Skins Stats & Snaps: Redskins @ Rams (Offense)

Snaps- The Redskins' offense was on the field for 71 snaps, 68 plays and 11 drives against the Los Angeles Rams. Of the team's 24 offensive players, 17 of them got playing time with the offense.

The 7 that did not include: 4 inactives (Mack Brown, Jeremy Sprinkle, Tyler Catalina and T.J. Clemmings), 2 that played exclusively on special teams (Brian Quick and Chase Roullier) and 1 who did not play at all (Colt McCoy).

Rob Kelley and Ty Nsekhe were the only ones out of the 17 that played on offense to take fewer than 26 snaps.

Points- Washington scored on a Hopkins field goal on the offense's opening drive of the game. It was their first score on an opening drive dating back to Week 10 of 2016 against the Vikings. This team really does start slow, huh?

Penalties and Turnovers-The offense did not turn the ball over on Sunday, which was a major positive departure from the 4 giveaways they had against the Eagles.

They also only committed two penalties, one of which was declined, for 10 yards. The Redskins rank 3rd (in the right direction) in the NFL in both penalties and penalty yards.

3rd Down- The Redskins only marginally improved on third down against the Rams. They converted on 3 of their 11 attempts last week (27%) and moved the chains on 5 of their 13 (38%) tries on Sunday.

ou would like to see a bigger jump, considering that a much higher percentage of their third downs were from 7 or more yards out last week (63% to 38%). The Redskins 33% success rate on the money down is tied for 24th in the NFL. That is simply not going to cut it.

Red Zone- The offense went 2-for-4 in the red zone. The success rate in the red area could have been even higher than 50% if they didn't cute with consecutive fades on one drive. That number is still a bit below last year's league average of 55%, but it was good enough for this team.

Rushing- Redskins' players toted the rock a whopping 39 times for 229 yards, 8 first downs and 2 touchdowns. The 39 attempts are the second most in the Gruden era, behind only the Week 2 beatdown of the Jaguars in 2014 (42 attempts). The 229 rushing yardage total was the second highest by the team in the Jay Gruden era (230 yards last year against the Eagles) and the eighth highest total in the entire Dan Snyder era (since 1999).

They ran for 75 yards in the first quarter and 167 yards in the first half, their highest such marks since 2015 and 2010, respectively. On the flip side, they only racked up 62 more rushing yards in the second half, with 38 of those (61%) coming on their final meaningful drive of the game.

Rob Kelley, Chris Thompson and Samaje Perine all contributed to this effort with each RB running for over 65 yards. You have to go all the way back to 1957 to find the last time that three Skins runners did this in the same game. Hell, the last time that even two Burgundy and Gold backs went for 75 or more yards on the ground was in 2005 (also against the Rams).

The Redskins are the only team that has gained over 200 yards on the ground in 2017 (229 yards). No other team has rushed for more than 190 yards in a game this season (Bills in Week 1 vs. Jets).

QUARTERBACKS

Quarterbacks (2 Players)
Player	Snaps	Snap %
Kirk Cousins *	71	100%
Colt McCoy	0	0%

Kirk Cousins (Traditional Stats)- The Redskins' focus on the running game meant that Cousins would have to take a step back and operate as more of a game manager against the Rams. He did just that, as his dropbacks and attempts dropped from their Week 1 totals of 44 and 40 down to 29 and 27. On those 27 throws, Cousins completed 18 passes for 179 yards, 12 first downs, a touchdown and no interceptions.

Cousins only rushed for 7 yards on 3 attempts after gaining 30 yards last week. He was also sacked twice for 23 yards. He has been sacked 10 times over the course of his last three games, which is the highest three-game total of his career.

His biggest achievement in this game was leading the Skins' on 70-yard game winning drive, a drive that he completed all three of his passes on for 42 yards, 3 first downs (2 of which came on third down) and a touchdown.

Kirk Cousins (Advanced Stats)- Let's come back to how Cousins was a conservative game manager in L.A. His aDOT of 4.2 was his lowest average since at least 2015 and his average air yards per attempt of 5.0 yards was his lowest mark in that category since Week 4 of 2016. Finally, he also threw for just 6 yards per attempt, which was also his worst average dating back to 2015. In fact, he did not throw a single deep ball in the entire game.

