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Skins Snaps & Stats: Packers @ Redskins

A look at the snap counts and stats for every player on the Redskins in the team's Week 11 matchup against the Green Bay Packers

By James Dorsett
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

OFFENSE

Snaps- Sean McVay's unit utilized 18 of its 25 players over the course of 68 snaps.  The seven that did not see any time on offense consisted of five inactives (Nate Sudfeld, Rashad Ross, Matt Jones, Blaine Clausell and Arie Koundijo), one player that only saw time on special teams (John Sullivan) and one player that did not get in the game at all (Colt McCoy).  Five of the 18 that did play on offense took part on 13 or fewer snaps (Maurice Harris, Ryan Grant, Derek Carrier and Vinston Painter) while the other 13 played on at least 25 snaps each.  Mack Brown took the first offensive snaps of his career in the game.

Turnovers- The Redskins' offense did not commit a turnover for the first time this year.  They had averaged 1.33 giveaways per game heading into the day.  The team ranks 13th in giveaways this season, with 12 of them.

Yards- The Redskins' offense moved the ball up and down the field and lit the Packers up for 515 total yards.  It was Washington's second 500-yard game of the year, with the other game coming in the 75-minute contest against the Bengals in London.  This is the most yards produced by the offense in a game that didn't require overtime since 1991.  The two games over 500 yards this year also ties a team record for 500-yard games in a season (1950, 1981, 1989 and 1999).  This performance represents one of the five times in which this team has put up 500 or more yards since 1999.  It is only the 21st time that the Redskins offense has been able to do this in team history, and the 16th time that they didn't need overtime to do it.  The Redskins are the only team in the league that has gone over 300 yards from scrimmage in each of their last 14 games.

Points- The offense scored a season-high 42 points in Sunday night's win over the Packers.  This was just the 4th time since 2000 and the 29th time since at least 1940 that the Redskins scored 42 or more points.  There's a reason that they were able to put up so many points in this game.

Red Zone- Things finally clicked for Washington in the Red Zone, as the team put touchdowns on the board on 80% (4-5) of their trips to the red area.  This was the first time that they had hit 80% since Week 4 against the Browns, which is the only other time since Week 15 of last year that they've exceeded over a 66% touchdown-scoring rate inside-the-20.

