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Snaps- The Washington Redskins’ offense was on the field for a season-low 60 snaps in Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Jay Gruden used 16 of his 25 offensive players in the contest. Of the nine who did not play on this side of the ball, five were inactive (Jamison Crowder, Paul Richardson, Chris Thompson, Geron Christian and Casey Dunn), three worked exclusively on special teams (Jehu Chesson, Ty Nsekhe and Tony Bergstrom) and one was active but did not play in any capacity (Colt McCoy).
Field Position- On average, Washington’s offense started their ten drives 33.4 yards away from their end zone, their second-best average of the season. They enjoyed their best average starting field position last week against the Panthers (33.7). Maybe Adrian Peterson should’ve bought scooters for Tress Way and the defense, too.
Points- The Redskins scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game for the second time this season (vs. Packers).
However, just as they have in every other game this year, the offense scored fewer than 7 points in the second half. Even with the defensive touchdown, Washington still ranks dead last in second-half points scored (37).
They’ve struggled the most in the third quarter. In fact, the last time the Redskins scored a touchdown in the third quarter was in Week 4 of 2017 against Alex Smith and the Chiefs.
Drops- The Redskins dropped 3 passes as a team on Sunday, they had only dropped one ball all season prior to this game.
3rd & 4th Down- Alex Smith and company converted on just 3 of the 12 third downs they faced against the Dallas defense. The 25% conversion rate on the money down was a new season low for the team. Their poor success rate on third down had a lot to do with the fact that they needed to gain 7 yards or more to move the chains on ten of those plays.
The only fourth down attempted by the offense came on an unsuccessful Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half.
Red Zone- The offense failed to score on both of their trips to the red zone and only gained 8 yards on their nine plays inside the Dallas 20-yard line. This was the second time this season (Week 2 vs. Colts) and only the third time since Week 1 of last year (vs. Eagles) that the Skins’ did not score on any of their possessions in the red area.
QUARTERBACKS
Quarterbacks (2 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Alex Smith * | 60 | 100% |
Colt McCoy | 0 | 0% |
Alex Smith (Traditional Stats)- Alex Smith went 14-for-25 on his passing attempts and posted a season-low completion rate of 56%, his lowest percentage since Week 8 of of the 2017 season. Smith has now completed 60% or less of his passes in each of the last four games; the last time he did that was in 2007 when he was a 23-year-old playing for the 49ers. His 63.3% mark on the year ranks 23rd in the NFL.
Smith gained 178 yards, picked up a season-low 8 first downs and threw one touchdown on his 25 attempts (7.12 YPA) against the Cowboys. This is the second consecutive game in which he has passed for under 200 yards. He is averaging 230.5 passing yards per game, which is both the third highest average of his career and currently ranks 25th in the league.
Smith’s 7 touchdowns rank 25th among all QBs and has him on pace to throw fewer than 20 scores for the tenth time in his career. He missed the mark on what would’ve been easy second and third touchdowns on Sunday against Dallas.
To his credit, he was only sacked once (3 yards) and did not turn over the ball for the fourth time this season. Smith was, however, charged with his sixth fumble of the year, which is the ties Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz for the fourth most fumbles committed by a player this season. He did recover his fumble against Dallas though, and ranks fourth in fumble recoveries (3).
Alex Smith (Rushing)- The play he fumbled on was counted as one of his four rushes in the game (no gain). Smith gained a total of 16 yards on his three scrambles, but failed to pick up a rushing first down for the first time since Week 15 of last season.
He also made a dumb mistake by running out of bounds with a 1:26 left in the game. That decision allowed the Cowboys to hold on to their last timeout going into the final drive of the contest.
Alex Smith (Advanced Stats)- Smith’s 37.8 QBR ranked 23rd this week. He has ranked bottom-10 in the league in four of the six weeks he’s played with the Redskins. His 61.3 PFF rating for the game, put him in the bottom half of qualifying starting signal callers for the fourth consecutive game. Smith ranks 23rd in QBR and 25th in PFF rating this season.
