Skins Snaps & Stats: Vikings @ Redskins

OFFENSE

Snaps- On 63 offensive snaps, 17 of the Redskins' 25 players on that side of the ball got on the field.  Of the eight that did not play on offense, five were inactive (Nate Sudfeld, DeSean Jackson, Matt Jones, Blaine Clausell and Arie Koundijo), two played only on special teams (Mack Brown and John Sullivan) and one was active, but did not take a snap of any kind (Colt McCoy).  Only 4 of the aforementioned 17 players took part on less than 20 offensive snaps (Maurice Harris, Rashad Ross, Derek Carrier and Vinston Painter).  This was Painter's second career game and Carrier's first game back from injury in 11 months.

Yards- The Redskins, who gained 388 total yards against the Vikings, have now topped 300 in 13 straight contests.  That is tied with the Falcons for the longest active streak of 300-yard games in the NFL.  If you include playoff games, then Washington sits alone with the longest active streak with 14 straight 300-yard games.  The team currently ranks third in yards per drive (37.9), fourth in yards per game (407.8) and yards per play (6.2).

Points- The Vikings, who still rank first in points per game allowed (16.9), gave up a season-worst 26 points to the Redskins.  They had not allowed any opponent to exceed 22 points since Week 14 of last season and had held six of their previous ten opponents to 14 or fewer points (including playoffs).  The Redskins, who rank 16th in points per game and 12th in points per drive, could have easily doubled that number (14 points) if they were more efficient in the red zone.

Red Zone- Washington had yet another pathetic red-zone scoring performance in this game.  The Redskins scored just one touchdown on their four red-zone trips (on the first possession of the game) and gained just 11 yards on 10 plays in the red area.  Their long gain inside the 20 went for just four yards (twice) and they lost yardage twice (-2 two each time), including on a sack.  Cousins went 2 of 7 for 2 yards and a touchdown on those plays.  This was the sixth time that the offense has failed to score touchdowns on more than a third (33.3%) of their red zone possessions; they've been at 25% in three of those games and 0% in two of them.  The Washington Redskins' red zone percentage of 38.89 on the year ranks dead last in the NFL.  The league average is 56%, 44% better than what the Redskins have done.

Quarterbacks (3)
Player (* - denotes starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Kirk Cousins *	63	100%
Colt McCoy	0	0%
Nate Sudfeld	Inactive	N/A

• Kirk Cousins Stats- Cousins completed 22 of his 33 attempts (66.7%) for 262 yards, 17 first downs and 2 touchdowns.  It was one of his best games - if not his best game - of the year according to several more advanced statistics.  His passer rating of 110.9 and his Pro Football Focus grade of 75.8 are his second and third best marks in those categories this year.  Cousins set new season highs in first-down percentage (a career-high 52%), adjusted net yards per attempt (8.82), QBR (91.1) and raw QBR (87.6).  He ranked in the top seven in each of those statistics in Week 10 (7th, 5th, 3rd and 4th respectively).
  

• Deep Passing- Kirk Cousins aired the ball out more than he usually does in this one.  Cousins had a season-best nine completions that traveled at least 10 yards in the air, and he went 3-6 for 67 yards and a TD on passes that traveled 20 or more yards in the air.  His average depth of target (11.0 yards) and his air yards per attempt (8.71 yards) were both his second highest averages of the season.
  

• Cousins Records- After only 34 starts Cousins is already making his mark on the Redskins' record book.  He already ranks in the top eight in attempts (8th), completions (7th), passing yards (7th) and passing touchdowns (6th) in franchise history.  If Cousins re-signs with the team next year and keeps up his current pace, then he will sit in fourth place of each of those categories in less than two years from now.  The only players ahead of him in each of those categories would be Sammy Baugh, Joe Theismann and Sonny Jurgensen.
  