Quarterbacks (3)
Player (* - denotes starter) Snaps Snap %
Kirk Cousins * 68 100%
Colt McCoy 0 0%
Nate Sudfeld Inactive N/A
  • Kirk Cousins Stats- Kirk Cousins went absolutely ham on Sunday night and lit the Packers defense up to the tune of 21 completions, 375 yards, 14 first downs and 3 touchdowns.  Cousins led the entire NFL (among QBs) in passing yards (375), passer rating (145.8), yards per attempt (12.5), adjusted net yards per attempt (13.3), PFF rating (85.5), net expected points (27.9), Raw QBR (95.7).  His 3 touchdown passes, 174 defense-adjusted yards above replacement and 94.1 adjusted QBR both ranked second in the league.  The first place quarterback in each of those categories was different.  In other words, Kirk Cousins was the best quarterback in the NFL this week.  Don't be surprised when he wins his third career player of the Week award for this performance.
  • Airing It out Again- Captain Kirk led all quarterbacks in air yards per completion (11.7) and had the fourth highest average depth of target (10.7) in Week 11.  Two thirds of his yards came through the air as opposed to after the catch, with nearly half of his output coming on passes that traveled 20 or more yards in the air.  Cousins completed three of his four such passes for 167 yards and two TDs.  All three of his touchdown passes traveled at least 15 yards in the air.  As of Sunday night, there were ten quarterbacks in the league who had passed for three or fewer touchdowns that traveled at least 15 yards through the air in the entire season.
  • Pressure Makes Diamonds- Cousins was one of four quarterbacks on Sunday to throw an accurate pass on every one of his attempts under pressure.  He completed three of his five passes for 44 when pressured, with his two incompletions occurring as the result of drops.  His two sacks in the game came on the other two plays in which he was pressured.  Cousins was nearly perfect when he had a clean pocket to work with.  He completed 18 of his 25 attempts for 331 yards, 3 touchdowns and a 153.8 passer rating on those plays.
  • Rarefied Air- Kirk Cousins has been a top-10 NFL quarterback since he took over as the Redskins' starter at the beginning of last season.  Period.  Since the beginning of 2015, he ranks 4th in completions (637), 2nd in completion percentage (68.7%), 7th in passing yards per game (279.1), 6th in total touchdowns (52) and sixth in wins (15).  And just as he did in 2015, he ranks in the top ten in QBR, passer rating, adjusted net yards per attempt, DVOA and DYAR this year.  And as we discussed in several previous installments, Kirk Cousins ranks second all time behind only Drew Brees in passing yards per start (279.8 yards), and if he had enough attempts to qualify he would rank sixth all time in sack percentage (4.0%).  I don't know what to tell you if you aren't convinced yet.
Wide Receivers (6)
Player (* - denotes starter) Snaps Snap %
Pierre Garcon * 52 76%
DeSean Jackson * 49 72%
Jamison Crowder 41 60%
Maurice Harris 12 18%
Ryan Grant 8 12%
Rashad Ross Inactive N/A
  • Pierre Garcon- Garcon led the team with 7 targets, 6 receptions, 116 yards receiving, a receiving touchdown and a long play of 70 yards.  His 70 yard touchdown was the Redskins' longest play from scrimmage of the year.  This was Garcon's 15th career 100-yard game (9th as a Redskin) and his first such game since Week 3 of 2014 (at Philadelphia), his only 100-yard effort of that season.  In fact, it was the first time since Week 14 of 2014 that he had even exceeded 81 yards.  Garcon has been a vital cog in Washington's passing attack this year.  Check out his team rankings in each of the main receiving categories: 1st in targets (72), 2nd in receptions (48), 2nd in receiving yards (593), 1st in first downs (32) and 3rd in receiving touchdowns (2).  He is also only 2 receptions and 44 yards out from the lead in receptions and yards.  You might also be surprised to find out where Garcon stands in the Redskins' career franchise rankings as well.  He's on pace to finish the season with the following career franchise rankings: 3rd in targets, 9th in receptions, 10th in receiving yards and 12th in receiving touchdowns.
  • Jamison Crowder- Crowder did it again.  He caught all three of his targets for 102 yards, 3 first downs and a touchdown.  It was his fifth consecutive game with either 100 or more yards or a touchdown.  Crowder, who has put up 100-plus yard efforts in three of his last four games, now trails only Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, A.J. Green and Amari Cooper in number of 100-yard games this season.  The first three names on that list are truly elite and likely Hall of Fame bound in about ten years, and Amari Cooper may be joining that group soon.  Crowder ranks 8th in receptions, 5th in receiving yards, 9th in receiving first downs and 1st in touchdowns among the NFL's 32 primary slot receivers.  Only six slot men rank ahead of him in each of the three non-touchdown categories: Larry Fitzgerald, Stefon Diggs, Jarvis Landry, Doug Baldwin and Jordan Matthews.
  • DeSean Jackson- D-Jax decided to get in on the action too, by catching 4 balls for 51 yards, 3 first downs and a score.  One of the two incompletions to Jackson was a drop.  His 17-yard touchdown was the second shortest touchdown of his 12 TDs as a member of the Redskins.  The touchdown was a much needed slump buster for Jackson, who had not scored since Week 3 against the Giants.  The five-game stretch without a touchdown was tied with one other period for the second longest scoreless streak in Jackson's career (6 straight games without a score in 2011).  To put this into perspective, consider that there have been 117 five-game stretches in Jackson's career.
  • Other Wide Receivers- The coaches wised up and finally played Moe Harris more than Ryan Grant in this one (12 snaps to 8).  Harris chipped in with a 14-yard reception on a third-down play.  The Redskins would go on to score on that drive.  Three of his four receptions this season have been third down conversions on drives that ended in a touchdown.  Grant, like Harris, caught his only target of the day for a first down.  Grant's reception was a four yarder on second-and-two that took place two plays before Harris' catch.  Rashad Ross was inactive for the fifth time this season.
