Snaps- Washington defensive coordinator Greg Manusky used 19 of his 25 defenders over 68 defensive snaps against the Falcons. The six who did not see the field on defense included two inactives (Adonis Alexander and Kenny Ladler) and four players who worked exclusively on special teams (Tim Settle, Caleb Brantley, Shaun Dion Hamilton and Zach Vigil).
QB Pressure- The defense extended their streak of games with a sack to 15 by taking down Matt Ryan behind the line of scrimmage twice. However, both plays came on a single Falcons’ touchdown drive. They were able to pressure Ryan on 30% of his dropbacks, but he lit them up to the tune of 296 yards and 4 touchdowns when not pressured.
Yards- The Redskins allowed season highs in both total yards (491) and yards per play this week. This was the second-worst showing in both categories by Washington’s defense in the last three seasons. They only allowed higher numbers in the 2017 overtime win against the Saints (535 yards and 8.1 yards per play).
Big Play Day- The Skins’ defense was gashed for seven plays that gained 20 or more yards, which is tied for their most such plays allowed this season (at New Orleans). Of the 30 plays they’ve surrendered 20 or more yards on, 14 of them (46.7%) have come against the Saints and Falcons.
Somehow, Washington still ranks seventh in the league in terms of the fewest number of 20-yard plays allowed.
Points- A total of 70 points were scored against the Redskins in their five wins this year, but they’ve given up 102 points on their three total losses, 81 of which came in their last two losses (vs. Saints and Falcons).
The Redskins are one of three teams that have both a winning record (.625) and a negative point differential (-12). The Dolphins and Bengals join them with this distinction. The ten other winning teams in the NFL have an average point differential of 57.9.
3rd Down- Washington’s defense on third down was absolutely atrocious in this game. Atlanta went 8-for-8 on third down to start the game and moved the sticks 2 of their final 5 third downs.
In all, the Falcons posted an insane 76.9% success rate on the money down against the Redskins (10-for-13), which is the highest conversion rate allowed by the Redskins in recorded history (data goes back to 1991). This figure is also tied for the eighth-highest conversion rate allowed by any team since Jay Gruden took over as head coach in 2014.
What’s perhaps even crazier is that Matt Ryan and company needed to gain 6 or more yards to move the chains on seven of their conversions (70%). Of Atlanta’s 491 yards, 202 or 41% of them came on third down. Wow, that is about as un-clutch as you can get.
Red Zone- The Falcons scored touchdowns on two of their three trips to the red zone and it only took them four plays to do so. They averaged 8.3 yards per play in the red zone and gained 9 yards or more on three of their four snaps inside Washington’s 20-yard line.
Takeaways- The defense’s only takeaway of the day was a Quinton Dunbar interception in the first quarter. The team has forced at least one turnover in each of their past 12 games. With the Seahawks failing to register a takeaway against the Chargers this past week, the Redskins now have the longest active streak of games with a takeaway in the NFL.
Tight End Defense- Austin Hooper was the only Atlanta tight end targeted in the game, but he caught all three of the passes thrown his way for 41 yards and a pair of 20-yard-plus first downs.
Rushing Defense- The Alabama Wall crumbled on Sunday, and yes, it already feels cliche to say that at this point. Say and spin it any way you like, but the Redskins’ run defense against the Falcons was horrendous.
Tevin Coleman, Ito Smith and Calvin Ridley combined to run the ball 24 times for 154 yards, a 6.42 YPC average, 6 first downs and a touchdown. The yardage total is 50 higher than the defense’s previous season high (104 yards vs. Indianapolis), and the YPC average is over a half a yard higher than their previous 2019 worst (5.88 YPC vs. Green Bay).
This was also quite an outlier for the Falcons, who had only gained more than 92 rushing yards or averaged more than 4.11 YPC once all season coming into the week (170 yards and 5.31 YPC vs. Carolina).
The same can be said for Tevin Coleman and Ito Smith. Smith set new career highs in rushing yards (60) and YPC (6.0), while Coleman put up either his first or second-best numbers in both categories himself (88 yards and 6.77 YPC). No player had rushed for more than 61 yards against the Redskins prior to Sunday and only two of them had gone over 43 yards (Jordan Wilkins with 61 yards and Mark Ingram with 53 yards). All of those numbers were put up in losses, but those players only averaged 12.3 carries in those games (high of 16 carries).