Wide Receivers (6)
Player (* - denotes starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Pierre Garcon *	51	81%
Ryan Grant *	49	78%
Jamison Crowder	47	75%
Maurice Harris	8	13%
Rashad Ross	4	6%
DeSean Jackson	Inactive	N/A

• Jamison Crowder- Jamison Crowder caught 4 of his 6 targets for 37 yards, 2 first downs and a touchdown.  He also rushed for seven yards and another first down.  His touchdown came on his 100th career catch.  Crowder is the fourth fastest Redskin to ever reach 100 receptions in terms of games played (25 games).  Only Jordan Reed (21), Gary Clark (22) and Charlie Brown (23) hit 100 quicker.  However, at 23 years and 149 days old, Crowder became the youngest Redskin in franchise history to record 100 receptions.  Art Monk (23-359) and Chris Cooley (23-160) are the only other Redskins that have hit 100 catches by their age-23 season.
  

• Pierre Garcon- Garcon led the Redskins with 10 targets, 6 receptions, 5 first downs and 81 yards receiving.  Every one of his receptions in the game went for at least nine yards.  Garcon leads the Redskins with 30 first downs this season and his 71.4% first-down percentage (minimum of 22 first downs) ranks 11th in the league.  Here are some of the names ahead of him on that list: Mike Evans, Alshon Jeffery, Julio Jones, Allen Robinson, Kelvin Benjamin and Brandon Marshall.
  

• Other Wide Receivers- Rashad Ross was not targeted on his four snaps.  He only has one catch on one target this year for five yards.  He has been on the field for 21 snaps.  On just eight snaps, Maurice Harris caught all three of the passes thrown his way for 28 yards and two first downs.  Every one of his receptions went for at least five yards (5, 8 and 15) and his two first downs came on third-and-long plays.  Washington scored on every drive that Harris had a catch on.  Ryan Grant started and was held without a reception on three targets against the Vikings despite playing on a season-high 49 snaps.  Grant has caught the same amount of passes that Harris has, but for one fewer yard (27 to 28), and he did it while playing on 179 more snaps (205 to 26) and while garnering five more targets (11 to 5).  Harris should immediately be given more playing time than Grant, and unless Grant starts to flash with the limited time that he gets (IN GAMES), then it should stay that way. 
  

Tight Ends (3)
Player (* - denotes starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Jordan Reed *	72	79%
Vernon Davis *	39	43%
Derek Carrier	9	14%

• Jordan Reed- This was an uncharacteristically quiet game for the star tight end, who had season lows in targets (4), receptions (2) and yards (41) on Sunday.  The last time that Reed had 41 or fewer yards was in Week 13 of 2015 (Cowboys).  You have to go all the way back to Week 16 of 2014 to find his last two-catch game.  It's especially odd considering that the Vikings are bottom-10 in targets, receptions and yards allowed to tight ends.
  

• Vernon Davis- The 32-year old Davis is having a career renaissance with the Redskins.  Against Minnesota, he hauled in all three of his targets (all against different defenders) for 66 yards, three first downs and a touchdown.  Sure hands have not been a problem for VD this year.  He is one of only four tight ends with 29 or more targets that has not dropped a single pass this season (C.J. Fiedorowicz, Jacob Tamme and Hunter Henry).  Davis' 89.7% catch percentage ranks first in the NFL among all tight ends.  The next closest percentage belongs to Zach Ertz, who has caught 82.9% of his targets this season, approximately seven percentage points less than Davis' rate.  Davis also ranks 13th in receiving yards (382), fifth in yards per reception (14.7) and second in yards per target (13.2) at the tight end position.  Here are his rankings among all backup tight ends in the NFL: 3rd in targets, 2nd in receptions, 3rd in first downs, 1st in yards, 2nd in touchdowns and 2nd in PFF grade.

Running Backs (3)
Player (* - denotes starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Robert Kelley *	42	67%
Chris Thompson	21	33%
Mack Brown	ST Only	0%
Matt Jones	Inactive	N/A

• Chris Thompson- Thompson certainly didn't have his best day on Sunday.  His 11 receiving yards and 3.7 yards per catch average were his second worst numbers of the year in those areas, and his fumble deep in Redskins' territory at the end of the first half led to a Vikings' touchdown.  He added two first downs and 25 rushing yards in the game.  His four rushes and six touches were his lowest totals since Week 5 (at the Baltimore Ravens).  Thompson just had to make room for the new lead dog in the running back room.
  