Tight Ends (3)
Player (* - denotes starter) Snaps Snap %
Jordan Reed * 59 87%
Vernon Davis * 37 54%
Derek Carrier 13 19%
  • Jordan Reed- Jordan Reed was able to rack up 5 receptions for 79 yards and a team-leading 4 receiving first downs on 6 targets.  He did that despite not catching his first pass until just under the three-minute mark in the second quarter, and three of his five receptions came on that drive, which ended with a Robert Kelley touchdown.  Reed committed a rare drop (his first this season) on the single target that he failed to haul in.  As we told you back in May, Jordan Reed's career catch percentage of 75.2% is the best by a non running back in recorded NFL history.  Reed is on pace to finish the season ranked in the top 15 of the franchise's all-time targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns leaderboards.
  • Other Tight Ends- After piling up 16 receptions for 288 yards, 10 first downs and 2 touchdowns over his last four games, Vernon Davis failed to catch a pass against the Packers on Sunday.  His lone target came on Washington's third drive of the game.  He probably could've made the catch, and as such, that target could have easily been counted as a drop.  Derek Carrier's snap count and percentage rose in his second appearance back from injury, but he has yet to be targeted by Cousins.
Running Backs (3)
Player (* - denotes starter) Snaps Snap %
Robert Kelley * 41 60%
Chris Thompson 25 37%
Mack Brown 2 3%
Matt Jones Inactive N/A
  • Robert Kelley- Fat Rob had himself a day against the Cheeseheads.  He set new career highs in attempts (24), rushing yards (137) and touchdowns (3).  It was his first 100-yard game since high school (87 yards was his best single-game rushing output in college).  Kelley's three TDs on the ground tied a team record that was set 24 other times by 17 different players.  His 66-yard rush on the Redskins' final scoring drive was the team's longest running play since Robert Griffin's 76-yard touchdown run against the Vikings in 2012.  Kelley did all that and gained positive yardage on 20 of his 24 carries (83%) against a Packers' run defense that still ranks in the top-6 of rushing yards, yards per attempt, first-down percentage, rushing DVOA and success rate allowed.  With his performance against Green Bay, Kelley became the first Redskins running back to rush for 87 or more yards in three straight games since Alfred Morris did it at almost exactly the same time of the year in the 2014 season.  There were a few negatives for Kelley in this one, though.  He only broke three tackles, he dropped both of his targets on passes that should've easily been converted for first downs and he only averaged 3.1 yards per attempt if you take away his 66-yard run at the end of the game.
  • Chris Thompson- In Weeks 6 and 7, which was just prior to Robert Kelley's emergence, Chris Thompson had easily the best two-game stretch as a rusher in his NFL career.  In that two-game span he ran for 110 yards on 21 attempts and a 5.2 yards-per-carry average.  The 110 yards rushing were the most that he had in a game in any two-game stretch of his career and that output came on the strength and of his best and his fourth-best career single-game rushing outputs (73 and 37 yards).  His attempt totals of 9 and 12 were also career highs.  In those two games, he added in 10 receptions on 10 targets for 69 yards for good measure.  Unfortunately for CT, his opportunities and his performance over the last three weeks have dipped.  He's rushed for just 49 yards and a 3.8 average in those games.  His 10 yards rushing, 9 yards receiving and 19 yards from scrimmage against the Packers were all his second worst totals of the year.  He was also stuffed on a 2-point conversion try.  His single reception in the game was tied for a season low in that category, but at least that play resulted in a crucial third-down conversion late in the game.
Offensive Linemen (9)
Player (* - denotes starter) Snaps Snap %
Shawn Lauvao * 68 100%
Spencer Long * 68 100%
Brandon Scherff * 68 100%
Morgan Moses * 68 100%
Ty Nsekhe * 66 97%
Vinston Painter 2 3%
John Sullivan ST Only 0%
Blaine Clausell Inactive N/A
Arie Koundijo Inactive N/A
  • Offensive Line (Group)- The O-line allowed two sacks against the Packers' front on Sunday night.  It was only the second time since Week 5 that Cousins has been sacked more than once (2 sacks at Detroit in Week 7).  The five hits allowed on Kirk were, however, the team's best showing in this area since Week 8 against the Eagles.  In all the line did another excellent job in pass protection as Cousins was only pressured on seven dropbacks. 
  • Ty Nsekhe- For the second week in a row, Nsekhe filled in seamlessly for Trent Williams and was the team's best offensive linemen.  He absolutely shut down Clay Matthews (1 tackle, 1 hurry, 0 hits and 0 sacks) and he only allowed one pressure in the entire game (a hurry).  His 84.5 PFF run-blocking grade was the best on the line.  He was the second highest graded player (83.2) on the offense behind only Kirk Cousins.  If Nsekhe continues to play at this level then the Redskins should seriously consider keeping him at left tackle and starting Trent Williams at left guard when he returns from suspension. 
  • Offensive Line (Individual)- I say that in part, because Shawn Lauvao has clearly been the weak link on the line this season.  He is ranked 71st out of 75 guards by PFF and has the second lowest pass-blocking grade of those 75 players.  All three interior lineman struggled in the running game with below-average run-blocking grades.  Morgan Moses allowed both sacks (by Nick Perry and Julius Peppers), two hurries and more than half of the pressures allowed by the team (4 of 7).  It seems clear that his injured ankle is still giving him trouble.