You might consider this sacrilegious, but I don’t think it’s crazy to wonder if the vaunted Alabama Wall might be something of an illusion. Sure the total yardage numbers are still great (5th in rushing yards per game allowed), but it’s worth noting that the Redskins’ defense ranks 28th in rushing-first-down percentage (27.6%), 29th is rushing DVOA (2.8%) and 29th in success rate (52%). Those are all very similar statistics, and maybe they are misleading, but I’m certainly not ready to dismiss them after this disastrous performance.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Defensive Linemen (5 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Daron Payne * | 56 | 82% |
Jonathan Allen * | 54 | 79% |
Matt Ioannidis * | 49 | 72% |
Tim Settle | ST Only | 0% |
Caleb Brantley | ST Only | 0% |
Matt Ioannidis- Ioannidis’ 72% defensive snap rate in Sunday’s game was a new season high and the second-highest playing-time clip of his three-year career.
The Ion Man tied for the team lead in both total pressures (3), tackles (7) and stops (5). His 6 solo tackles, 7 total tackles and 5 stops were all new career bests. He bested his previous personal record by two in all three of those categories.
One of Ioannidis’ pressures in this game was a sack. This was the fifth time in his career and since the start of last season that he’s recorded a sack in back-to-back contests. His 6.5 sacks this season are the most on the team and the second most among all interior defenders; Aaron Donald, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is the only ID with more sacks in 2018 (10).
The only Redskins interior D-lineman who have ever put up more sacks in a single season are Dave Butz (11.5), Darryl Grant (8) and Dan Wilkinson (8).
It seems crazy to say relative to where they were all selected in the draft the past few years, but Matt Ioannidis just might be the best defensive lineman on the team right now.
Jonathan Allen- This was, at the very least, one of the worst games of Allen’s as a pro. The former Alabama star and Virginia native was unable to generate a single pressure on his 30 pass-rushing snaps. This was just the second time he was both unable to register a single pressure and record multiple pressures in his 13-game career.
He also committed a penalty for the first time in the NFL. His neutral zone infraction gave the Falcons back the 5 yards they lost to a false start on the previous snap. The Falcons went on to score a touchdown two plays later.
On a positive note, Allen tied a career high with 3 solo tackles, two of which were counted as stops.
All in all, this was far from the type of game we’re used to seeing from Allen. His 36.7 PFF grade ranked second-to-last on the team and was the lowest grade of his career by a margin of approximately 20 points.
Daron Payne- Daron Payne led all Washing D-linemen in snaps played for the second consecutive week and for the third time this season.
His 56 snaps in the game were the second most of his career, but yet, he somehow only parlayed his increased reps into new season lows in both tackles (1 assist) and defensive stops (0). Payne also notched just one pressure (a hurry) on his 32 pass rushes. The rookie first-round pick had recorded at least 3 tackles and 2 pressures in each of his last five games prior to this past Sunday.
Payne’s lack of production didn’t stop PFF from giving him the second-highest grade on the defense (66.7). However, I think that says more about how poorly the defense played than it does about how well Payne did.
Tim Settle- After appearing on defense in the last two games, Settle was relegated back to a special-teams only role in this one. He has not recorded any statistics on his 27 defensive and 55 special teams snaps this season.
Caleb Brantley- Brantley suited up and played for the Skins for the third time this season and in as many weeks, but didn’t take a snap with the defense after making his first appearance on that side of the ball last week. Brantley will likely become a regular on the inactive list again because of the return of our next player.
Stacy McGee- Stacy McGee was activated to the roster from the PUP list on Tuesday. He spent the last several months recovering from groin surgery.
McGee played in all 16 games last season for the Redskins and set a new career high with 432 defensive snaps. Unfortunately, he failed to record a sack, a TFL or a takeaway of any kind in 2017. He was one of the 11 interior defenders who played over 400 snaps and did not score one sack on the year. He also only registered 4 hits and 13 total pressures.
Pass rushing is not McGee’s forte, though; he is a quality run stopper and tackler first and foremost. His 44 combined tackles last year were the second most by a Washington interior defender in the last 10 seasons (48 tackles by Chris Baker in 2016).
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS
Outside Linebackers (4 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Preston Smith * | 56 | 82% |
Ryan Kerrigan * | 52 | 76% |
Pernell McPhee | 16 | 24% |
Ryan Anderson | 12 | 18% |
Ryan Kerrigan- Kerrigan stayed hot by getting pressure three times on Sunday. He registered a hurry, scored a hit on a play that saw Ryan throw a pass which lost 2 yards, and recorded a sack for the fourth time in his last five games.