He attempted at least four deep passes (4) for the third straight game, but failed to complete any of them for the first time since Week 1, when he did not attempt any passes that traveled 20 or more yards in the air. Surprisingly, Smith posted a season-high aDOT (average depth of target) of 12.2, which ranked second in the league this past week.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Wide Receivers (7 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Josh Doctson * | 57 | 95% |
Maurice Harris | 36 | 60% |
Brian Quick * | 31 | 52% |
Michael Floyd | 30 | 50% |
Jehu Chesson | ST Only | 0% |
Jamison Crowder | Inactive | N/A |
Paul Richardson | Inactive | N/A |
Josh Doctson- Doctson started for the third time this season and played on 95% of the offensive snaps. This was the second game in 2018 that he’s been in for at least 95% of the plays.
Doctson caught three of his team-high 6 targets for a season-best 42 yards (6th highest career total) and 2 first downs. He also easily set new season highs in air yards (131), yards per reception (14.0), yards per target (7.0), yards per route run (1.51) and PFF rating (66.6). He did, however, commit an offensive-pass-interference infraction that stalled a Redskins’ drive near midfield.
This was Doctson’s best game of the year, which is somehow both depressing and promising at the same time.
Maurice Harris- Mo Harris made it onto the field for 60% of the offensive snaps against the Cowboys. This was the third consecutive game in which he’s played on at least 60% of the snaps.
This was also the third straight game in which Harris hauled in exactly three passes. This time he hit that number despite only running 20 routes and receiving 3 targets, which were his lowest totals in each category over the last three games.
He had 22 receiving yards and a first down in the game.
Brian Quick- Brian Quick started for the second consecutive week and played on a season-high 31 snaps. That was his highest snap total as a member of the Redskins and it more than doubled the number of snaps he had played this season prior to this game (29).
Unfortunately for Quick, the extra PT wasn’t enough to get him more looks in the passing game. He was not targeted once on 17 routes. In the team’s last two games, Quick caught all three of his targets for 18 yards and 2 first downs
Michael Floyd- Michael Floyd was in for 30 offensive snaps against the Cowboys, which was his highest such total since Week 6 of last year.
All three of Floyd’s targets came on the final drive of the first half. He caught the first one for a gain of 20 yards and a first down. This was his first catch as a member of the Redskins and his longest reception since Week 10 of the 2016.
He nearly caught his second target, but couldn’t quite get both feet in bounds. Finally, he had a decent chance to haul in a 39-yard TD reception on Alex Smith’s Hail Mary at the end half, but was unable to make the catch.
Floyd ranked second on the team with 75 air yards and his 20 receiving yards in the game was tied for his highest total since the 2016 season.
Jehu Chesson- Chesson, who was brought up from the practice squad last Thursday, only played on special teams on Sunday. He failed to haul in a catchable pass on his only offensive snap of the season (Week 2 vs. Colts).
Jamison Crowder- Crowder’s ankle injury sidelined him for the second week in a row, marking the first time in his career that he’s missed back-to-back games. This was only the third contest he’s ever missed overall in his four years as a pro.
Assuming he misses one more game and comes back to play in the team’s final nine contests, Crowder could match his career-best receptions-per-game average (4.4) and still fall short of his career low in receptions (59).
Paul Richardson- P-Rich’s knee injury finally kept him out of a game this season. It was the first time he’s been unable to suit up since Week 13 of 2016.
Despite his absence, Richardson still leads the Washington wideout corps in the following categories and by the following margins: targets (0), receptions (3), receiving yards (78), yards from scrimmage (45) and receiving touchdowns (1).
Wide Receiver Woes: Part Whatever- The Redskins’ wide receiver corps recorded a combined 84 receiving yards against the Cowboys. This group has only topped 85 yards as a whole twice this season (both losses). There are 23 individual players who’ve put up 86 or more receiving yards in three or more games this year.