• Robert Kelley- Fat Rob rushed the ball 22 times for 97 yards, 5 first downs and a 4.4 yards per carry average.  The 22 attempts and 97 yards were both career highs for Kelley, who also forced seven missed tackles picked up a first down on 22% of his carries, had a 55% rushing success rate and averaged 3.5 yards after contact; those are all quite impressive numbers for the undrafted rookie out of Tulane.  The seven forced missed tackles were the most by any player in Week 10.  Kelley has averaged 3.6 yards after contact for the entire season; that is the the best YAC average among all players in the NFL with 45 or more carries.  Wow.    
  

• Kelley vs. Jones (Playing Time)- Maybe Matt Jones will find a way to get his job back, but there is a good deal of information to support the idea that it won't happen.  Jones has only topped 19 carries once in seven career starts (his career high was 22 carries against the Browns in Week 4); Robert Kelley has done it in both of his two career starts (21 and 22 carries).  Matt Jones has only played on more than 41 snaps twice in his career and both games were in 2015; Robert Kelley has played 43 and 42 snaps in the last two games. 
  

• Kelley vs. Jones (Negative Plays)- Jones has lost yardage on 9 of his 99 carries this season (9%); Robert Kelley has only had negative yardage on 2 of his 60 runs (3%).  Matt Jones has fumbled eight times on 243 carries and 270 touches, which is one fumble for every 30 attempts and 34 touches.  I looked at the fumble rates for the top-40 runners in the league (it was a slightly subjective list, but I definitely got all the big names in there) and Jones' fumble rate per attempt and per touch rank second to last and last in the group.  Kelley ran the ball 38 times and caught 4 passes in the preseason (42 touches); he has 60 carries and 2 receptions in the regular season (62 touches).  Robert Kelley has yet to fumble the ball once in his NFL career.
  

• Redskins Rushing- Sean McVay dialed up running plays on 45% of the offensive plays against the Vikings, the team's highest rushing percentage since Week 6 and second highest since Week 4.  The team posted another 100-yard day on the ground, with 128 yards on 28 rushes (4.6 yard average).  The Redskins have now rushed for 100 or more yards in four straight games.  There are only four other teams that can currently make that claim, and only one of them has done it in more than four consecutive games (Dallas Cowboys with 13 100-yard rushing games in a row). 
  

Offensive Linemen (9)
Player (* - denotes starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Ty Nsekhe *	63	100%
Shawn Lauvao *	63	100%
Spencer Long *	63	100%
Brandon Scherff *	62	98%
Morgan Moses *	61	97%
Vinston Painter	3	5%
John Sullivan	ST Only	0%
Blaine Clausell	Inactive	N/A
Arie Koundijo	Inactive	N/A

• Offensive Line (Group)- Kirk Cousins was sacked one time on 34 dropbacks against the Vikings (2.9% sack percentage).  It was the third time this season that he has been sacked once in a game and the fifth time that he has been sacked either one or fewer times.  The team did give up six quarterback hits on Cousins, though.  The 12 sacks and 3.270% sack percentage allowed by the Redskins both currently rank second in the NFL this season.  The first-place Raiders have allowed just one fewer sack (11) on the same number of dropbacks (3.014% sack percentage).
  

• Ty Nsekhe- Ty Nsekhe was tasked with a tall order in Sunday's game: blocking Vikings DE Everson Griffen (6 sacks and 14 QB Hits).  Nsekhe virtually shut Griffen down by allowing only one pressure in the game (a hurry) on 35 pass blocking snaps.  He received an above average run blocking grade from PFF and the site's best overall grade by a Redskins player in Week 10 (83.9). 
  

• Brandon Scherff- Scherff, however, did not have his best game of the year.  He allowed three hurries and a hit on Cousins.  He has still not given up a sack all year (6 QB hits, 12 hurries and 18 total pressures).  Scherff makes up for some of his pass blocking deficiencies as a run blocker.  He is PFF's second highest graded run-blocking guard this season.  His 89.5 run-blocking grade ranks seventh among all offensive linemen in 2016. 
  