DEFENSE

Snaps- A season-high 22 defenders (92% of the defensive players on the active roster) took the field over the course of 68 defensive snaps against the Packers.  Matt Ioannidis (inactive) and Deshazor Everett (special teams) were the only two defenders on the roster who did not see a snap on defense this past Sunday.  However, 7 of the 22 that did play only participated on 15 or fewer snaps (Anthony Lanier, Mason Foster, Terence Garvin, Martrell Spaight, Houston Bates, Quinton Dunbar and Greg Toler).

Quarterback Pressure- The Redskins were only able to sack Aaron Rodgers twice and on 4.7% of his dropbacks in the game, which was the lowest sack output by the team since Week 4.  They were also only able to hit the quarterback on five plays, the defense's second lowest QB hit total since Week 3.  Joe Barry's bunch was, however, able to rush many of the Packers' throws in this game.  Green Bay passers were under pressure on 37% of their dropbacks.

Three-and-Outs- The Redskins forced three-and-outs on each of the Packers' first three possessions of the game.  This was the first time since Week 2 of 2014 against the Jaguars that the Redskins defense had accomplished this feat.  It was the first time ever that a defense had forced that many three-and-outs against an Aaron Rodgers led team to start a game.  The Green Bay offense only had nine yards from scrimmage (1 yard per play) through their first three drives of the game.

Rushing Defense- The defense was able to hold the Packers to 84 yards rushing on 19 carries in the game (4.4 yard average).  This was just the fifth time in the last 14 games (including playoffs) that the Redskins were able to hold an opponent to under 100 yards.  What is most notable is that four of those five games have taken place in the team's last five contests.

