Adrian Peterson, DJ Swearinger, and the Washington Redskins defense all had something to do with the Redskins 20-13 victory over the depleted New York Giants.

Swearinger entered the game with two interceptions, both of which came in a losing effort against Andrew Luck and the Colts. In that game, Swearinger recorded three tackles, all solo along with two passes defended. To say that Swearinger isn’t having an All-Pro season would be ludicrous as he’s now becoming the leader of not only the Skins secondary but the Skins defense as well.

Swearinger finished with two more interceptions on Sunday against the Giants that helped solidify the Skins place atop the NFC East.

Swearinger, of course, took that tweet as a sign of disrespect and let everyone know after the performance he had on Sunday how he felt.

“Very disrespected. I wanted to show them that I am the best safety in this game, and I’m gonna keep doing that every week, week in and week out.”

AP All Day

But what about Peterson, the naysayers said “he’s too old”, “he’s washed up”, “he can’t play anymore”, “the Redskins made a terrible signing”.

Well, that “terrible signing” rushed for 149 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown as he helped carry the Redskins for the majority of the ballgame against the Giants.

69-yard touchdown run:

That touchdown run by Peterson would ultimately set up the Redskins for their fifth win of the season and their third consecutive win. The most wins the Redskins have won in a row date back to 2016 when the Skins won four in a row before losing 20-17 to the Lions. That year, Washington finished 8-7-1. The year prior, Washington won their last four games, finishing with a four-game win streak and finishing 9-7 on the year.

Peterson, before the game against the Giants, was giving high praise for their rookie running back, Saquon Barkley.

“From what I have seen so far he shows some God-given ability. Great patience, his lower-body strength, and balance is amazing. He flows.”

On Sunday, the Redskins “Alabama wall” once again showed up and balled out. They held Barkley to just 38 yards rushing on 13 carries. Thus far, that has been the motto for the Skins defensive line.

Building That Wall

That “Alabama wall” held David Johnson to 37 yards, Marlon Mack to 34 yards, Jones/Williams to 78 yards, Ingram/Kamara to 77 yards, McCaffrey to 20 yards and Elliott to 33 yards. They have not allowed a single rusher to carry for more than 80 yards all season. That is absurd.

This upcoming week should garnish the same result against the Falcons rushing attack. Only once this season have the Falcons rushed for over 100 yards and that was in Week 2 when they ran for 170 total yards. Other than that, their running game has been nonexistent.

In Week 1 Atlanta rushed for 74 total yards and in Week 3 they tallied for 48 yards. Although in Week 4 they reached the 90-yard plateau with 92 total yards. But it was back to the norm for the Falcons rushing attack as they only tallied for 62 total yards in Week 5, 70 total yards in Week 6 and 67 total yards in Week 7.

Atlanta’s rushing attack may not be the deciding factor in the game but their passing game could determine the outcome. With Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Mohamed Sanu, the Skins secondary will be in for a tough game.

READ: Redskins Grades Against Cowboys

Ridley leads the receiving core with six touchdowns, Sanu has just three on the year with Austin Hooper and Tevin Coleman both have two. The most surprising stat … Jones doesn’t have a touchdown this season.

According to NFL.com, as of Monday morning, the Falcons rank 11th in points with 27, seventh in yards per game with 401, third in passing yards per game with 318 and rank a whopping 30th in rushing yards with 83.3.

So, the key to victory for Washington is quite simple. Stop the Falcons air attack. If the “Flight Marshalls” can do that, then the Skins should move to 6-2 on the season.

Side note: If playoffs were to start today, the Redskins would be the third seed hosting the sixth seed and currently that is the Seattle Seahawks.

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