• Other OL- Shawn Lauvao allowed the hurry which ultimately led to Cousins' only sack of the game, but it was Morgan Moses' man (Danielle Hunter) who finally took down Captain Kirk.  Vinston Painter came in for an injured Moses on two plays and worked as an extra OL on a third snap.  Those were the first offensive snaps of Painter's career.   The Redskins' 793 rushing yards since Week 4 ranks sixth in the NFL.  That is the week that Spencer Long got his first start at center.

DEFENSE

Snaps- Nineteen of Joe Barry's 25 defenders were utilized across 67 defensive snaps.  Of the six players that did not see the field on defense, two were inactive (Matt Ioannidis and new addition Jordan Hill ) and four exclusively participated on special teams (Martrell Spaight, Houston Bates, Greg Toler and Deshazor Everett).  Anthony Lanier, Cullen Jenkins, Terence Garvin and Quinton Dunbar were the only defenders that played and received fewer than 30 snaps on defense.

Quarterback Pressure- The Redskins pass rush hit Sam Bradford eight times and sacked him on three of his 34 dropbacks (8.8%).  This was the sixth time that the Redskins have hit the opposing quarterback eight or more times in a game this year.  They have also registered three or more sacks in six 2016 contests.  The Redskins rank seventh in sacks (25) and eighth in sack percentage (7.2%) this year.  They have sacked their opponent's quarterback three or more times in each of their last five contests.  The last two times that a Redskins team did this were in 2009 and 1987.  The Redskins are the only team with an active five-game streak of 3 or more sacks.

Downs- Washington only allowed the Minnesota to convert on 5 of their 12 third and fourth-down attempts (41.7%).  That is the Redskins' fourth best performance in that department this season.  They have allowed opponents to convert on over 50% of these plays and on third downs in four games this season.  Their 45.9% third-down rate allowed ranks 29th in the league.

Points- The Redskins shutout the Vikings in the second half.  It was the second time this year that they have held an opponent off the scoreboard after halftime.  The team has allowed just 15 combined points in the second half of their five wins this year.  The Redskins have also now held their opponents to 27 or fewer points in eight consecutive games.  It is their longest such streak since 2008-2009 (23 games).  The only other teams with such an same active streak are the Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings.  One of those three defenses is not like the other.

Tight End Defense- Vikings tight ends Kyle Rudolph and Rhett Ellison combined to catch seven receptions for 78 yards, three first downs and a touchdown.  Defending tight ends has been an issue for the defense this year; quite frankly, it's been an issue for years, but nobody really talks about it.  This year, Washington's defense has allowed the third most targets (81), the second most receptions (61), the ninth most yards (569) and the seventh most touchdowns (4) to tight ends.  Five different tight ends have put up 50 or more yards or recorded five or more receptions against the Redskins this season.  The only other position that gives the Redskins defense more trouble is running back.

Rushing Defense- The fact that running backs are usually the players that kill Washington's defense is what makes the Vikings rushing results in this game so surprising.  Minnesota posted an anemic rushing line of 21 attempts, 47 yards, 2.1 yards per carry average, 4 first downs and 1 touchdown.  This marks the first time all season that the defense has not allowed at least 94 rushing yards, 5 rushing first downs and an average below 3.40.  This is actually the sixth  fewest rushing yards and the third lowest per carry average allowed by the Redskins since 2012.  We have to remember that much of this performance is probably thanks to the Vikings' historically bad running game.

Defensive Linemen (7)
Player (* - denotes starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Chris Baker *	45	67%
Ziggy Hood *	42	63%
Ricky Jean Francois *	30	45%
Anthony Lanier	18	27%
Cullen Jenkins	16	24%
Jordan Hill	Inactive	N/A
Matt Ioannidis	Inactive	N/A

• Chris Baker & Ziggy Hood- It was not a banner day for Washington's typical starting defensive linemen Chris Baker and Evander "Ziggy" Hood.  It was the second time this year in which neither player has recorded a sack or a hit (Week 7 in Detroit).  Baker matched a season-low with one QB pressure and Hood did not record a pressure of any kind for just the second time this year.  Both players were only able to muster one solo and one assisted tackle a piece.
  

