation turns even more dire when the last man standing is most famously known for something called a “butt fumble.”

Predictably, that experiment goes horribly wrong in a hurry and a once-promising season looks to be spiraling out of control … until an unheralded journeyman of a quarterback is called into action and — while making his first start in seven years — performs at a level that far exceeds even his wildest dreams.

With no time for introductions and/or pleasantries, our no-name quarterback is asked to take command of a huddle of players whose names he literally learns by playing Madden 19. Amazingly, and against all odds, this scenario doesn’t lead to the next chapter in the franchise’s 20-year story of heartache and misery. It actually halts a four-game losing streak and gives fans a brief moment of joy as they watch this ragtag bunch grind out a much-needed win.

Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, if this is a dream, no one wake up Josh Johnson.

For decades, the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys have represented one of the best rivalries in all of sports. And while neither franchise is anywhere close to rekindling the glory days, the NFL’s schedule makers can’t help but feel nostalgic when it comes to these two teams because, more and more frequently, they find themselves pitted against one another in primetime games.

With that in mind, I once again ditched my loved one and traveled to Jerry’s World to cover yet another Thanksgiving Day matchup. This year’s edition featured a juice storyline, with Texas’ own Colt McCoy thrust into action after the Redskins lost starting quarterback Alex Smith to a gruesome season-ending injury just days earlier. Could McCoy punctuate his return to the Lone Star state with a career-defining win or would the Cowboys get revenge on the Redskins for an early-season loss by putting Colt out to pasture?