OFFENSE
Snaps- Seventeen of the Redskins 26 offensive players saw the field over the course of the team's 65 snaps. The nine that did not play on offense consisted of five inactives (Nate Sudfeld, Rashad Ross, Matt Jones, Korey Lichtensteiger and Vinston Painter), two players that participated exclusively on special teams (Mack Brown and John Sullivan) and two that did not take a snap of any kind (Colt McCoy and Arie Koundijo).
Points & Yards- Washington couldn't top 15 points for the first time since they were dismantled by the Patriots in Week 9 last season. The team has also now failed to put up more than 335 yards of total offense in three consecutive weeks. The last time the Redskins did that was in 2013, when the team went 3-13. Racking up 300 yards of offensive isn't such a horrible thing though. At least that means that you're consistently avoiding total offensive ineptitude. The Redskins set a new team record in this game with their 18th consecutive game with 300 or more yards of total offense.
Turnovers- Kirk Cousins and company turned the ball over a season-high three times on Monday. They have now committed six turnovers in the last three weeks after having only allowed five giveaways in their previous six games and 12 for the entire season prior to December. Ten of Carolina's 26 points in this game were scored off of turnovers. The Redskins have allowed the eighth most points off of turnovers this season (70).
Drops- Washington receivers dropped a season-high six passes in this game (Davis 2, Thompson 2, Garcon 1 and Jackson 1), after only dropping 12 balls combined in Weeks 1-14. They had not dropped six or more passes since they did it seven times in Week 9 last season against the Patriots.
Third Down and Out- The offense was miserable on third down. They only converted on 16.7% of their attempts, their worst rate of the season. The team has only been worse on third down when they've had ten or more attempts one time in the last five years (2014 versus San Francisco). This is the main reason that the team went three-and-out a season high six times in the game. They only had a league-best 15 three-and-outs going into this matchup.
Red Zone- After going two for three in their red zone trips in Weeks 13 and 14 combined, the Redskins were only able to convert on one of their three opportunities in the red area this week. The offense has failed to score touchdowns on more than 40% of their red zone trips in five of the seven games that they did not win this season.
Quarterbacks (3) | ||
Player (* - denotes starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Kirk Cousins * | 65 | 100% |
Colt McCoy | 0 | 0% |
Nate Sudfeld | Inactive | N/A |
- Kirk Cousins Stats- Cousins had one of his worst games of the year on Monday. He completed 32 of his 47 pass attempts for 315 yards, 0 touchdowns, 15 first downs and an interception. He was also sacked once and lost his third fumble of the year. He posted his third worst yards-per-attempt average, passer rating, QBR and first-down percentage and his worst adjusted-net-yards-per-attempt mark of the year in this contest. And he did all that, despite only being hit and sacked once each and being able to hold onto the ball for a season-high 2.9 seconds on average before he threw it. Cousins' streak of 12 straight games with a touchdown was snapped. This was only the second time that Cousins had not scored since taking over as the team's starter at the beginning of 2015.
- Kirk Cousins Records- Captain Kirk broke his own record for most passing yards in a single season by a Redskin. He currently sits at 4,360 yards on the year. He also tied his record for the most 300-yard passing games in a season, with seven of them.
- Deep Passing- Coming into this game, the Redskins ranked second in number of 20-yard passes (55) and Cousins ranked first in passing yards on throws that traveled 20 or more yards in the air (1,092 yards). Cousins looked like he was lacking confidence in this one and his lack of deep throws and his production on those throws bear that out. His average depth of target (4.6 yards) and his average air yards per throw (5.98) were both his second lowest averages of the year; and he only completed 2 of his 5 passes that traveled 20 yards in the air for 45 yards. He threw an interception on one of those three incompletions.
Wide Receivers (6) | ||
Player (* - denotes starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
DeSean Jackson * | 58 | 89% |
Jamison Crowder * | 56 | 86% |
Pierre Garcon * | 45 | 69% |
Maurice Harris | 21 | 32% |
Ryan Grant | 4 | 6% |
Rashad Ross | Inactive | N/A |
- DeSean Jackson- D-Jax led the Redskins in receptions (7), receiving yards (111) and first downs (6). The reception and first down numbers were new season highs for the nine-year veteran and his ten targets tied a season best. Three of the Redskins' four deep completions in the game went to Jackson, who has recorded three of his four 100-yard days on the season in the last four weeks. DeSean Jackson is on pace to put up his fifth 1,000 yard season (2nd with Washington) and to catch his most passes as a member of the Redskins.