TIGHT ENDS
Tight Ends (3 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Jordan Reed * | 41 | 68% |
Vernon Davis * | 27 | 45% |
Jeremy Sprinkle | 19 | 32% |
Jordan Reed- Jordan Reed played on a season-high 68.3% of the snaps in the game. His playing time has slowly, but steadily increased since the season began (52% > 54% > 66% > 64% > 67% > 68%).
However, just because Reed is getting more PT, doesn’t mean the Redskins are using him enough. He ran a route on 25 of Alex Smith’s 29 dropbacks, but only received 4 targets on the day, which ranked third on the team.
He had just one target thrown his way in the entire first half, a 16-yard first down on a 2nd-and-11 at the end of the first quarter. This was the third game this year in which Reed has been targeted once or failed to receive a target in the first half (Colts, at Saints, Cowboys). Something like this is simply inexplicable when you’re talking about one of your very best offensive weapons.
Reed’s other reception on Sunday was a 27-yarder on 3rd-and-8 that set the Redskins up inside the red zone and to make a chip shot field goal four plays later; it was Washington’s longest play of the game.
His 43 receiving yards in the game was tied for the most on the team and represented his highest total since Week 3. Reed has not topped 65 yards in almost two years.
Vernon Davis- Vernon Davis started for the fifth game in a row, but played on less than 50% of the snaps for the third time this season (45%).
After receiving multiple targets in each of the last three games and racking up a combined 133 receiving yards in those contests, VD was not officially targeted once on Sunday. The only play Alex Smith threw to him on was negated by a Josh Doctson OPI penalty.
This was the first time Davis was not targeted in the team’s last 35 games. The only other game Davis did not receive any targets in as a member of the Redskins took place in Week 3 of the 2016 season (at Giants), a contest in which Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, Jordan Reed, Chris Thompson and Jamison Crowder all played in.
Davis’ lack of looks against the Cowboys probably had something to do with the fact that he only ran five routes in the game, which was his lowest such total since joining the team in 2016. His previous low came in the aforementioned 2016 matchup with the Giants.
I’m thinking the Redskins should be using him a bit more than this, especially when their top two wide receivers and their third-down back are out.
Jeremy Sprinkle- Jeremy Sprinkle saw a snap rate of 30-plus percent for the second consecutive week, which is something that has only happened one other time in his career (Weeks 9 and 10 of last season). He has played on at least 30% of the offensive snaps in all four of the team’s wins this year, but has failed to top 18% in both of their losses.
He blocked on 14 of his 19 snaps (13 run blocking), and ran four routes, one of which he was targeted on. This was just the fourth target of his career and his first since Week 16 of last season. Unfortunately, Alex Smith overthrew him on what should’ve been an easy 9-yard red-zone TD connection and the pass fell incomplete.
Sprinkle also committed a holding penalty that negated a 21-yard rushing play. He had not committed a penalty on any of his 457 career snaps prior to Sunday’s game.
RUNNING BACKS
Running Backs (4 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Adrian Peterson * | 34 | 57% |
Kapri Bibbs | 23 | 38% |
Samaje Perine | 2 | 3% |
Chris Thompson | Inactive | N/A |
Adrian Peterson- The ageless AP did it again. He rushed for 99 yards and picked up a season-high 6 first downs on his 24 carries (4.13 YPC) against a Cowboys’ defense that ranked 5th in rushing DVOA and 8th in rushing yards allowed coming into the game. Sixty of his 99 yards and 13 of his 24 attempts came after halftime (4.62 YPC).
The 24 attempts and 99 rushing yards represented his second highest totals of the year. He has now gained over 95 yards on the ground four times in 2018, which is the most such games by any player in the NFL this season.
Peterson failed to gain any yardage on seven of his carries, but also gained at least 5 yards on another seven rushes, three of which gained over 15 yards. He posted a very solid 46% success rate in the game.
All Day tied a season high with 7 total missed tackles forced and gained 55 yards after contact. He averaged 2.29 yards per carry after first contact. His 3.02 YCO/A average this year is his best mark in that statistic since his 2012 MVP season.
Peterson caught 1-of-2 targets for 8 receiving yards against Dallas. He dropped his first pass of the year on the other target.