Defensive Linemen (6)
Player (* - denotes starter) Snaps Snap %
Chris Baker * 40 57%
Ziggy Hood * 37 53%
Ricky Jean Francois 33 47%
Cullen Jenkins 21 30%
Anthony Lanier 15 21%
Matt Ioannidis Inactive N/A
  • Chris Baker- After a poor showing last week in which he forced just one pressure (a hurry), Chris Baker bounced back with a big game against Green Bay.  He recorded a sack (his third of the year), two hits and four total pressures to go along with his three tackles in the game.  His 82.3 PFF grade was the second highest rating on the defense and the fourth highest on the team.  
  • Ziggy Hood- Unlike fellow starter, Baker, Ziggy Hood did not rebound from last week's subpar performance.  He failed to record a pressure of any kind for the second week in a row and for the third time this season.  That's disturbing when you consider that he played nearly 80 snaps between the last two games.  Hood did manage to make one solo tackle but other than that he was blanked on the stat sheet.  Ziggy Hood has done some nice things for Washington this year, but re-signing him this offseason to come back and be a starter for you at age 30 probably wouldn't be the best course of action for the Redskins to take.
  • Reserve DL- Anthony Lanier has recorded a pressure in three consecutive games (the only games that he's been active for) and he's done it on just 45 combined snaps in those contests.  Cullen Jenkins made two solo tackles and got pressure on Aaron Rodgers.  He caused a holding penalty on Don Barclay that negated a Ty Montgomery touchdown.  Jenkins was the fifth highest rated player on the Washington defense (77.6).  Matt Ioannidis was declared inactive for the third game in a row.  He has only played on 47 defensive snaps this season.  
Outside Linebackers (4)
Player (* - denotes starter) Snaps Snap %
Ryan Kerrigan * 53 76%
Preston Smith * 42 60%
Trent Murphy 41 59%
Houston Bates 1 1%
  • Ryan Kerrigan- Kerrigan has absolutely been on fire since Week 6 and he continued his torrid pace with another big game on Sunday night.  Kerrigan sacked Rodgers and hurried him on five other plays.  His six total pressures and 16.2% pressure rate both led the team.  This was his fifth consecutive game with at least five pressures.  Kerrigan also made history when he recorded his sack, his eighth of the year.  He became just the fifth player in NFL history with 7.5 or more sacks in each of his first six seasons in the league.  The list includes two Hall of Famers: Reggie White and Derrick Thomas, and two soon-to-be Canton-bound players: DeMarcus Ware and Julius Peppers.  Kerrigan ranks seventh in sacks this season and his 55.5 career sacks ranks sixth in the NFL since he entered the league in 2011.
  • Preston Smith- After seemingly breaking out of his sophomore slump last week, Preston Smith regressed and continued his 2016 disappearing act.  This actually was probably his worst game as a pass rusher of the year and maybe even the worst game of his career in that regard.  For the first time in his 26 games as a pro (includes 12 starts) he did not record a single pressure on the opposing quarterback.  Smith only made one solo and one assisted tackle on 42 snaps.  He'll need to play much better on Thursday against Tyron Smith if he doesn't want to get shutout again.
  • Trent Murphy- Smith wasn't the only one that had a disappointing day in the pass-rushing department.  For only the second time this year Murphy failed to notch a hit or a sack.  He was also beat by Rodgers on a scramble that went for a first down.  He did hurry Rodgers 3 times on 27 rushes and assisted on two tackles, though at least.
  • Houston Bates- Bates took his single non-special-teams snap of the game at fullback.  On that play, he led the way for a 1-yard Robert Kelley touchdown.
Inside Linebackers (5)
Player (* - denotes starter) Snaps Snap %
Will Compton * 67 96%
Su'a Cravens * 60 86%
Mason Foster 7 10%
Terence Garvin 3 4%
Martrell Spaight 3 4%
  • Will Compton- For the first time since Week 6, Will Compton did not lead the defense in snaps and did not play on every defensive play.  Compton was top three on the team in solo, assisted and total tackles (3rd, 1st & 2nd).  He was also one of four players on the team to record a tackle for a loss, and his three stops were tied for the team lead.  His 20% tackles-per-opportunity rate ranked first on the team and in the top ten of the league this week.  Compton helped to seal the game when he recorded his second career fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter. 
  • Su'a Cravens- Cravens got his second career start, and for the second week in a row, he played on a career-high snap total (60) and percentage (86%).  It was the first time that he had seen the field for more than 37 snaps and 55% of the defense's snaps.  The USC product made five tackles for the second straight week and recorded a tackle for a loss, two stops, a hurry and a pass defense near the line of scrimmage on a play that he blitzed on.  On the downside, he committed a roughing-the-passer-penalty on a Packers touchdown play (penalty declined) and allowed Ty Montgomery to catch a TD on a play that would be negated by a Green Bay holding call.
  • Mason Foster- As Su'a Cravens playing time continues to increase, Mason Foster's continues to decline.  Foster only saw action on seven snaps (10%) against the Packers, which is his lowest total since Week 8 of last season.  In his extremely limited time with the defense, he assisted on a tackle and got one QB hit.
  • Other ILBs- Martrell Spaight and Terrence Garvin took care of mop-up duty at the position when Bret Hundley came in to finish a game that had gotten out of hand for the Packers.  Both players played on every snaps on that drive, but it was Spaight who left the bigger mark.  He assisted on a tackle and recorded the game-ending interception.  It was the first interception of his career. 
Cornerbacks (5)
Player (* - denotes starter) Snaps Snap %
Josh Norman * 66 94%
Kendall Fuller * 65 93%
Bashaud Breeland * 60 86%
Quinton Dunbar 8 11%
Greg Toler 4 6%
  • Josh Norman- Josh Norman allowed just one reception for 13 yards on five targets in the game.  His 52% catch rate on the year, is the second best such rate among corners who have been targeted 50 or more times.  The only problem with his line in this game is that the lone reception went for a Jordy Nelson touchdown; however, anyone who saw the play knows that there is a fair chance that the call could've gone the other way and that the touchdown catch in question could have been reversed based on how the NFL's catch rules are typically interpreted.  Nevertheless, this was the third TD that Norman has allowed this season and the second in as many weeks.  Norman also pulled a Peanut Tillman and punched out yet another fumble.  He ranks third among defensive backs in forced fumbles this year and is tied for first in the same category between 2014 and now and 2015 and now.  Norman received the game's highest PFF grade on defense (85.2), despite allowing the touchdown and committing another two penalties to add to his league-worst total (14 total and 11 accepted).
  • Bashaud Breeland- Bashaud Breeland also put forth an impressive performance for the second week in a row.  He only allowed 3 receptions for 9 yards on 5 targets and ranked second and third on the team with 7 solo and 8 total tackles.  He also defended a pass on a third down and made a team-high three defensive stops.  His 77.4 PFF rating was the fifth best on the defense.  He was called for two penalties in the game.  A ticky-tack illegal hands to the face infraction on a fourth down on a drive that the Packers would eventually score a TD on and a delay of game penalty on another Packers' scoring drive.  Breeland has committed the 13th most accepted penalties in the NFL so far this year (7 accepted penalties).
  • Kendall Fuller- Kendall Fuller's 78.0 PFF grade was the third highest on the defense, but his primary cover, Randall Cobb, did catch three passes for 84 yards in the game.  Slot receivers have really been a problem for a Washington defense that has given up 5 receptions and 65 yards on average to their opponents' primary slot man.  The Redskins have allowed slot receivers to catch five or more passes in five games this year and they have given up 59 or more yards to these players in six contests, including in each of the past two weeks.  Fuller and the Skins get Cole Beasley next.
  • Other Cornerbacks- Quinton Dunbar and Greg Toler combined to play on just 12 snaps and did not record a statistic of any kind.  The duo has averaged just 18 combined snaps per game since Bashaud Breeland returned from injury in Week 6, and they've only seen the field on 21 combined snaps in the past two weeks.  The Redskins clearly would prefer to use a tight three-man rotation (Norman, Breeland and Fuller) at cornerback going forward.
Safeties (4)
Player (* - denotes starter) Snaps Snap %
Donte Whitner * 65 93%
Duke Ihenacho * 52 74%
Will Blackmon 24 34%
Deshazor Everett ST Only 0%
  • Donte Whitner- Donte Whitner led the safety corps in snaps for the fourth game in a row.  He also made a game-high eight solo and ten total tackles.  Whitner has finished first or second in total tackles on the team in each of the last four games.  But racking up tackles hasn't been a problem for Donte "Hitner", coverage has been and it was again on Sunday.  He allowed all ten targets thrown in his direction to be caught for a whopping 169 yards and a touchdown.  Whitner ranks 83rd out of 86 qualifying safeties in PFF coverage grade.