- Mr. Monday Night- Jackson's 90 receiving yards per game on Mondays ranks second all-time behind only Torry Holt's average of 95 yards (minimum 1,000 yards receiving on Monday).
- Pierre Garcon- Garcon caught 7 balls for 78 yards and 4 first downs on a team-high 11 targets. The one major disappointment for him was that he dropped his first pass in over 100 targets on a crucial third-and-two with under two minutes to go in the first half. Nevertheless, Garcon is still in the midst of a very productive season. He is on pace to both top 80 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards for only the second time in his career (2013) and his ten 50-yard receiving games this year are the second most for him in a single season (again 2013).
- We're Going Streaking- Garcon went over 65 receptions on the season in this game and is now tied with Art Monk for the most consecutive seasons of 65 or more receptions as a Redskin (4). He also became only the fifth player in the NFL with an active streak of at least one reception in 100 consecutive games ; Larry Fitzgerald, Brandon Marshall, Michael Crabtree and Steve Smith are the other four.
- Jamison Crowder- Jamison Crowder was another Redskin who had one of the worst, if not the worst, games of their season. Crowder caught 4 of his 5 targets for just 24 yards and a season-low one first down. The 24 yards was his second lowest receiving total this year, and his yards-per-reception and yards-per-target averages of 6.0 and 4.8 were new season lows. He also lost a fumble on offense for the first time in his career (1 muffed punt lost in 2015). Crowder has now failed to top 37 yards and to score for two consecutive weeks after not going below 37 in each of his previous seven games and catching a touchdown in five of those contests.
- Other Wide Receivers- After playing on a season-low snap count (2) and snap percentage (4%) last week, Ryan Grant received his second lowest amount of playing time against the Panthers (4 and 6%). Maurice Harris, on the other hand, was on the field for a career-high 21 snaps. The problem was that neither player was able to contribute anything in the passing game on those 25 combined plays (0 targets). This was the fifth time in 14 games this season that only three Washington wide receivers caught a pass.
Tight Ends (3) | ||
Player (* - denotes starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Vernon Davis * | 45 | 69% |
Jordan Reed | 19 | 29% |
Derek Carrier | 6 | 9% |
- Jordan Reed- This may have been the worst game of Jordan Reed's career. He played on nine more snaps than he did last week (10 to 19), but he only managed one target and a 6-yard reception on a second-and-eight play that moved the Redskins into the red zone. Reed was ejected three plays later for punching Panthers safety Kurt Coleman in the helmet (the 12th player to be ejected this season). Smart move, Jordan! The resulting 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty moved the Redskins out of the red zone and was the primary reason that the offense had to settle for a field goal on the drive. This was the fifth time that Reed has been held to one reception in a game. In the other four contests, he did not commit a penalty and he either played on even less snaps or had more reception yards and caught a first down on the pass. I know he is hurt, but that still doesn't excuse this performance.
- With or Without Reed- The Redskins are a lowly 3-14 (.176) when Jordan Reed doesn't suit up since he entered the league in 2013. Unfortunately, things don't improve much when he plays on a limited basis. If you exclude the meaningless Week 17 finale against Dallas last season, Washington has gone 3-9 (.250) when Reed is active and plays on less than 50% of the snaps. When he takes 50% or more the snaps in a game, the team has gone a much more respectable 15-16-1 (.484). When Reed isn't out there or when he only plays on a limited number of snaps, the Redskins pay the price. Despite Reed's recent absences and struggles he was selected to his first Pro Bowl last night.
- Vernon Davis- Vernon Davis, who has now out-snapped Jordan Reed this year (588 to 532), followed Reed's lead with a very poor performance of his own on Monday night. Davis caught 4 passes for 23 yards and a single first down on a season-high 9 targets. He had his third worst yards-per-reception (5.75) and yards-per-target (2.56) averages and his second worst catch-percentage (44%) of the year. Oh, and we haven't even talked about how Davis' lack of execution on two of the biggest plays in the game cost Washington 11 points. He allowed a sack-fumble on Cousins (the Redskins' only sack allowed in the game) that set up Carolina for an easy 1-yard touchdown. He also dropped a touchdown pass (one of his two drops in the game) on a drive late in the game that would ultimately end with a field goal.
