Redskins’ Blackmon, Long in NFL’s concussion protocol

Washington Redskins safety Will Blackmon and center Spencer Long are going through the NFL’s concussion protocol after being injured in a loss Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals.

Coach Bruce Arians made a gutsy call in going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Cardinals’ 35.

Washington drove to the Arizona 28-yard line before Patrick Peterson’s interception of Kirk Cousins’ pass with 41 seconds left sealed the victory. Gruden blasted his team in the locker room and to the media after the game for a lack of effort during the week and for getting pushed around by Arizona. Arizonascored three plays later to take a 17-13 lead.

Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden left Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals wishing his team had run the ball more.

With 2:03 to play and the two-minute warning staring the Cardinals’ offense right in the face, Arians called for the deep shot on second down and 10, and the gamble paid off.

It’s too early to say the Cardinals’ passing game is back, but Palmer’s touchdown pass to Nelson was a step forward.

First was a pass rush in the third quarter where Arizona’s Calais Campbell drove left guard Shawn Lauvao backward into Cousins, then stripped the football.

The second came on the game’s final drive. We wanted to play for that eight-point win. A record of 10-5-1 will certainly earn the six seed, and potentially the 5 seed if the Giants lose a couple of games before the New Year’s Day clash in Washington. They reached the goal line on the five-play, 74-yard drive because of a lovely pass from Cousins to Jackson for 59 yards that set up Washington’s first touchdown.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-plus – A quiet game here.

Johnson carried the ball 18 times for 84 yards and caught nine passes for another 91. And don’t forget that one other Arizona third-down try in the fourth quarter got them close enough to go for it on fourth down and they just about sealed up the game on David Johnson’s run.

The Cardinals were an astounding 10 of 16 on third downs, with an average of 7.4 yards to go on those 10 conversions.

Johnson wasn’t the only one mentioned among the game’s greats after Sunday’s contest.

That catch moved Fitzgerald into third on the NFL’s all-time reception list, past former Colts receiver Marvin Harrison.

One issue that has plagued the Cardinals all season was still present in their most recent triumph: punting.

The Redskins still are in the playoff hunt with four games remaining, but Gruden did not want to talk about that. But teams finally found the defense’s holes and started running through it. The question was which side would win out, and the answer is not an answer Redskins fans will like.

Johnson ripped off a 14-yard gain and, moments later, Carson Palmer threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to J.J.