Kirk Cousins helped the Redskins to avoid losing by not turning the ball over, but he didn't do much outside of the final drive to actually lead the team to a win either. The fact that he posted a QBR of just 28.8, his lowest QBR since he became the team's starter in 2015, backs that sentiment up.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Wide Receivers (5 Players)
Player	Snaps	Snap %
Terrelle Pryor	52	73%
Jamison Crowder	38	54%
Ryan Grant	30	42%
Josh Doctson *	29	41%
Brian Quick	ST Only	0%

Terrelle Pryor- After not cashing in on numerous opportunities against the Eagles in Week 1, Pryor saw his voluminous share of the passing game fall off a cliff against the Rams. His target total fell from 11 to 4; and, more importantly, his target share and air yards share fell from 28% and 44% to 15% and 17%, respectively. He also made sure to drop his weekly pass.

It's not all bad news for Pryor though. Both of his receptions were for first downs, with the last moving the Redskins into the red zone on their game-winning drive.

Nevertheless, it's hard not to consider Pryor a disappointment thus far. His 43.8 PFF grade on the season ranks 97th out of 107 qualifying wideouts.

Jamison Crowder- Crowder's snap count and percentage (78% to 54%) both dropped in Week 2, but his receiving numbers were much improved. His numbers jumped from 3 receptions for 14 yards and no first downs to 4 receptions for 47 yards and 3 receiving first downs. The 3 first downs were tied with Jordan Reed for a team high, and he trailed only Reed in receiving yards and receptions (by 1 yard and 2 receptions).

Two of Crowder's first downs were on 3rd-and-long plays on scoring drives and the other was an 18-yarder on 2-and-17. It looks like Crowder has healed up from the injury that hampered his production in Week 1.

Ryan Grant- Grant has now ranked in the top-12 on the team in offensive snaps in both games. As of right now, he is basically a starter.

He hauled in one of his two targets for 11 yards and game-winning touchdown on third down. That was his first touchdown since the last game of the 2015 season.

Grant has essentially already bested his 16-game 2016 campaign in just two games this year.

Josh Doctson- Doctson got his first career start and saw his snap count increase by 9 (20 to 29) and his snap percentage jump from 32% to 41%, both of which were career highs. He also got his first target of the season on a red-zone fade (gross).

His playing time is going in the right direction, but his opportunities and production are not. Through two games and 31 snaps last year he was thrown to 6 times and caught two of those passes for 66 yards. Through two games and 49 snaps this season, he has just one target and no receptions to show for it.

I'm fine with Ryan Grant finally producing (really), but I'm not okay with Doctson's first-round talent and high ceiling going to waste on a team whose four other wideouts are only under contract for one more season combined (Crowder) after 2017.

Brian Quick- After catching one 13-yard pass on 6 snaps last week, Quick only saw the field in special teams in this game.

TIGHT ENDS

Tight Ends (4 Players)
Player	Snaps	Snap %
Vernon Davis *	55	77%
Jordan Reed *	40	56%
Niles Paul *	36	51%
Jeremy Sprinkle	Inactive	N/A

Jordan Reed- Reed suffered a minor injury in the game that caused him to see his workload reduced from 55 to 40 snaps (86% to 56%). But even in somewhat limited action, Reed was still able to lead the team in receptions (6), receiving first downs (3) and receiving yards (48). Reed fumbled on one of those receptions, but, luckily he was able to recover. He ranked in the top-7 among tight ends (minimum 5 targets) in average yards of separation for the second week in a row.

He also gave up a sack to Robert Quinn, but it's hard to fault him there because that is a such huge mismatch.

Vernon Davis- Vernon Davis started in his 14th consecutive game for the Redskins and led all Washington tight ends in snaps played. Davis caught his only target in the game for a chain moving 13-yard gain on 2nd-and-11. With that catch (his 596th), he moved into tenth all-time in receptions by a tight end.

Davis didn't earn his keep as a receiver on Sunday though, he did it as run blocker. His 78.2 PFF rating (5th on the team and 3rd on offense), came on the strength of his 84.1 run-blocking grade.

Niles Paul- Paul saw a huge jump in playing time from Week 1 to Week 2. He only took 5 offensive snaps against the Eagles, which was his lowest such total since all the way back to 2013. On Sunday, that number jumped all the way up to 36 snaps, his most offensive snaps in almost three years. He also got his first start since the Week 6 of last season, which was just his second start since the end 2014.