- Fortune 500- On the bright side, Davis recorded his 500th career reception in the game and is now one of just six tight ends to rank in the top-12 in receptions, yards and touchdowns at the position. The other five are Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten, Antonio Gates, Shannon Sharpe and Greg Olsen.
Running Backs (4) | ||
Player (* - denotes starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Chris Thompson | 35 | 54% |
Robert Kelley * | 30 | 46% |
Mack Brown | ST Only | 0% |
Matt Jones | Inactive | N/A |
- Robert Kelley- Add Fat Rob to the list of Redskins that had arguably their worst game of the year on Monday. On 9 carries, he rushed for just 8 yards which is by far his lowest rushing output of the season in a contest in which he rushed five or more times (previous low was 37 yards on 14 carries). Kelley did not break a single tackle in the game and only gained positive yardage on of five of his nine runs. His only rushing first-down and his only successful rush came on a 5-yard touchdown, which was also his longest run of the day. His 0.89 yards-per-carry average was a career low and was the second lowest average by a runner with nine or more carries in all of 2016. Kelley became just the third Redskin in the last 30 years with a yards-per-carry mark below 0.89 on nine or more carries. He did, however, set new career highs in receptions (4) and receiving yards (47).
- Questioning Kelley- According to John Keim, the Redskins are looking for a more dynamic running back, and perhaps they have reason to. Kelley has gained five or more rushing yards on just 24.8% of his runs this season, the lowest percentage by any rusher with at least 100 carries this year, and that is coming behind an offensive line that ranks in the top-10 in most advance run-blocking metrics. Kelley never had more than 87 yards rushing in a college game and he is the owner of a lowly first-percentile SPARQ score according to Player Profiler. In fact, he has the lowest SPARQ score among all starting running backs in the NFL, so he is essentially the worst athlete among the 32 starting runners in the league. The average starter ranks in the 50th percentile. He is a nice player and he was a great find by Scot McCloughan, but I'm not sure that he is as good as most Redskins fans think that he is.
- Chris Thompson- Thompson tied his season high of 7 targets, but he was only able to muster 5 receptions for 24 yards and a single first down with them. He dropped passes on both of the incompletions that were thrown in his direction. He ran for at least four yards on all of his carries, but he was only handed the ball twice in the game (gains of 6 and 4 yards). The Redskins should probably run the ball more with Thompson who has averaged 4.0 yards per carry or better in 11 of his 14 games this season. Ezekiel Elliot is the only other running back that can make that claim in 2016.
- Redskins Rushing- This was easily the worst rushing performance by the Redskins as a team this season. They set new 2016 lows in rushing yards (29), yards per carry (2.23), rushing first downs and rushing percentage (21.3%). Their 13 carries were the second lowest total of the year, behind their 12 rushes against the Steelers; however in that game they did not take a QB kneel, while in this contest they did. The team has only had a lower average rushing average on ten other occasions since 2000; unfortunately, with four of those games having taken place since Jay Gruden took over as the head coach in 2014.
Offensive Linemen (10) | ||
Player (* - denotes starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Trent Williams * | 65 | 100% |
Shawn Lauvao * | 65 | 100% |
Spencer Long * | 65 | 100% |
Brandon Scherff * | 65 | 100% |
Morgan Moses * | 65 | 100% |
Ty Nsekhe | 6 | 9% |
John Sullivan | ST Only | 0% |
Arie Koundijo | 0 | 0% |
Korey Lichtensteiger | Inactive | N/A |
Vinston Painter | Inactive | N/A |
- Offensive Line (Group)- Kirk Cousins was only sacked and hit once in the entire game. Vernon Davis was responsible for the sack and the single quarterback hit allowed was a season low for the team. That's pretty impressive considering they were going up against a Panthers team that leads the NFL with 40 sacks. However, the line performed significantly worse in the run-blocking department. The Redskins ran for just 18 yards and one first down/touchdown on 11 designed runs (1.64 YPC), with 10 of the 18 yards coming on Chris Thompson's two runs to the right end.
