The Washington Redskins were awful against the Bills yesterday.  The Bills sacked poor John Beck nine times yesterday!  Beck completed 20 of 33 passes for 208 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 10 yards (3.3 ypc) in this game.  Ryan Torain led the way on the ground for the Redskins with 14 yards rushing on 8 carries (1.8 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 6 yards.  TE Fred Davis (8 rec, 94 yards) and WR Jabar Gaffney (4 rec, 40 yards) led the way for the Skins in the passing game.  The Redskins finished up with 26 yards rushing on 12 carries (2.2 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 33 passes (60.6%) for 152 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 25:09.

The Redskins didn’t play too well defensively yesterday, but you can’t blame LB London Fletcher for that.  Fletcher led the way for the Redskins yesterday with 20 tackles, 1/2 a sack, 1 pass defensed, 2 QB hits and 1 interception.  LB Rocky McIntosh (7 tackles), safety LaRon Landry (7 tackles) and LB Brian Orakpo (5 tackles and 1 fumble recovery) also pitched in for the Redskins in this game.  The Bills finished up with 138 yards rushing on 33 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 27 passes (77.8%) for 252 yards in thsi game.  The Redskins are now 3-4 on the season.

This is actually a home game for the Bills but it will be played at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Canada.  The Redskins are really beat up right now to a big rash of injuries, mostly on offense.  The Bills had two weeks to get ready for the Redskins as they are coming off their bye week.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Redskins have the ball:  The Redskins are running out of healthy players.  Luckily for them, they are playing against a Bills’ D that can’t stop the run (135.7 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry) or the pass (284.8 yards passing per game).  The Redskins are likely going to unleash Ryan Torain and Roy Helu on the Bills’ front seven tomorrow.  The Redskins will likely keep the offense balanced as the Bills only have 4 sacks so far this year.  John Beck should have plenty of time to throw in this game, so look for TE Fred Davis, WR Jabar Gaffney and WR Anthony Armstrong to have solid games.

When the Bills have the ball:  The Redskins are going to have to go all out to stop Fred Jackson in this game as he is the guy who makes the Bills’ offense go.  The Skins are then going to come after Ryan Fitzpatrick with all guns blazing as they already have 21 sacks this year.  Fitzpatrick has only been sacked six times this year, so something will have to give tomorrow in Toronto.  WRs Steve Johnson and David Nelson are Fitzpatrick’s two favorite guys to throw to, so the Skins are going to have to be ready to deal with them.

PREDICTION:  BILLS 27, REDSKINS 24

#1 WR Santana Moss has caught 25 passes for 301 yards (12.0 avg) with 2 TD grab, but he is going to miss a big chunk of the rest of the year due to a fractured hand.  Jabar Gaffney will take over as the #1 WR for the Redskins until Moss is ready to return to action.  Gaffney has caught 23 passes for 361 yards (15.7 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  Anthony Armstrong will likely replace Moss in the starting lineup.  He has caught 5 passes for 47 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year, but he proved what he could do in 2010 for the Redskins, so chances are good that he will step up.  Terrence Austin (4 rec, 58 yards), Donte Stallworth (5 rec, 46 yards) and rookie Niles Paul (2 rec, 25 yards) are also going to have to step up for the Redskins.

The Washington Redskins have signed 27-year old TE Dominique Byrd and 25-year old G/C Jonathan Compas.  Byrd played in 1 game for the Seahawks earlier this year but he didn’t catch any passes.  Byrd has now played in 15 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has caught 6 passes for 83 yards (13.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Compas played in 2 games back in 2009 for the Buccaneers.  The Redskins need all the help they can get due to the recent rash of injuries on the offense.

UPDATE:  (10/28/2011) – The Redskins have waived Jonathan Compas.

UPDATE II:  (11/9/2011) – The Redskins have waived Dominique Byrd.  He didn’t get into any games for the Redskins.

Starting RB Tim Hightower is having an MRI today to see if he has a torn left ACL.  Hightower has carried the ball 84 times for 321 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 10 passes for 78 yards (7.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  If Hightower is indeed out for the season, Ryan Torain and Roy Helu will share the load in the running game.  Torain has carried the ball 31 times for 152 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year, but he has yet to catch a pass.  Rookie Roy Helu has carried the ball 27 times for 131 yards (4.9 ypc) and he has also caught 9 passes for 72 yards (8.0 avg) so far this year.  Losing Hightower would be a blow to the Redskins’ offense but at least they have a couple of capable replacements in Torain and Helu.

UPDATE:  The MRI Hightower took today confirmed that he has a torn left ACL.  He is done for the season.