• Reserve DL- Ricky Jean Francois started his second consecutive game (his third start in 2016) and played on a season-high 30 snaps and 45% snap percentage.  This was the third week in a row that Jean Francois' snap percentage has risen (29%>30%>32%>45%).  Unfortunately, RJF did very little with the opportunity, as he failed to record a pressure and only showed up on the stat sheet with three assisted tackles.  Anthony Lanier and Cullen Jenkins each recorded a pressure (Lanier had a hit) despite combining for just four more snaps than Jean Francois.  However, neither player recorded any other stat in the game.
  

Outside Linebackers (4)
Player (* - denotes starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Ryan Kerrigan *	52	78%
Trent Murphy	47	70%
Preston Smith *	41	61%
Houston Bates	ST Only	0%

• Ryan Kerrigan- Despite not recording a sack for the first time since Week 5, Ryan Kerrigan had yet another very productive outing.  One of his three tackles in the game was for a loss.  Kerrigan is tied for the league lead with 11 tackles for a loss.  He also continued his weekly assault on opposing quarterbacks by recording two QB hits and a team-high six pressures.  His 25% pressure rate led the team and ranked among the best in the league this week.  Kerrigan's 82.6 PFF grade was the best on the defense.  He has been the site's highest rated Redskins defender in three of the team's past four games.
  

• Preston Smith- Preston Smith was going through a sophomore slump in 2016, but that might be changing after he had his best game of the year on Sunday.  This potential slump-busting performance came mainly on the shoulders of three big plays: a third-down sack, a game-saving interception and a game-ending sack.  Smith, Calais Campbell and Jerrell Freeman are the only players that have had two sacks and an interception in the same game in the last three seasons.  Smith is the 96th player and just the fourth Redskin (first since 2005) to have ever accomplished this feat.  He is also the first Redskin to have recorded both a sack and an interception in the fourth quarter of a game.  After going five games without a single sack, Preston Smith's 3.5 sacks since Week 6 ranks 12th in the league, and nearly half of the players ahead of him on that list have played five games in that span to his four.
  

• Trent Murphy- Trent Murphy's snap count and percentage ticked up this week.  In fact, the only time that Murphy played on a higher percentage of the defensive snaps this season was in Week 3 against Cleveland, when Ryan Kerrigan played on a career-low eight snaps due to injury.  Murphy made good use of his extended run against the Vikings by tallying three tackles, three QB hits, five pressures and a sack.  Murphy has now at least a half sack in seven games this season.  The only other players to have at least half a sack in seven or more games this year are Von Miller and Lorenzo Alexander.  Murphy and Kerrigan are tied for the team lead in sacks with seven.
  

Inside Linebackers (5)
Player (* - denotes starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Will Compton *	67	100%
Su'a Cravens	37	55%
Mason Foster *	34	51%
Terence Garvin	4	6%
Martrell Spaight	ST Only	0%

• Will Compton- Compton played on 100% of the snaps for the fifth time this year.  He is the only Redskins defender that has played on 90% or more of the snaps in every game this season.  He tied for the team lead with nine tackles, but eight of those were assisted.  His 38 assisted and 79 total tackles rank second and tenth in the NFL in 2016.  A whopping 48% of Compton's total tackles this year have been assists, the highest rate of any player in the top 40 in total/combined tackles.
  

• Mason Foster- Mason Foster tied for the team lead in pass defenses (1), solo tackles (6) and total tackles (9).  He had the second highest tackles-per-opportunity rate (25%) among all players that participated on 25% of their team's defensive snaps in Week 10.  Foster did all that while playing on his lowest snap total (34) and percentage (50.7%) since Week 13 of last season, the first game that he played over 14% of the defensive snaps as a member of the Redskins.
  