- Trent Williams- Williams allowed a season-high three hurries, but he was still PFF's highest graded player on the offense (80.1). The Silverback was selected to his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl. Per PFR, of the 48 non-active offensive tackles that have made five or more pro bowls, 27 of them (56%) have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- Morgan Moses- Morgan Moses, who was right behind him with an 80.0 grade, also had a nice game in pass protection. He only gave up one pressure all night and was instrumental on the aforementioned Chris Thompson runs towards the right end.
- Brandon Scherff- Things didn't go as well for Brandon Scherff. He gave up a season-high five pressures. Scherff had a much more enjoyable Tuesday night when he was selected as a Pro Bowl starter. This makes Scherff only the second interior offensive linemen and non-left tackle to make the Pro Bowl for the Redskins since 1992. The other one to do it was Tre Johnson in 1999.
DEFENSE
Snaps- Joe Barry's defense was out there for 73 snaps against the Carolina Panthers. Twenty of the team's 24 defenders took part on those plays. The four that did not were either inactive (Will Compton and Su'a Cravens) or only played on special teams (Houston Bates and Nick Moody). This was Moody's first game as a Redskin and the 24th of his career. He has not taken a snap on defense since 2014.
Quarterback Pressure- The defense was able to notch five hits and two sacks on Newton, but their 5.1% sack percentage is not that impressive at all considering that the Panthers have been sacked on 6% of their dropbacks and that the league average defensive sack percentage is 5.8%.
3rd Down and RZ Defense- The Redskins have been one of the worst teams when it comes to both defending on third down and in the red zone; but, surprisingly, they showed up in both areas against the Panthers. They only allowed Cam and company to convert on 4 of their 15 third-down attempts, and that 26.7% conversion rate is the second best given up by the defense this year. The Washington defense also stiffened up in the red area, as they allowed Carolina to come away with a TD on just one of their four trips inside-the-20. The 25% conversion rate is also the team's second best mark this season. After allowing their opponents to score on 16 of 20 red-zone trips (80%) between Weeks 7 and 13, the Redskins have held offenses to just two touchdowns on eight combined trips (25%) in the past two games.
Turnovers- The defense and special teams were not able to cause a takeaway for the fifth time this year and for the third time in the team's last four games. With Monday's loss the team is now 1-4 when they do not force a turnover this year. The Redskins have the 9th fewest takeaways and have scored the 11th fewest points off of takeaways so far this season.
Tight End Defense- You're probably tired of me telling you about this, but I wouldn't have to anymore if the Redskins would ever be able to stop a single tight end. The Panthers' tight ends (Olsen and Dickson) caught 7 passes for 113 yards against Washington on Monday night. With that knowledge in hand, you shouldn't be shocked to hear that the Redskins still rank last against enemy tight ends in targets (142), receptions (106) and receiving yards (1,093). If a single player had those numbers they would rank third, first and sixth in the league in those statistics. What's most troubling is that the defense is on pace to allow 162 targets, 121 receptions and 1,249 yards to the position this year. Those numbers would rank second worst, worst and worst in recorded history against tight ends (data available dating back to 1999).
Rushing Defense- Washington was absolutely trampled by 29-year-old Jonathan Stewart and the Panthers. Carolina rushed for 148 yards and a 4.8 average on 33 carries. Stewart forced five missed tackles and went over 100 yards rushing for the first time since Week 11 of last season, when he not coincidentally last played against the Redskins. Through 14 games of the season, half (7) of the Redskins' opponents have rushed for over 100 yards and nine of them have averaged at least four yards per carry. On a positive note, an injured Cam Newton was held to zero rushing yards for the first time in his 97-game career (including playoffs).
Defensive Linemen (5) | ||
Player (* - denotes starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Chris Baker * | 52 | 71% |
Ziggy Hood * | 41 | 56% |
Ricky Jean Francois * |
41 | 56% |
Cullen Jenkins | 20 | 27% |
Matt Ioannidis | 16 | 22% |
- Chris Baker- Chris Baker was one of the few Redskins to show up in this game. His five solo tackles limited the Panthers to -4, 2, 2, -10 and 0 yards. The loss of ten was on his third-down sack of Cam Newton late in the second quarter. Baker also had two hurries, bringing his quarterback pressure total to three in the game. He was given the second highest grade on the team by PFF (83.6). Baker matched his career high of 26 solo tackles in a season and has a shot to match or exceed the career highs in sacks (6, 4.5 in 2016) and hits (17, 11 in 2016) that he had last season.