He is now up to 5.5 sacks in his last five games. Kerrigan trails only Aaron Donald (8), Danielle Hunter (7.5) and Bradley Chubb (6.5) in sacks since Week 5. Donald (33) and Fletcher Cox (28) are the only players with more pressures than Kerrigan (25) in that span.
He is on pace to finish the year with double-digit sacks for the fourth time (11), to pass Charles Mann for the second most sacks in franchise history (82.5 to 82) and to fall just short of setting a new career high in total QB pressures (73 to 70).
Preston Smith- Preston Smith’s disappointing 2018 season continued with yet another uninspiring performance.
The walk-year OLB was only able to hurry Matt Ryan twice on his 34 snaps as a pass rusher. He has only hit the opposing quarterback four times this season and has not recorded a sack in his last nine games, which is the longest such streak of his career by a margin of three games; his previous record was 6 straight games without a sack (once).
He recorded a single tackle in Sunday’s game, which represents the fourth time this year that he has made one takedown or less in a game.
Smith is on pace to post career lows in sacks, traditional QB hits (hits + sacks), defensive stops and TFLs. On the bright side, he’s also on his way to tally a career-high 52 total pressures, which would be a 33% improvement over the career-best 39 QB disruptions he generated last season.
Ryan Anderson- Anderson gutted it out through his knee strain and played 12 snaps against the Falcons. The second-year edge rusher only made one tackle and failed to generate any pressure for the third time in his last five games.
Pernell McPhee- Like Anderson, Pernell McPhee also recorded a single tackle, was unable to disrupt any of Matt Ryan’s dropbacks and hasn’t pressured the opposing QB in three games since Week 3.
The veteran outside backer has yet to make more than one tackle in a game this season and was credited with zero takedowns in four of his eight contests with the Redskins. He missed his second tackle of the year in Sunday’s game and has now made only two more tackles (4) than he’s whiffed on (2).
McPhee was targeted on one of his two coverage snaps and allowed a 4-yard reception that went for a first down on the play. He also defended a pass for the first time in 2018.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS
Inside Linebackers (5 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Mason Foster * | 68 | 100% |
Zach Brown * | 53 | 78% |
Josh Harvey-Clemons | 14 | 21% |
Shaun Dion Hamilton | ST Only | 0% |
Zach Vigil | ST Only | 0% |
Zach Brown- Zach Brown played on 78% of the snaps, which was his third-highest snap share of the year. The Redskins have lost all three games that he has played more than 77% of the snaps in.
This may have been Brown’s worst showing of the year. He only recorded 3 total tackles, which is two takedowns fewer than his season low coming into the game. Although, two of those tackles were counted as stops and one was a TFL that pushed the Atlanta offense back 2 yards.
ZB gave up receptions on two of the 4 targets thrown in his direction for 24 yards and one first down. The 26-yarder he surrendered to Julio Jones was the fifth-longest play of the game.
Brown’s performance on Sunday earned him a season-worst 53.0 PFF grade.
Mason Foster- Foster played even worse than Zach Brown on Sunday. He tied a season low with 5 total tackles (3 solo) and missed a tackle for the second time in as many weeks.
Mase allowed receptions on all 4 targets thrown into his coverage. On those plays, the Falcons gained 58 yards, picked up 3 first downs and scored a touchdown. The yardage total was the most he had given up since Week 2 of last season. This was also the first time a touchdown had been thrown against him since he joined the team in 2014.
Perhaps, his only saving grace was that he hurried Matt Ryan twice, despite only rushing him on ten snaps.
In Week 9, Mason Foster’s 35.5 PFF grade ranked dead last on the Redskins and 54th out of the 57 off-ball linebackers who played 30 or more snaps in Week 9. It was tied for the lowest rating he has received from the site as a member of the Redskins (Week 6 of 2017 vs. San Francisco).
Josh Harvey-Clemons- Josh Harvey-Clemons was only in for 20.6% of the snaps, his third-lowest playing-time clip of the season, but he made the most of the opportunities he got.
JHC recorded 3 tackles (2 solo), gave up just a single reception for 2 yards and hit Matt Ryan once on his 4 pass-rushing snaps. His 66.2 PFF grade for the game ranked third on the defense and was the second-highest rating of his career.
Shaun Dion Hamilton- Shaun Dion Hamilton is the only offensive or defensive player on the roster who has played in every game this season, but has yet to take a single snap from scrimmage.