The increased snap total was the product of the Redskins making the running game the focal point of their offense against the Rams. Paul is essentially the Redskins' fullback and run-blocking tight end, so when they run more he will play more. This also helps to explain why he was not targeted in the passing game for the second week in a row.

RUNNING BACKS

Running Backs (4 players)
Player	Snaps	Snap %
Chris Thompson	29	41%
Samaje Perine	26	37%
Robert Kelley *	16	23%
Mack Brown	Inactive	N/A

Chris Thompson- Chris Thompson once again proved that he is the Redskins' best running back. He led the Skins' RBs in snaps and took his 3 carries in the game for a career-high 77 yards and 2 touchdowns, the second of which went for 61 yards (also a career best), the Redskins' longest play of the season. All three of his runs were successful (big surprise), and his 25.7-yard average was the best for a Redskin with 3 or more carries since at least 1960.

This is the first time in his career that Thompson has scored touchdowns in consecutive games. His 3 scores leads the team, the next closest players have a single touchdown (Ryan Kerrigan and Ryan Grant).

He also caught 3 of 7 targets for 29 yards and 2 first downs. Perhaps, his lone noticeable mistake of the game came when he dropped what would've been a 62-yard touchdown pass.

He led the team with 107 yards from scrimmage, which is a category that he also leads the team in this season (162). Chris Thompson has easily been the Redskins' best offensive weapon and most impactful player overall this season.

Robert Kelley- Kelley was on his way to having what would have easily been at least the second best game of his career before he was forced to leave the game in the second quarter with a rib injury.

He rushed for a team-high 78 yards and 3 first downs on just 16 snaps and 12 carries. This was only the second time that Kelley has run for more than 63 yards since his memorable Monday Night performance against the Packers in Week 11 last year.

His YPC average of 6.5 was the second best of his career and his best in any game in which he has run the ball more than 5 times. Nine of his twelve carries were successful (75%), he gained at least a yard on every one of his rushes, five of his runs went for at least 5 yards and he had two rushes of over 15 yards (19 and 21 yards). The 19 and 21 yarders  represent two of Kelley's six longest career plays.

Kelley's 63 rushing yards in the first quarter, were the most by a Redskin since Alfred Morris ran for 70 yards in the opening frame of the 2012 matchup against the Ravens.

This performance looks even better when you learn that Kelley faced boxes with 8 or more defenders on 58% of his runs, the third highest rate against a running back in Week 2.

Samaje Perine- The former Oklahoma Sooner got his first career NFL snaps and ran the ball a team-high 21 times for 67 yards and 2 first downs (3.2 YPC). Overall, it was an up-and-down debut (mostly down) for Perine.

He had three runs of 10 or more yards, but also had three runs for negative yards and five runs that did not gain positive yardage. Only 5 of his 21 attempts were successful (24%).

Several others have pointed out that Perine was more effective running out of the shotgun formation. They appear to be correct, as he only gained 26 yards on 16 runs from players under center (1.6 YPC) and put up 41 yards on 5 rushes out on shotgun plays (8.2 YPC).

Perine may have an opportunity to start in place of the injured Rob Kelley, but he will cede opportunities to Thompson and our next RB if his overall efficiency numbers do not improve.

Mack Brown- If Kelley can't suit up next week and Perine falters, then it's time for the return of the Mack.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Offensive Linemen (9 Players)
Player	Snaps	Snap %
Shawn Lauvao *	71	100%
Spencer Long *	71	100%
Brandon Scherff *	71	100%
Trent Williams *	71	100%
Morgan Moses *	70	99%
Ty Nsekhe	5	7%
Chase Roullier	ST Only	0%
Tyler Catalina	Inactive	N/A
T.J. Clemmings	Inactive	N/A

Offensive Line (Pass Blocking)- The line allowed 2 sacks and 5 hits against the Rams vaunted front seven. On the surface, this looks like a solid improvement over last week (4 sacks and 7 hits), but you realize those numbers are deceiving when you consider that Cousins dropped back 15 less times against the Rams. He was still sacked on an extremely high 6.9% of his dropbacks, and hit on 17.2% of them, which is actually worse than the 15.9% hit rate  allowed in Week 1.