  • Duke Ihenacho- Duke Ihenacho got his second consecutive start and out-snapped Will Blackmon for the third straight week.  However, despite playing on roughly three quarters of the snaps, Ihenacho was only able to record one tackle and no other stats in the game.  He allowed Jared Cook to catch a 29-yard first down pass on a third down late in the third quarter.  Green Bay would go on to score on that drive. 
  • Will Blackmon- After playing on 66% or more of the snaps between Weeks 3 and 7, Blackmon has failed to crack 50% in each of the last three games.  In fact, his snap count has dropped in each of those weeks (43 > 33 > 24).  Blackmon only recorded two solo tackles in the game.  He allowed Jared Cook to score a 6-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
  • Versus Tight Ends- You may have noticed a trend here, and that trend is that the Redskins safeties are no good in coverage, especially coverage of tight ends.  Here is an update of the Redskins rankings against tight ends: 32nd in targets allowed (96), 31st in receptions allowed (71), 28th in yards allowed (702) and 26th in touchdowns allowed (5).  If their rankings from this year hold up, then Washington's defense will have ranked 20th or lower in receiving yards allowed to tight ends in each of the last six seasons and 26th in touchdowns allowed to the position in five of the last six years.  The Redskins remaining TE1 schedule goes like this: Jason Witten, Jermaine Gresham, Zach Ertz, Greg Olsen, some dude from the Bears who's still alive and Will Tye.  The biggest challenges will obviously come in the next four weeks.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Snaps- Thirty-seven Redskins played over the course of 29 special teams snaps against the Packers.  The group of 37 consisted of 20 defenders, 14 offensive players and 3 specialists (Dustin Hopkins, Tress Way and Rick Lovato).  Lovato was signed to play long snapper in place of the injured Nick Sundberg.  Only two non-specialists saw action exclusively on special teams (John Sullivan and Deshazor Everett).  That is tied for the lowest number of special-teams-only players for the Redskins in a game this season (Week 4 versus Cleveland).

The special teams snap leader group went unchanged with Houston Bates, Deshazor Everett, Martrell Spaight and Terence Garvin leading the way for what seemed like the thousandth game in a row.  It is however, interesting to note that special teams regulars Will Blackmon, Morgan Moses and Rob Kelley did not see any time on special teams.  Blackmon and Moses' absences from the unit are probably injury related and Kelley's lack of ST snaps is likely another indicator of how much the team values him right now (i.e. a lot).