- Ziggy Hood- Evander "Ziggy" Hood did not record a solo tackle for just the third time this year, but did chip in on a pair of tackles that limited the Panthers to a gain of just one yard. He also registered multiple pressures on Cam Newton after failing to pressure the opposing signal caller once in four of his last five games.
- Reserve DL- Ricky Jean Francois made his second straight start and received season highs in snaps (41) and snap percentage (56%). He also matched Hood's snap count for the first time this year. Jean Francois wasn't able to do much with his extra opportunities, though. He only made one assisted tackle and failed to record a pressure for the first time since Week 11 (Green Bay). Both Cullen Jenkins and Matt Ioannidis made one solo tackle and were able to get pressure on Newton. Ioannidis has played on over 15% of the snaps, recorded at least one solo tackle and pressured the quarterback in each of the last two weeks.
Outside Linebackers (4) | ||
Player (* - denotes starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Ryan Kerrigan * | 52 | 71% |
Preston Smith * | 51 | 70% |
Trent Murphy | 48 | 66% |
Houston Bates | ST Only | 0% |
- Ryan Kerrigan- Ryan Kerrigan sustained an elbow injury and played on his second lowest snap percentage of the year as a result (71%). The injury and the limited playing time definitely seemed to hamper his production. Kerrigan was only able to notch a QB hit, two hurries and two tackles (one for a loss). Those may seem like decent numbers, but that's not the case for the now two-time Pro Bowler Kerrigan, who saw his streaks of four straight games with a sack and eight straight games with at least five pressures get snapped on Monday night.
- Trent Murphy- Murphy had another productive outing with five tackles (2 solo and 3 assisted), two stops, two QB hits and two hurries (4 total pressures) on 21 rushes and 48 snaps. Murphy and Kerrigan have combined for 19 sacks so far this season. The only pass-rushing duos with more sacks are the Seahawks' Cliff Avril and Frank Clark (20.5 sacks) and the Titans' Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan (20 sacks).
- Preston Smith-The sophomore slump of Smith continued, as the second-year linebacker finished the game with a paltry line of one solo tackle, two assisted tackles, one pressure and one pass deflection despite playing on 51 snaps in the game. I'll be nice to Smith for a second here and tell you that his solo tackle did stop Jonathan Stewart for just a 1-yard gain and that his deflection came on a third down inside of Redskins territory.
- Smith's Slump- Smith is on pace to record just 4.5 sacks a year after he led all rookies with 8 of them last year. Over the course of the last four years, the rookie sack leader has increased their total by an average of 0.25 sacks in their second season. Smith's total is set to decline by 3.5. Hopefully, he'll have a strong finish to the season the way that he did in 2015. He faces PFF's 41st and 58th ranked tackles in the final two weeks of the season.
Inside Linebackers (6) | ||
Player (* - denotes starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Martrell Spaight * | 73 | 100% |
Mason Foster * | 71 | 97% |
Terence Garvin | 2 | 3% |
Nick Moody | ST Only | 0% |
Will Compton | Inactive | N/A |
Su'a Cravens | Inactive | N/A |
- Mason Foster- Foster led the Redskins in assisted tackles (6) and tied for the team lead in total tackles (13). The 13 tackles represent Foster's second highest total of the season and as a Redskin. Five of those tackles came on plays of three yards or less on which Carolina failed to pick up the first down, but the other eight came on snaps where the Panthers offense gained a total of 99 yards (12.4 average). He currently ranks first and second on the team in solo (66) and total (98) tackles respectively. Foster failed to record a single pressure for the first time in his last three games and also struggled in coverage.
- Martrell Spaight- Spaight got the first start of his career and played on all 73 defensive snaps, which is 28 more snaps than he had played on in his career coming into the game. He led the team with 9 solo and 13 total tackles, but despite that he did not play well at all in his first action as a starter. Only one of his solo tackles came on a gain of less than five yards; and he allowed 6 receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown (1-yarder to Mike Tolbert) on 7 targets.