Zach Vigil- Zach Vigil’s last defensive snap for the Redskins came in Week 2, when he was in for just one play.
CORNERBACKS
Cornerbacks (6 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Josh Norman * | 68 | 100% |
Fabian Moreau | 45 | 66% |
Danny Johnson | 36 | 53% |
Quinton Dunbar * | 26 | 38% |
Greg Stroman | 1 | 1% |
Adonis Alexander | Inactive | N/A |
Josh Norman- For the second time this season and since the start of last year, Josh Norman shadowed the opponent’s the top wideout. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well for Norman against Julio Jones as they did against Odell Beckham.
Norman was actually used at right corner more than he was at his typical left corner spot for the first time since Week 16 of 2016 (at Chicago) and he lined up against Jones on 69% of his routes.
All of the season-high 8 targets thrown into Norman’s coverage were against Julio, who waxed Norman to the tune of 5 receptions, 83 yards, 3 first downs and a touchdown. Two of the three first downs Norman allowed, including the touchdown, came on third down.
To be fair, there wasn’t much covering involved on Jones’ TD since the play came on a screen pass. The score snapped Julio’s streak of 12 games and 87 receptions without a touchdown. He gained 35 yards on the reception, which was the third-longest play of the game.
He was also responsible for giving up the longest “gain” of the day, when he committed an absolutely egregious 47-yard pass interference against Julio. That play happened to take place on third down, as well.
To his credit, J-No did defend a pair of passes against Jones, one of which came on the Falcons’ first offensive play, and recorded 6 tackles (3 solo and 2 stops).
His 67.0 PFF grade led all Washington defenders. Again, a 67.0 is not a good grade, so that tells you just how bad the Redskins were defensively on Sunday.
Norman is on pace to allow new career worsts in receptions and receiving yards. He has already given up a career-high 4 TD passes in his coverage this year.
Quinton Dunbar- Quinton Dunbar returned from a two-game absence (hamstring) and reminded Redskins fans what they had been missing in the defensive backfield.
Dunny defended and nearly picked off Matt Ryan’s third pass of the afternoon and racked up a team-high 3 PDs, all of which were recorded in the first 14 minutes of the contest. One of those PDs was an interception that Dunbar caught at the Redskins’ own 9-yard line and returned it 24 yards out to the 33. The pick snapped Ryan’s streak of 5 games and 215 passes without an interception. Dunbar’s 8 PDs and 2 INTs rank first and second on the team this season.
It wasn’t all roses for QD, though. He allowed all four of the other passes thrown his way to be caught for 42 yards and a team-high 4 first downs. Four of his 6 tackles (5 solo) were made after giving up receptions.
This was quite an eventful outing for Dunbar, since all of this happened on a season-low 27 snaps (40%). His playing time was cut short because he re-aggravated his injury throughout the game. He is day-to-day.
Danny Johnson- Danny Johnson was the primary beneficiary of Dunbar’s limited PT. Johnson who had only appeared on defense once this season, when he played just 3 snaps, was in on over half of the defensive plays against Atlanta (36 snaps).
He was unable to pass his first real test as an NFL defender. The undrafted corner out of Southern University was responsible for allowing 4 receptions for 56 yards, 2 first downs and a touchdown on just 4 targets and 21 coverage snaps. He was the primary defender on Calvin Ridley’s 40-yard TD, which was the longest play of the game.
Johnson did make a pair of solo tackles, including one TFL, but also missed a tackle.
Greg Stroman- Greg Stroman was essentially benched for Danny Johnson. Stroman’s single defensive snap of the day came at right corner on a Falcons’ passing play.
He is allowing 1.78 yards per coverage snap, which ranks last on the among all players on the team with 25 or more coverage snaps.
Fabian Moreau- Second-year CB, Fabian Moreau, also had a fairly rough day at the office. He was 2 snaps away from setting a new season-low in snap percentage, tied a season-high with 4 receptions allowed, gave up a 2018-worst 61 receiving yards and surrendered a touchdown in his coverage for the first time all season.
The only other time in his career when he’s given up a TD or allowed more than 61 yards was in the Week 6 matchup with the 49ers last year (64 yards and 1 TD).
He was also flagged for a 15-yard DPI against Mohamed Sanu. The Falcons scored a touchdown three plays later. Moreau has committed the most pass inference penalties on the team (3) and is tied with Morgan Moses for the most accepted penalties (6) among all Redskins players in 2018.
