LANDOVER — The last stop in Charles “Peanut Punch” Tillman’s career was in Carolina. Tillman arrived in Charlotte in 2015 for his 13th season after playing 12 for the Chicago Bears and forcing more fumbles than any defensive back in the league during that time.
Tillman did not chop or rip at the football. He would square his body, clench a fist and fire toward the ball. Tillman’s technique produced 44 forced fumbles during his 13 NFL seasons, far and away the most during that period.
Josh Norman knew a master had arrived when Tillman showed up in Carolina. He wanted to add that punch technique to ball skills he had in the air. Norman viewed it as a way to be a menace on the ground, one that sometimes cost him a losing collision with a bigger back. But if he saw the ball in traffic and had time to squeeze his fingers, load and release, he figured it could be another layer to his defense.
Sunday night, Green Bay Packers tight end Jared Cook was in a tussle with another defender. The ball extended away from his body, and Norman took his chance. A straight right hand knocked the ball loose. Linebacker Will Compton fell on it. Norman ran across the field fueled by jubilation. He thought he knocked away a touchdown earlier in the Washington Redskins’ 42-24 win against the Green Bay Packers. He thought he had another forced fumble and takeaway earlier in the game. He was denied each time before the punch landed with Washington in front by 11 points and 2:59 from a 6-3-1 record that makes Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day game against the division-leading Dallas Cowboys one filled with weight.
“I just wanted to make a play for the team and got in there, bam!” Norman said. “Got it out.”
Washington is third in the jam-packed NFC East. Dallas has won nine consecutive games and has the best record in the conference. The New York Giants won again Sunday, their fifth consecutive win, to move to 7-3. Philadelphia has lurched back to 5-5, which is good for last place in the division, yet would be viable in any other one.
And what of the Redskins? An 0-2 start seems like it came last season. Only two of their final six opponents — Dallas and New York — have .500 or better records. Washington has won six of eight, leaving the tie in London and final drive in Detroit to nag them each time the standings are updated.
“This game next week is very big,” Norman said. “The NFC East is WOW. Bang-bang, shoot ’em up division, man. Everybody is pretty much on a good standard.”
When the Redskins walk into Cowboys Stadium in four days, they will carry head-turning numbers from Sunday night. Rob Kelley ran for 137 yards, his first time rushing for more than 100 yards since high school. Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 375 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown to Pierre Garcon and 53-yard completion to Jamison Crowder. Garcon had 116 yards, his most since Sept. 21, 2014. Crowder put up 102 yards of his own. Tight end Jordan Reed finished with 79. DeSean Jackson caught a 17-yard touchdown.
“Outstanding,” Jackson said. “QB rating 145. We need him to play like that a lot more. I think if we can get our guy back there playing like that, we’re pretty much unstoppable like we were out here [Sunday]. Everybody’s eating —Crowder, J-Reed, I did a little something here and there, Pierre had some big catches.”
All this against the Packers, who have long been part of the league standard. Green Bay is stumbling now. It is 4-6 after four consecutive losses, including Sunday night’s bludgeoning. There were times Aaron Rodgers made for nervous watching. He would work his usual process of precision throws or sliding around in the pocket to frustrate and orchestrate. Rodgers threw to his tight ends with great success. The Redskins helped with busted coverages on occasion. However, whenever Rodgers leaves town without a win, the opposition can feel like it avoided what could have been a dire day.
“The man’s a magician,” linebacker Will Compton said. “I know there’s a couple touchdowns we gave them off blown assignments. But, he keeps stuff alive. That’s why he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame. That’s why Aaron Rodgers is doing insurance commercials all the time. It’s his playground out there.”
Rodgers dispatched, the turnaround time was on everyone’s mind. Playing on a Thursday after a Sunday is one of the labors NFL players would be pleased to do away with. That kind of scheduling makes them laugh when they hear about the league’s focus on player safety. The hot tub, cold tub and any other rapid recovery technique will be employed in the coming days of light practices and rapid planning.
The game interrupts Ricky Jean Francois’ usual schedule of “eating and eating and eating” on Thanksgiving. He mixes in being thankful for his family and job in between bites. No time for turkey consumption this year. The Redskins will head to Dallas as the defending division champs try to take their most difficult step yet this season.
“This is a day that every kid and every person in this locker room used to sit home looking at,” Jean Francois said. “Now, you get to be a part of it. You going to be on TV when everybody is cutting and carving that turkey, you’re going to be on live TV when they want to go watch it. So, we got to go out there and we got to make an impression on the nation.”
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