The Washington Redskins will be without WR Santana Moss for the next 5-7 weeks due to a fractured left hand.  Moss has played in all six games for the Redskins so far this year and he has caught 25 passes for 301 yards (12.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Jabar Gaffney and Anthony Armstrong will be the starting WRs until Moss returns to action and the Redskins need them to step up.  Gaffney has caught 23 passes for 361 yards (15.7 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year and Armstong has caught 5 passes for 47 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.

The Washington Redskins gave up 24 points in the second half yesterday and that was way too much for them to overcome.  John Beck completed 22 of 37 passes for 279 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 10 yards with a TD run and a lost fumble.  Tim Hightower led the way on the ground for the Redskins in this game with 17 carries for 88 yards (5.2 ypc).  TE Fred Davis (6 rec, 80 yards, TD) and WR Jabar Gaffney (4 rec, 68 yards and a lost fumble) led the way for the Redskins in the passing game yesterday.  The Redskins finished up with 92 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 37 passes (59.5%) for 261 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 24:30.

The defense was pretty awful for the Redskins yesterday.  LB London Fletcher (9 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and safety Reed Doughty (8 tackles) led the way for the Skins on D in this game.  LB Rocky McIntosh (7 tackles) and safety LaRon Landry (7 tackles, 1/2 a sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit) also pitched in for the Skins on D in this game.  The Panthers finished up with 175 yards rushing on 37 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 23 passes (78.3%) for 232 yards in this game.  The Redskins are now 3-3 on the season.

The Redskins are 1-1 on the road and the Panthers are 1-2 at home so far this year.  The Redskins are giving John Beck his first start at QB, while the Panthers are going with the very suddenly average looking Cam Newton.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Redskins have the ball:  QB John Beck gets a nice soft defense to make his starting debut against.  The Redskins will likely lean on the run a little bit, at least early in the game.  Tim Hightower and Ryan Torain will likely do most of the heavy lifting against a Panthers’ D that is allowing 140.3 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry so far this year.  The Redskins O-Line has had a few injuries, which means they will have a couple of new starters.  The Redskins’ QBs have been sacked 10 times already this year, so it will be up to the line to give John Beck time to throw the ball and take advantage of the Panthers’ sub-standard secondary.  WR Santana Moss and TE Fred Davis could be in line for big games this Sunday.

When the Panthers have the ball:  The Panthers would be smart to run the ball a little more this weekend in an effort to control the clock.  Cam Newton didn’t look too good last weekend against the Falcons and the Redskins have a much better secondary than them.  DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and Cam Newton give the Panthers a potential really solid running game if they would use it more.  Instead, they have been a big time passing team, which really worked o.k. in the first couple of weeks.  But, Cam Newton looked like the rookie he is last weekend against the Falcons.  The Redskins will likely double WR Steve Smith and dare Newton to beat them by throwing to someone else.  TEs Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen will also need the full attention of the Redskins’ secondary.

PREDICTION:  PANTHERS 24, REDSKINS 20

Tim Hightower, Ryan Torain and Roy Helu are working well as a group for the Redskins so far this year.  The Redskins are averaging 109.8 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry so far this year.  Tim Hightower has the most rushing yards for the Redskins so far this year with 233 of them on 67 carries (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 10 passes for 78 yards (7.8 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  Hightower missed last weekend’s game with a banged up shoulder, but he should be back in action against the Panthers this weekend.  Ryan Torain is a favorite of Mike Shanahan’s since their days together with the Broncos.  Torain has played in 2 games this year for the Redskins and he has carried the ball 29 times for 157 yards (5.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Rookie Roy Helu has made a good first impression for the Redskins so far this year.  He has played in five games for the Redskins so far this year and he has carried the ball 26 times for 132 yards (5.1 ypc).  Helu has also caught 7 passes for 66 yards (9.4 avg) so far in 2011.  The Redskins need this trio of RBs to keep up the good work because they need balance on offense to protect their QBs.

The Washington Redskins are making a change at QB for this weekend’s game at Carolina.  30-year old John Beck will be the new starting QB.  He has played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Redskins so far this year and he has completed 8 of 15 passes (53.3%) for 117 yards without a TD pass or INT (79.0 QB Rating.  Beck has also carried the ball 2 times for 14 yards (7.0 ypc) with 1 TD run this year. The Redskins hope that Beck is more careful with the football then Rex Grossman was.  Grossman has played in 5 games (all starts) for the Redskins so far this year and he has completed 92 of 165 passes (55.8%) for 1,132 yards with 6 TD passes and 9 INTs (66.5 QB Rating).  Grossman has also carried the ball 10 times for 3 yards (0.3 ypc) so far this year.  This move makes perfect sense for the Redskins as Grossman has been awful lately.