For those who say Kirk Cousins' struggles show he wasn't a "good fit" in this Washington Redskins' offense, that's just not the case. His mistakes aren't about whether he's a fit, they're about decision-making and handling adversity. He made bad decisions and he did not handle bad plays well, sometimes because he'd try too hard to compensate for a mistake (which could be why the Redskins called three straight run plays on the series after his fumble).

The coaches like a lot about Cousins' game. But until he gets past these sort of issues, which are major, then it'll be hard to trust him the way they must. And when you're a former fourth-round pick, with a former No. 2 overall pick on the roster, you don't get the luxury of time to develop. I'm anxious to see where Robert Griffin III is at; the rest of the season becomes about him of course. He'll have to look extraordinary in practice for him to start at Dallas. That not only means physically but in his handling of the offense, too.

Earlier in the season Ryan Clark talked about safety Bacarri Rambo's missed tackles, saying one thing he told him was that there are sometimes you go for the big hit and sometimes you just need to get the guy on the ground. In the past two weeks, Clark has failed to make those necessary tackles, leading to touchdowns. Safety remains a problem.

Teams rarely let long-time starters leave unless they feel they're done. Clark had value to offer Washington with leadership, etc. But it's not as if the Redskins have young safeties learning those lessons who you can assume will become starters next season.

Did not see enough progress in the run game as Alfred Morris managed just 54 yards on 18 carries. He's averaging 3.8 yards per carry and to think it's just because of Griffin's absence would just be wrong. I wrote about this topic Friday, but too often there are missed blocks -- Shawn Lauvao has not delivered as a free-agent signing -- and Morris is not always finding the holes, when they exist or not breaking as many tackles. More so, he's not snapping off runs of 10-plus yards and his long this year is 23 yards. One or two long runs will boost his average, but they haven't yet come.

Griffin can hold the backside pursuit on stretch plays, creating good cutback lanes. That's a bonus in this offense. But it's not as if defenses were worried about Griffin running a year ago and Morris still ran well. When I was on ESPN980 the other day, Brian Mitchell suggested Morris isn't breaking as many tackles because he's worried about fumbling. That's a former running back talking so it's worth paying attention to the theory.

I did like the play design on Darrel Young's 14-yard run on a third-and-1 in the third quarter. Roy Helu took the outside linebacker out of the play by running wide left at the snap. Tight end Niles Paul pulled from the right side and took care of the defensive back on this play, sealing a lane for Young. Paul has issues blocking at the line, but on the move and against defensive backs he's golden.

Will Compton has proven to be a steady player. I don't know if he's a long-term solution yet or not. I know there were questions about him in coverage. But with this defense the fewer guys you have on the field who make the same mistakes over and over the better off you'll become. In this case, they have to answer this question rather honestly: Will Perry Riley ever become the pass defender they need him to be?

Punter Tress Way's worst punt of the day resulted in a huge play. His 28-yard punt from the 50 caused returner Dexter McCluster to run up fast so he could catch it, which then resulted in a fumble and recovery by Paul. Way's other two punts were excellent, a 44-yarder to the 13 and a 52-yarder to the 33. But the bad one gave Washington a lift. Way is still learning how he needs to punt in the NFL, but he's been a good find and a guy well worth developing.