He made 3 assisted and 4 total tackles in the game and recorded the first PD of his 2018 season and the second one of his career.
Adonis Alexander- Dunbar’s return sent Alexander to the inactive list for the sixth time this season.
SAFETIES
Safeties (5 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
D.J. Swearinger * | 68 | 100% |
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix * | 48 | 71% |
Montae Nicholson | 22 | 32% |
Deshazor Everett | 4 | 6% |
Kenny Ladler | Inactive | N/A |
D.J. Swearinger- To say that D.J. Swearinger came crashing back to earth with his performance on Sunday would probably be an understatement.
After recording 5 tackles, picking off two passes and defending a pass at the goal line last week, Swearinger did not record a single traditional statistic of any kind on his 68 snaps against the Falcons. This was the first time Swearinger failed to dent the box score since Week 14 of the 2015 season; all six of his snaps in that game were on special teams.
This is something that had only happened five other times in his career, and all five of those games took place between Weeks 4 and 14 of his 2015 campaign. Swearinger was only on the field for a total of 12 defensive snaps in that span.
Matt Ryan threw at the swaggy South Carolina safety three times this past week, and Swearinger allowed one of those balls to be caught by tight end Austin Hooper for a 20-yard first down. The Falcons ran it in for a 12-yard touchdown on the next play.
His 40.1 Pro Football Focus grade for the game was a season low and his worst rating since Week 7 of last year (33.3 at Eagles). This low mark caused Swearinger to lose his spot as PFF’s top ranked safety. He now sits second behind Chicago’s Eddie Jackson (90.6 to 87.4).
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix- The Redskins acquired Ha Ha Clinton-Dix last week at the trade deadline and put him to work right away. The fifth-year safety started and was on the field for 71% of the defensive snaps. I guess you could say he was “eased in” considering that he hadn’t missed a snap for the Packers’ defense in over a year.
HHCD spent 41 of his 47 snaps at free safety and tied a team and personal season-high with 7 total tackles (5 solo tackles). He did, however, fail to take down Julio Jones short of the goal line on a 35-yard TD screen pass. Ha Ha was not targeted for the second time this season and in the last three weeks.
His 44.8 PFF grade for the game was his second-lowest rating of the year. His season-long grade and ranking dropped from 83.5 and fourth to 78.7 and 13th.
Montae Nicholson- As expected, Montae Nicholson saw his role change from every-down starting safety to part-time role player. Nicholson played on just about a third of the snaps after missing 5 snaps all season coming into the game.
Nicholson, like Clinton-Dix, was not targeted on any of his snaps in coverage. He finished the game with 3 solo and 4 total tackles.
Deshazor Everett- Everett still found a way to get some playing time on defense (4 snaps), even with Clinton-Dix in the fold. Everett has played on exactly 2 or 4 snaps in six of the team’s eight games. He has still not recorded a stat on defense, though.
Kenny Ladler- Last week’s return of Troy Apke and this week’s acquisition of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix led to Ladler being on the inactive list for the second straight game.
The Redskins waived Ladler on Tuesday in order to fit Stacy McGee on the roster. In what was his first regular season NFL action since 2014, Ladler played 5 games and 89 special teams snaps for Washington between Weeks 2 and 7. He still leads the team in total specials tackles, with 6 of them (5 assisted), despite not playing for the last two weeks.
Ladler did not take a snap with the Redskins’ defense this season. In fact, he has never played on defense in his regular-season career.
