PATRIOTS at REDSKINS

Sunday, 1 p.m. (CBS)

“That’s not something we think about. We’ve gone through OTAs and training camp. You get used to everybody. There’s not a player in here that hasn’t caught a pass from all three quarterbacks,” Thompson said. “Right now, it doesn’t affect anything. I don’t think it affects the morale of the team, the players, or anything like that.”

That’s certainly possible. Still, it’s hardly the ideal way to prepare for Sunday’s game against the visiting Patriots and a defense that ranks No. 1 overall in the NFL, No. 2 against the run and No. 2 against the pass, and has allowed a grand total of one TD all season.

“We just got to keep staying hungry,” said Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy, the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after eight tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles in a 1610 win at Buffalo.

Their defense also leads the league with 10 interceptions — twice as many as any other club — and has 18 sacks, tied for the league lead.

New England is allowing 6.8 points per game, the fewest among the 32 teams. Washington, meanwhile, is giving up the secondmost, 29.5.

“Everything that they do is different than any other team in the league. They can roll with seven DBs on one play, and then they’ll have five linebackers out there next. You just never know,” Thompson said about New England’s defense. “With them, it’s never situational. It’s never like, ‘Oh, it’s thirdand5, they’re going to put all their DBs out there.’ They might do it on second down, just for the heck of it. And everything they do, they’re sound and disciplined. It’s a big challenge, for sure. And the fact is, our offense hasn’t been the best, especially the last two weeks.” That’s certainly true. Washington puts up 16.5 points per game, keeps