His 73 rushing yards per game currently ranks seventh in the league and he is on pace to rush for 1,168 yards in 2018. That yardage figure would rank third all-time among players who were 33 or older; John Riggins ranks first and second with 1,347 yards in 1983 and 1,239 yards in 1984. If he maintains his 73-yards per game average, AP would also finish the season ranked eighth all-time in rushing.
Kapri Bibbs- Chris Thompson’s injury allowed Bibbs to play on over a third of the snaps for the second straight week; in fact, he played on a season-high 38.3% of the offensive snaps against the Cowboys.
Bibbs did his best CT impersonation and set new 2018 personal bests in every major receiving statistic. He received 5 targets and led or tied for the team lead in receptions (4), receiving first downs (2), receiving yards (43) and touchdowns (1).
Three of his four receptions gained 10 or more yards and his 23-yard TD on a screen pass was both the Redskins’ second longest play of the game and their only offensive touchdown on the day.
He was stopped for no gain on one of his two carries, but was able to pick up a 13-yard first down on his other rush. That was his longest run of the year and it gave him a new 2018 high in rushing yards.
Samaje Perine- Samaje Perine made his second appearance of the season and in as many weeks. After playing on 8 snaps against the Panthers, he only made it onto the field for 2 snaps in Sunday’s game.
Both of his snaps came on the opening drive of the second half and he touched the ball on both plays. Perine gained 7 yards on a 1st-and-10 rush, and then promptly lost 5 yards on the following play, which gave him a total of 2 yards on his two carries (1.0 YPC).
Chris Thompson- Despite missing his second consecutive game, CT still leads the Redskins in receptions (26) and YAC (162). He also ranks second on the team in yards from scrimmage (300), behind only Adrian Peterson (582).
Redskins Rushing- The Skins rushed for 130 yards and a 4.06 YPC average on 32 carries against the Dallas Cowboys. They have rushed for 130 or more yards in four of their six games (all wins), which ties them for the second most such games this season. Only the undefeated Rams have gained 130 yards on the ground in more games (5).
The offense failed to gain any yardage on ten of their rushes against the Cowboys, but made up for it by gaining 5-plus yards on ten other carries. Overall, they were successful on 41% of their rushing attempts.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Offensive Linemen (9 players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Shawn Lauvao * | 60 | 100% |
Morgan Moses * | 60 | 100% |
Chase Roullier * | 60 | 100% |
Brandon Scherff * | 60 | 100% |
Trent Williams * | 60 | 100% |
Ty Nsekhe | ST Only | 0% |
Tony Bergstrom | ST Only | 0% |
Geron Christian | Inactive | N/A |
Casey Dunn | Inactive | N/A |
Offensive Line (Team)- The line played a critical role in the win over the Cowboys.
Bill Callahan’s bunch paved the way for a rushing attack that gained 130 yards on the ground and averaged 1.88 yards before contact per attempt. They also helped the team pick up first downs on three of their five rushes with 1 or 2 yards to go.
The O-line did not commit a single penalty and was not responsible for allowing the lone sack on Alex Smith. Smith was only pressured on 10 of his 29 dropbacks (34.5%), and three of those pressures were credited to him and not the line.
Trent Williams- Trent Williams played on 100% of the snaps for the fourth straight game.
He only allowed one hurry and did not commit a penalty. This is progress for Williams, who had allowed an average of 4 pressures in the team’s last two contests and had committed a penalty in three of the Redskins’ five games coming into Week 7. His performance earned him the highest PFF grade on the offense (70.8).
Shawn Lauvao- Lauvao returned from a calf injury that has kept him on the sidelines since Week 3.
Unsurprisingly, he picked up right where he left off, by leading the team in QB pressures allowed (3) and giving up one of the two hits on Alex Smith. Lauvao has either led the team in pressures allowed and has surrendered three or more pressures in all three games he’s played in this year. He has also given up a QB hit in each of those games.
Going into Monday night, Lauvao’s 94.8 pass-blocking efficiency score ranked 156th out of the 173 offensive linemen who have pass blocked on at least 100 snaps.