Offensive Line (Run Blocking)- The Redskins run blocking against the Rams was outstanding. The team averaged 5.87 yards per attempt, and 3.54 yards before contact per attempt, both of which ranked top-5 in Week 2.

The only directions in which the Redskins did not average 4 or more yards per carry running behind were up the middle and behind left tackle. But, to be fair to Trent Williams, they did gain 30 yards on 3 runs to left end (10.0 YPC).

Trent Williams- Williams did commit a holding penalty on the game-winning drive, but the Redskins were able bail him out to move the chains on the next play. Overall, Williams was solid again with a 78.2 PFF rating, the 2nd best grade on the offense.

Williams is the best player on the Redskins and it still shows. His 85.5 grade this season is the highest rating on the team and ranks 3rd among all tackles.

Morgan Moses- Morgan Moses bounced back from an extremely poor performance against Philadelphia that saw him allow 3 sacks. On Sunday, he did not allow a sack and only gave up 1 hit and 1 hurry. His 88.3 run-blocking and 85.4 overall grade were tops on the team.

Moses missed one snap due to injury. He was replaced by Ty Nsekhe on the play.

Shawn Lauvao & Brandon Scherff- Both Lauvao and Scherff allowed a sack in the game.

That's two sacks allowed by Scherff in as many games this season. Scherff has struggled as a pass blocker this season. He has been one of the team's most surprising disappointments so far.

On the other hand, Lauvao's poor play was to be expected. He is the line's lowest graded player yet again. That is something I could've copied and pasted from most of the articles in this series from 2015 and 2016.

Spencer Long- We haven't really heard much from Spencer Long this season. He has not committed a penalty or allowed a sack through two games and his snaps have been good from what I have seen.

Long continues to be an above average pass blocker and subpar in the running game. He ranks 8th among centers in PFF pass blocking grade (76.4) and 25th in run blocking (49.1).

ALL OFFENSIVE SNAPS

Offense (24 Players)				Offense (continued)
Player	Snaps	Snap %		Player	Snaps	Snap %
Kirk Cousins *	71	100%		Josh Doctson *	29	41%
Shawn Lauvao *	71	100%		Chris Thompson	29	41%
Spencer Long *	71	100%		Samaje Perine	26	37%
Brandon Scherff *	71	100%		Robert Kelley *	16	23%
Trent Williams *	71	100%		Ty Nsekhe	5	7%
Morgan Moses *	70	99%		Colt McCoy	0	0%
Vernon Davis *	55	77%		Brian Quick	ST Only	0%
Terrelle Pryor	52	73%		Chase Roullier	ST Only	0%
Jordan Reed *	40	56%		Mack Brown	Inactive	N/A
Jamison Crowder	38	54%		Tyler Catalina	Inactive	N/A
Niles Paul *	36	51%		T.J. Clemmings	Inactive	N/A
Ryan Grant	30	42%		Jeremy Sprinkle	Inactive	N/A

*All statistics are courtesy of Air Yards, CSN Mid Atlantic, ESPN, NFL.com, NFL Gamebooks, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, Redskins.com, Sharp Football Stats and The Washington Post*

Skins Stats & Snaps: Redskins @ Rams (DEF/ST)

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Special Teams (32 Players)
Player	Snaps	Snap %		Player	Snaps	Snap %
Jehu Chesson	27	87%		Kapri Bibbs	6	19%
Deshazor Everett	27	87%		Michael Floyd	6	19%
Danny Johnson	27	87%		Fabian Moreau	6	19%
Shaun Dion Hamilton	22	71%		Trey Quinn	6	19%
Josh Harvey-Clemons	22	71%		Jonathan Allen	5	16%
Jeremy Sprinkle	20	65%		Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	5	16%
Montae Nicholson	18	58%		Ryan Kerrigan	5	16%
Byron Marshall	17	55%		Daron Payne	5	16%
Greg Stroman	16	52%		Tony Bergstrom	4	13%
Ryan Anderson	15	48%		Jonathan Cooper	4	13%
Casanova McKinzy	12	39%		Austin Howard	4	13%
Tim Settle	10	32%		Stacy McGee	4	13%
Dustin Hopkins	9	29%		Ty Nsekhe	4	13%
Nick Sundberg	9	29%		Chase Roullier	4	13%
Tress Way	9	29%		Luke Bowanko	3	10%
Mason Foster	7	23%		Matt Ioannidis	3	10%

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