Cornerbacks (5) | ||
Player (* - denotes starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Josh Norman * | 73 | 100% |
Bashaud Breeland * | 71 | 97% |
Quinton Dunbar | 21 | 29% |
Greg Toler | 16 | 22% |
Kendall Fuller | 13 | 18% |
- Josh Norman- Well, Josh Norman's revenge game certainly did not go as planned. The Redskins big-money signing of the offseason led all Washington defensive backs with five solo and seven total tackles in the game, but he also had two misses. Norman allowed 2 receptions, for 2 first downs and 28 yards on 3 targets, with the one incompletion coming on his pass defense in the end zone. It was a nice play, but he probably should've come away with an interception on it. Josh Norman didn't have a horrible game by any stretch, but he was probably better in the majority of his other games this year, and not showing up big in such a huge spot has to be considered something of a disappointment for the team's highest paid defender (based on average yearly cap hit).
- Bashaud Breeland- Breeland rebounded from a down-game last week with an impressive showing on Monday Night Football. He recorded four tackles, with one going for a loss, and defended a season-high three passes. All three of his PDs came in Redskins' territory, including two in the red zone. In all, he only gave up 3 receptions for 27 yards on 8 targets in his coverage against the Panthers (47.4 passer rating against).
- Other Cornerbacks- Quinton Dunbar was playing some of his best football of the year until he was forced to leave the game with a concussion. His two pass defenses matched a career high (two other games) and he recorded the first sack of his career on just 21 snaps. He was the highest graded player on the Redskins by PFF (85.8). Greg Toler filled in for Dunbar until he too suffered a concussion. Toler made three tackles and committed a face mask penalty. The injuries to Dunbar and Toler opened the door for Kendall Fuller to see his first defensive action since the Cardinals game two weeks ago. Dunbar assisted on one tackle.
Safeties (4) | ||
Player (* - denotes starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Duke Ihenacho * | 57 | 78% |
Donte Whitner * | 43 | 59% |
Will Blackmon | 38 | 52% |
Deshazor Everett | 4 | 5% |
- Donte Whitner- Whitner did make six total tackles (4 solo and 2 assists) and force a fumble against the Panthers, but he struggled mightily in coverage yet again. His most glaring mistake was a 30-yard touchdown that he allowed to Ted Ginn on third-and-four play. Whitner completely blew the coverage on the play and allowed Ginn to easily get behind him for the score. The Redskins trailed for the rest of the game after that play. With the way that he has performed in coverage, I don't think Whitner should ever be in the game in an obvious passing situation.
- Will Blackmon- After seeing 65% or more of the defensive snaps in each contest between Weeks 3 and 7, Blackmon has failed to hit that number in any of his last six games. His 52% snap percentage in this game, did however, represent the most playing time that he has received since Week 7. The extra snaps didn't seem to help much though, as Blackmon was blanked on the stat sheet for the second time in his last three games.
- Duke Ihenacho- Ihenacho led all Washington safeties in snaps for the third straight game but was only able to tally one solo and two assisted tackles against Carolina. The tackles came on gains of 11, 13 and 11 yards. Ihenacho leads all Washington defensive backs in missed tackles this season.
- No Safety in DC- The Redskins are the only team in the NFL that has not had at least one safety finish in the top-20 in PFF grade at the position since 2012 (5 years). Washington has not selected a safety with a top-100 draft since Laron Landry in 2007 (6th overall).
SPECIAL TEAMS
Snaps- Thirty-six Washington special teamers saw action across a season-high 35 teams snaps against the Panthers. That was the most special teams snaps for the Redskins since at least the start of last season. The 36 that saw time on Ben Kotwica's unit in this game were comprised of 21 defenders, 12 offensive players and three specialists (Dustin Hopkins, Nick Sundberg and Tress Way). Mack Brown, John Sullivan, Nick Moody and Houston Bates were the only active non-specialists on the team that participated solely on special teams. Brown was flagged for an illegal block in the back on a Jamison Crowder punt return.
Sadly, Houston Bates tore his ACL and did not lead the team in specials snaps for the first time this year. Deshazor Everett, Terence Garvin and new signee Nick Moody picked up that mantle for Bates and led the special teams in snaps.