His 47.7 PFF grade against the Cowboys ranked last on the offense. His 2018 overall grade of 50.5 ranks 179th out of 194 linemen with 100 or more snaps. But hey, at least Spencer Long (47.0) and Josh LeRibeus (35.0) are below him on that list, so it could be worse, right?
Chase Roullier- Chase Roullier only allowed one pressure in the game (a hurry). This was the first time he did not give up multiple pressures since Week 1 (1 QB hit allowed).
Brandon Scherff- Brandon Scherff didn’t a allow a single pressure for the second consecutive week and made a key block on the Redskins’ only offensive touchdown of the game.
Scherff is one of 54 guards who have played on 300 or more snaps this season and only four of the other 53 (Eric Kush, Kevin Zeitler, J.R. Sweezy and Shaq Mason) have allowed fewer pressures than he has this year (6).
His 69.5 PFF rating against Dallas ranked second on the offense.
Morgan Moses- Morgan Moses was responsible for two of the Cowboys’ pressures on Alex Smith (hit and hurry). This was the third straight game in which he gave up either a sack or a hit.
Moses has allowed multiple pressures in five of Washington’s six games this year and no player on the team has allowed more sacks (3), hits (4) and total pressures (12) than he has.
Ty Nsekhe- For the first time since Week 2 of the 2016 season (vs. Dallas), Nsekhe was active and did not play on a single offensive snap. Even when there are no injuries to the starters, he usually at least gets in for a play or two as a sixth offensive lineman.
Tony Bergstrom- Tony Bergstrom did not play on offense for the first time since Week 1. His only playing time on Sunday came on special teams (4 snaps).
Bergstrom allowed an average of 2.67 pressures and never posted a PFF grade above 60.5 in his three starts at center.
Casey Dunn- Lauvao’s return sent Casey Dunn back to the inactive list. Dunn was active for each of the team’s last three games and played on 6 combined special teams snaps in the Packers and Panthers games. He has yet to take a snap with the offense.
Geron Christian- Geron Christian has been inactive for all six of Washington’s 2018 games.
I understand that he is a “project” that the team intends to basically redshirt, but how good can this guy really be if he’s healthy and you won’t even activate him on game days? Why not draft somebody with that pick who can actually help you this year? I mean, we’re talking about a top-75 pick here and not a sixth or seventh rounder.
ALL OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
Offense (25 Players) | ||||||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | |
Shawn Lauvao * | 60 | 100% | Kapri Bibbs | 23 | 38% | |
Morgan Moses * | 60 | 100% | Jeremy Sprinkle | 19 | 32% | |
Chase Roullier * | 60 | 100% | Samaje Perine | 2 | 3% | |
Brandon Scherff * | 60 | 100% | Colt McCoy | 0 | 0% | |
Alex Smith * | 60 | 100% | Tony Bergstrom | ST Only | 0% | |
Trent Williams * | 60 | 100% | Jehu Chesson | ST Only | 0% | |
Josh Doctson * | 57 | 95% | Ty Nsekhe | ST Only | 0% | |
Jordan Reed * | 41 | 68% | Geron Christian | Inactive | N/A | |
Maurice Harris | 36 | 60% | Jamison Crowder | Inactive | N/A | |
Adrian Peterson * | 34 | 57% | Casey Dunn | Inactive | N/A | |
Brian Quick * | 31 | 52% | Paul Richardson | Inactive | N/A | |
Michael Floyd | 30 | 50% | Chris Thompson | Inactive | N/A | |
Vernon Davis * | 27 | 45% |
*All statistics are courtesy of Air Yards, ESPN, NBC Sports, NFL.com, NFL Gamebooks, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, Redskins.com, Sharp Football Stats and The Washington Post*
Poll
Where will Adrian Peterson rank in rushing yards when the 2018 season ends?
This poll is closed
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3%
1st-3rd
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35%
4th-6th
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47%
7th-10th
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11%
11th-15th
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1%
16th-20th
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0%
21st-25th
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1%
26th or lower