ALL DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
Defense (25 Players) | ||||||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | |
Mason Foster * | 68 | 100% | Montae Nicholson | 22 | 32% | |
Josh Norman * | 68 | 100% | Pernell McPhee | 16 | 24% | |
D.J. Swearinger * | 68 | 100% | Josh Harvey-Clemons | 14 | 21% | |
Daron Payne * | 56 | 82% | Ryan Anderson | 12 | 18% | |
Preston Smith * | 56 | 82% | Deshazor Everett | 4 | 6% | |
Jonathan Allen * | 54 | 79% | Greg Stroman | 1 | 1% | |
Zach Brown * | 53 | 78% | Caleb Brantley | ST Only | 0% | |
Ryan Kerrigan * | 52 | 76% | Shaun Dion Hamilton | ST Only | 0% | |
Matt Ioannidis * | 49 | 72% | Tim Settle | ST Only | 0% | |
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix * | 48 | 71% | Zach Vigil | ST Only | 0% | |
Fabian Moreau | 45 | 66% | Adonis Alexander | Inactive | N/A | |
Danny Johnson | 36 | 53% | Kenny Ladler | Inactive | N/A | |
Quinton Dunbar * | 26 | 38% |
SPECIAL TEAMS
Special Teams (29 Players) | ||||||
Player | Snaps | Snap % | Player | Snaps | Snap % | |
Jehu Chesson | 23 | 92% | Nick Sundberg | 7 | 28% | |
Deshazor Everett | 23 | 92% | Tress Way | 7 | 28% | |
Zach Vigil | 23 | 92% | Caleb Brantley | 6 | 24% | |
Greg Stroman | 18 | 72% | Ryan Kerrigan | 6 | 24% | |
Shaun Dion Hamilton | 17 | 68% | Daron Payne | 6 | 24% | |
Josh Harvey Clemons | 17 | 68% | Dustin Hopkins | 5 | 20% | |
Danny Johnson | 17 | 68% | Ha Ha Clinton-Dix | 3 | 12% | |
Jeremy Sprinkle | 16 | 64% | Tony Bergstrom | 2 | 8% | |
Ryan Anderson | 14 | 56% | Matt Ioannidis | 2 | 8% | |
Samaje Perine | 14 | 56% | Morgan Moses | 2 | 8% | |
Michael Floyd | 9 | 36% | Fabian Moreau | 2 | 8% | |
Montae Nicholson | 9 | 36% | Ty Nsekhe | 2 | 8% | |
Tim Settle | 8 | 32% | Chase Roullier | 2 | 8% | |
Jonathan Allen | 7 | 28% | Brandon Scherff | 1 | 4% | |
Kapri Bibbs | 7 | 28% |
Snaps- The Redskins used 29 players over the course of their 25 special teams snaps against the Falcons. The group of 29 was comprised of 16 defenders, 10 offensive players and 3 specialists. Eight players worked solely on special teams.
Just as they did in Weeks 7 and 8, Deshazor Everett, Zach Vigil and Jehu Chesson led the unit in snaps (23).
Dustin Hopkins- Dustin Hopkins didn’t attempt a single field goal against the Falcons. This was his first game without a field goal try since Week 15 of the 2015 season (vs. Buffalo). He remained perfect on PATs, by nailing both of his extra points in the contest.
All three of Hop’s kickoffs went for touchbacks. His 79.5% touchback rate on the year ranks fourth in the NFL.
Tress Way- Tress Way booted the ball five times for 245 yards against the Falcons. He averaged 49 yards per punt and posted a net average of 48.2, which are his second and first-highest averages of the year.
Way pinned the Falcons inside their own 20-yard line on four occasions, with one of those punts going a season-long 62 yards, which was tied for the fifth-longest kick of his career. Atlanta’s only return of the game was shut down at the 10-yard line after a 4-yard gain.
Tress Way ranks fourth in the NFL in punts inside the 20 per game (2.6) and leads the entire league in inside-the-20 rate (56.8%). Way and Bronco’s punter Colby Waldman are the only qualifying punters who have not kicked a single touchback this season.
Kick Coverage- Danny Johnson and Jehu Chesson teamed up to end the Falcons’ lone return of the contest at the 10-yard line after a 4-yard return. Chesson downed Way’s 62-yard punt at the Atlanta 19.
Kickoff Returns- The Redskins set new season highs in kickoff returns (5) and kickoff return yards (95).
Kapri Bibbs fielded his only return of the day at the 7 and returned it 19 yards out to the 26-yard line. Primary return man Greg Stroman handled a career-high 4 returns and gained 76 yards on those plays, his most return yardage as a pro. Stroman, like Bibbs, averaged 19 yards per return, but was only able to take one of his returns out past the 25-yard line (also to the 26).
Despite all of that, Washington ranks 29th in the league with 180 KO return yards this season.
Punt Returns- Greg Stroman returned one punt on Sunday but was stopped for no gain on the return. He wisely called for a fair catch on the Falcons’ only other punt of the day.
Atlanta did not willingly give the ball away to the Redskins via a punt until there was 6:04 left in the third quarter. That tells you all you need to know about how the Redskins’ defense played in this game.
*All statistics are courtesy of ESPN, NBC Sports, NFL.com, NFL Gamebooks, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, Redskins.com and The Washington Post*
Poll
How many more games will the defense allow 100 rushing yards in this season?
This poll is closed
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7%
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24%
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37%
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7%
5 or more