The playing surface at FedEx Field looked bad on Thanksgiving night. It played poorly, too; on the throw from quarterback Kirk Cousins that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins, Cousins’ left foot seemed to get stuck in the turf.
“It probably doesn’t look like a professional NFL field should,” Cousins said Friday on 106.7 The Fan in D.C., via NBC Sports Washington. “If you think the field is rough now on Thanksgiving, we’ve got two more home games in mid-to-late December. That’s probably going to be a bigger challenge.”
Cousins, who tiptoed around the question of whether the field contributed to the interception, has become resigned to the fact that, as the year goes on, the playing surface will get rougher and rougher.
“I don’t know why it is that way or what causes it,” Cousins said. “I’ve kind of learned to accept it and understand it’s part of the deal. Playing here on the field has never been that great in the second half of the season for whatever the reason.”
Coach Jay Gruden disagreed with Cousins’ assessment, but Gruden acknowledged that he’s not in the best position to evaluate the field.
“No, I just heard about it today,” Gruden told reporters when asked if he has concerns about the quality of the playing surface. “Kirk I guess was talking about it a little bit, but I didn’t notice it. I’m not out there with cleats on. I’m just on the sideline standing there. I’ll just leave that up to the grounds crew and the players and let them hash it out.”
Gruden, unlike Cousins, was willing to admit that the playing surface may have affected the interception.
“Yeah, it did get caught there a little bit, you could see it slip a little bit there,” Gruden said. “It very well could have.”
Washington hosts Arizona on December 17 and Denver on December 24. It very well could be that the field will be even worse for those two games.