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Fast-forward: The Oakland Raiders have played two excellent quarterbacks already in Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck and Denver’s Peyton Manning. That’s a big reason opposing quarterbacks have a 120.0 passer rating against them, the highest in the NFL. Their secondary plays undisciplined in coverage at times, leading to big gains. Oakland allows big plays, giving up 8.1 yards per attempt, as quarterbacks have completed 75.5 percent of their throws against the Raiders. So this should be a good week for Griffin to keep improving.
Unwanted numbers: The Redskins work best when they have a more balanced attack, allowing them to hurt teams even more on play-action passes. That’s where they excelled a year ago. In 2012, they used play-action on 42 percent of their drop-backs compared to 24 percent this season. They’re averaging only 7.3 yards per attempt on play-action compared to 11.7 last season. The good news for Washington is that Oakland allows 4.1 yards per run, giving the Redskins a shot at setting up their play-action.
Prediction: Griffin and the Redskins will have a more balanced attack Sunday, which means they probably won’t throw for more than 300 yards again. But Griffin will have a more productive day -- and not just piling up yards after his team falls behind by double digits. He’ll have his most efficient game of the season, something that will give the Redskins a good feeling entering their bye week.