Special Teamers (37) Special Teamers (cont)
Player Snaps Snap % Player Snaps Snap %
Houston Bates 24 83% Ziggy Hood 5 17%
Deshazor Everett 19 66% Ricky Jean Francois 5 17%
Terence Garvin 18 62% Cullen Jenkins 5 17%
Martrell Spaight 18 62% Ryan Kerrigan 5 17%
Quinton Dunbar 15 52% Shawn Lauvao 5 17%
Su'a Cravens 13 45% Spencer Long 5 17%
Mason Foster 13 45% Ty Nsekhe 5 17%
Dustin Hopkins 13 45% Vinston Painter 5 17%
Duke Ihenacho 13 45% Brandon Scherff 5 17%
Bashaud Breeland 12 41% Preston Smith 5 17%
Anthony Lanier 12 41% John Sullivan 5 17%
Mack Brown 11 38% Chris Thompson 5 17%
Kendall Fuller 11 38% Jamison Crowder 4 14%
Will Compton 9 31% Ryan Grant 4 14%
Trent Murphy 9 31% Josh Norman 4 14%
Derek Carrier 8 28% Greg Toler 3 10%
Rick Lovato 8 28% Vernon Davis 1 3%
Tress Way 8 28% Pierre Garcon 1 3%
Maurice Harris 7 24% Nick Sundberg Inactive N/A
  • Tress Way- Tress Way punted the ball three times (28, 40 and 46) for 114 yards in the game.  Way's 28-yarder went out of bounds at the Green Bay 34, the 40-yard punt was fair caught by Randall Cobb inside the Packers' 20-yard line and Cobb returned the Redskins' final punt and long punt of the night (46 yards) 10 yards to the Green Bay 44.  Way had an average and a net average of 38 yards and 34.7 yards per punt respectively.  He is averaging a career-worst 43.7 and 37.4 yards in those categories this year; however, he is somewhat negating that with a career-best 36% inside-the-20 rate.
  • Dustin Hopkins- Hopkins connected on a field goal from 37 yards out on his lone attempt of the night, but he missed an extra point for the second time this year.  Part of me would like to get on his case for this, but there really is little to no shame in it considering that Mason Crosby missed a 36-yard field goal in the game, that an all-time record 12 extra points were missed on Sunday and that there were winds of over 20 mph in the game.  Hopkins' other missed extra point came in the team's second windiest game of the year (at Ravens with 16 mph winds).  Four of Hopkins' eight kickoffs went for touchbacks.
  • Kick Coverage- The four Hopkins kicks that did not go for touchbacks were returned for a total of 32 yards (8 yard average).  Green Bay could not get the ball out past their own 18 on any of those four kickoffs.  On three of the returns, Terence Garvin, Duke Ihenacho and Deshazor Everett made solo tackles and Martrell Spaight, Kendall Fuller and Garvin assisted on them.  The only other return was downed by Richard Rodgers at the two-yard line.  It was a kick that the Packers thought was going into the end zone, but died just before it because of the wind.  Rodgers chose not to advance that return.  Everett had an excellent shot to cleanly recover it, but like the Packers, he was not prepared to do anything with it either.  On Green Bay's only punt return of the game, Terence Garvin made the tackle on a ten-yard Randall Cobb run to the Washington 44-yard line.  Garvin led the team in solo (2) and total (3) special teams tackles.
  • Kickoff Returns- Chris Thompson returned two kickoffs for 40 yards in the game.  His first return went for 24 yards and took the Redskins out to their own 28.  He could only muster a 16-yarder to the team's own 19-yard line on his other return.  All three of the Packers' other kickoffs went for touchbacks.
  • Punt Returns- The Packers only punted on their first three drives of the game.  The first punt was fair caught by Crowder at the Washington 41-yard line, the second was downed inside the 20-yard line and the third and final Green Bay punt was returned eight yards by Crowder out to the Redskins' 45.  After racking up 30 or more punt return yards in three of the first five games of the year, Crowder has failed to exceed 13 return yards in four of the past five games (23 yards in Week 8 being the exception).

*All statistics are courtesy of CSN Mid Atlantic, ESPN, Football Outsiders, NBC Sports, 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*

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