Special Teamers (36) | Special Teamers (cont) | |||||
Player | Snaps | Snap % | Player | Snaps | Snap % | |
Deshazor Everett | 24 | 69% | Tress Way | 10 | 29% | |
Terence Garvin | 24 | 69% | Dustin Hopkins | 9 | 26% | |
Nick Moody | 24 | 69% | Greg Toler | 8 | 23% | |
Bashaud Breeland | 18 | 51% | Cullen Jenkins | 7 | 20% | |
Mack Brown | 18 | 51% | Josh Norman | 7 | 20% | |
Ryan Grant | 18 | 51% | Preston Smith | 7 | 20% | |
Duke Ihenacho | 18 | 51% | Chris Thompson | 7 | 20% | |
Trent Murphy | 16 | 46% | Houston Bates | 6 | 17% | |
Kendall Fuller | 15 | 43% | Jamison Crowder | 6 | 17% | |
Derek Carrier | 15 | 43% | Ryan Kerrigan | 6 | 17% | |
Maurice Harris | 15 | 43% | Will Blackmon | 4 | 11% | |
Mason Foster | 13 | 37% | Shawn Lauvao | 4 | 11% | |
Martrell Spaight | 13 | 37% | Spencer Long | 4 | 11% | |
Matt Ioannidis | 12 | 34% | Ty Nsekhe | 4 | 11% | |
Quinton Dunbar | 11 | 31% | Brandon Scherff | 4 | 11% | |
Ziggy Hood | 11 | 31% | John Sullivan | 4 | 11% | |
Ricky Jean Francois | 11 | 31% | Pierre Garcon | 1 | 3% | |
Nick Sundberg | 10 | 29% | Donte Whitner | 1 | 3% |
- Tress Way- Way tied a season-high with six punts on Monday night. It should be no surprise then that he punted for his highest yardage and net yardage totals of the year (286 and 227). Way had his third highest punting average of the year (47.7), but his net average of 37.8 was significantly lower because the team allowed season highs in number of punts returned against (5) and punt return yards allowed (59). The 59 yards were the third most ever allowed in one of Way's games and he failed to pin the opposition inside of their own 20-yard line once on five or more punts for just the third time in his career.
- Dustin Hopkins- Hopkins connected on field goals from 43, 26 and 34 yards out in the game, which bring his total to 31 makes on the year. That ties him with Chip Lohmiller and Graham Gano for the second most field goals in a season in team history. With three more, he would break Mark Moseley's franchise record of 33 field goals in a season. The problem is that Hopkins is tied for the league lead in field goal misses with Roberto Aguayo. He also missed yet another extra point in this game and became the tenth kicker to miss three or more extra points this season. He has missed either a field goal or an extra point in seven of his last nine games. Five of Hopkins' seven kickoffs went for touchbacks (71%).
- Kick Coverage- A season-most seven total returns were taken against the Redskins, and as a result the team had a season high seven solo special-teams tackles. Martrell Spaight led the way with two tackles and Duke Ihenacho, Deshazor Everett, Ryan Grant, Nick Moody and Terence Garvin had one each. Mack Brown chipped in with an assist on one of the tackles.
- Kickoff Returns- Chris Thompson muffed the catch on his only kickoff return, but recovered it and took it for a gain of 16 yards to the Washington 20-yard line. His 16-yard return average was his lowest of the year. Will Blackmon's only return of the game was an ill-advised one. He took a kickoff from three yards deep in the end zone out 17 yards to the Redskins' 14. Cousins' fumble on the next play set the Panthers up for an easy touchdown on the 1-yard line. Blackmon also had his worst return average of the year.
- Punt Returns- Jamison Crowder returned four of the Panthers six punts for just 14 yards. Crowder has not exceeded 17 return yards in each of his last six games despite returning ten punts combined in those games. The three other Panther's punts were either downed or fair caught inside the Washington 20.
- DVOA- After averaging a DVOA of 8.78% in their first five games of the year, the Redskins' special teams unit has seen that number drop to -4.6% over the course of their last nine games. They were ranked in the top five in the league by Football Outsiders going into Week 6, but they now sit at 15th going into Week 16.
*All statistics are courtesy of CSN Mid Atlantic, ESPN, NFL.com, NFL Gamebooks, NFL Penalties, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, Real Redskins, Redskins.com, Rotoworld, Sharp Football Stats, Sporting Charts, Team Rankings and The Washington Post*