• Su'a Cravens- Foster's snaps were ceded to Su'a Cravens who saw a career-high snap total (37) and percentage (55%).  With the extra work Cravens was able to notch a season-best five total tackles (including one tackle for a loss) and two QB pressures on eight pass rushes.  He was also used at outside linebacker in this game.  Cravens had the third best PFF grade by a Redskins player this week (82.1).

Cornerbacks (5)
Player (* - denotes starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Josh Norman *	67	100%
Bashaud Breeland *	55	82%
Kendall Fuller	42	63%
Quinton Dunbar	9	13%
Greg Toler	ST Only	0%

• Josh Norman- Josh Norman played on 100% of the snaps for the sixth time in nine 2016 games.  He made two solo and three total tackles in the game.  Norman also allowed just his second touchdown of the year (Week 4 versus Terrelle Pryor).  He was in man coverage against Adam Thielen who went in motion behind the line and then used a tight end as a pick to create additional separation from Norman as he headed back towards the sideline; that freed him up to make an easy touchdown reception.
  

• Bashaud Breeland- Breeland's five solo and six total tackles ranked third and fourth on the team respectively.  It was his first game with five or more solo and total tackles since Weeks 1 and 2.  The difference between the first two weeks of the season and this game, was that Breeland made a lot of tackles without getting totally roasted in coverage.  On Sunday, he allowed 2 of the 3 targets in his direction to be caught for only 11 yards. 
  

• Kendall Fuller- Fuller easily had the worst game of his young career in this one.  Former high school teammate Stefon Diggs torched him for 106 receiving yards.  Diggs caught 11 balls for 153 yards out of the slot in this game, and while Fuller did not cover him on all of those snaps, but that is still not a great look for your resident slot defender.  In all, Fuller personally allowed 7 receptions on 9 targets for 115 yards.   He recorded four solo tackles, five total tackles and one pass defense in the game.
  

• Other Cornerbacks- Quinton Dunbar saw his second lowest snap count (9) and snap percentage (13%) since Week 3.  He made one tackle for a loss in the game.  Greg Toler was relegated to a special-teams only role for the third time in the team's last four games.  He has only played on 5 defensive and 25 special teams snaps since Week 6.
  

Safeties (4)
Player (* - denotes starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Donte Whitner *	67	100%
Will Blackmon	33	49%
Duke Ihenacho *	31	46%
Deshazor Everett	ST Only	0%

• Donte Whitner- Donte Whitner played 100% of the defensive snaps for the third consecutive week.  He made a game-high six solo tackles and his eight total tackles ranked third on the team.  His tackles-per-opportunity rate of 17.2% was tied for the fifth highest by a safety that played on the majority of his team's snaps in Week 10.
  

• Will Blackmon- For the first time since Week 3, Blackmon was not one of the starting safeties for the Redskins.  The 33 snaps are his lowest since Week 2.  This was the second week in a row that he essentially split snaps with Duke Ihenacho (33 to 31).  Blackmon made three solo and four total tackles against the Vikings. His 76.7 grade was the highest PFF rating given to a Redskins defensive back in the game.

• Duke Ihenacho- Ihenacho drew his third start of the year, but was ultimately out-snapped by five of the team's other eight defensive backs.  He made two solo tackles in this contest and recorded his first special teams tackle of the season.
  

SPECIAL TEAMS

Snaps- A season-high 38 Redskins played over the course of 26 special teams snaps.  The 38 consisted of 20 defenders, 15 offensive players and 3 specialists (Hopkins, Way and Sundberg).  Mack Brown, John Sullivan, Martrell Spaight, Houston Bates, Greg Toler and Deshazor Everett only saw time as part of the special teams unit.

Houston Bates led the group with 20 snaps, and he was followed by two other usual suspects in Deshazor Everett and Terence Garvin.  Mack Brown saw a substantial increase in his specials playing time this week as his snap count jumped from 6 against the Bengals to 15 on Sunday.  For the first time this season Will Blackmon did not take any specials snaps.  It seems like the team may be trying to protect him while his broken thumb heals.

