When starting linebackers Will Compton and Su’a Cravens went down with injuries Sunday, there was more than just the game against the Eagles on the line: a third consecutive loss would have all but eliminated Washington from the NFC playoff picture.
Instead of buckling, the battered Redskins linebacker corps saved the 27-22 win, and maybe the season, with a couple of unsung backups, Mason Foster and Martrell Spaight, stepping in, making timely stops and one superstar, Ryan Kerrigan, playing like, well, a superstar, with his strip-sack of rookie Carson Wentz to end the game.
Coach Jay Gruden said Monday the injuries to Cravens and Compton were not as serious as feared, and that if the two starters can’t go against the Carolina Panthers Monday, Foster and Spaight will again be asked to pick up the slack.