Special Teamers (38)				Special Teamers (cont)
Player	Snaps	Snap %		Player	Snaps	Snap %
Houston Bates	20	77%		Morgan Moses	6	23%
Deshazor Everett	17	65%		Ty Nsekhe	6	23%
Terence Garvin	16	62%		Vinston Painter	6	23%
Mack Brown	15	58%		Brandon Scherff	6	23%
Quinton Dunbar	15	58%		John Sullivan	6	23%
Dustin Hopkins	13	50%		Will Compton	5	19%
Martrell Spaight	12	46%		Jamison Crowder	5	19%
Anthony Lanier	11	42%		Mason Foster	5	19%
Su'a Cravens	10	38%		Ricky Jean Francois	5	19%
Duke Ihenacho	10	38%		Robert Kelley	5	19%
Bashaud Breeland	9	35%		Greg Toler	5	19%
Ryan Grant	8	31%		Maurice Harris	3	12%
Nick Sundberg	8	31%		Cullen Jenkins	3	12%
Tress Way	8	31%		Ryan Kerrigan	3	12%
Kendall Fuller	7	27%		Josh Norman	3	12%
Derek Carrier	6	23%		Rashad Ross	3	12%
Ziggy Hood	6	23%		Preston Smith	3	12%
Shawn Lauvao	6	23%		Chris Thompson	3	12%
Spencer Long	6	23%		Trent Murphy	2	8%

• Tress Way- Tress Way only had two punts in the game.  It was just the seventh time in his 42-game career (including playoffs) that he has punted two or fewer times.  Way did not have a touchback or a punt that pinned the Vikings inside their own 20-yard line, be he did kick for a season-high 43.5-yard net average.  Way is just simply not quite having the year that we had hoped for him to have.  He ranks 26th in gross punting average (44.4), 31st in net average (37.7) and 18th in inside-the-20 percentage (36%).  He ranked 12th and 17th in average and net average in 2015.
  

• Dustin Hopkins- Hopkins connected on field goals of 30, 37, 50 (tied his season long) and 28 yards out and converted both of his two PATs against Minnesota.  The 50-yarder was the fourth of Hopkins career, which ties him for fourth most 50-yard field goals made in team history.  He will be tied for third on that list when he makes his next one.  Hopkins also became the fifth Redskin to make four or more field goals in three or more games.  Five of his seven kickoffs in the game went for touchbacks (71%).  His 78.4% touchback percentage this season ranks second in the NFL, just behind Josh Lambo's 78.5% rate.
  

• Kick Coverage- Cordarrelle Patterson took his two kickoff returns for 26 and 18 yards.  The first return was taken to the Minnesota 23 and ended with a Bashaud Breeland tackle, his second solo ST tackle of the year.  The 18-yard return came from deep in the end zone and only saw the Vikings get the ball to their own 12.  Duke Ihenacho made his first special teams tackle of the year on that return.  The Redskins jumped up one spot to 31st and are no longer the owners of the league's worst kickoff return average allowed in the league.  Stefon Diggs took the only Vikings' punt return for five yards to the Minnesota 33-yard line, where he was tackled by Deshazor Everett.  Kendall Fuller also made his first teams tackle of the season (an assist) in the game.
  

• Kickoff Returns- Two of Minnesota's four kickoffs in the game went for touchbacks and the other two were returned by Chris Thompson and Rashad Ross.  Ross, who was the team's primary return man in 2015, took his first return of the season for 21 yards to the Redskins' 21-yard line.  Thompson fielded his only return at the 6-yard line and returned it 27 yards to the 33.
  

• Punt Returns- Jamison Crowder tied a career high with three fair catches in the game (also had 3 in Week 16 of 2015).  He fielded those three punts at the Washington 9, 21 and 8.  His two returns went for one yard and five yards and took the Redskins out to their own 32-yard line in both instances.  Crowder's six punt return yards and three-yard return average are the eighth and fifth worst marks of his 25-game career respectively.  He still sits at number one in return average this year, but he has been supplanted by Kansas City's Tyreek Hill in the punt return yards category.  Hill has 91 more punt return yards than Crowder does (327 to 236), but Hill has needed seven more returns to hit that number.
  

*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, Sharp Football Stats, Team Rankings and The Washington Post*