Snaps- The Washington Redskins used 19 of their 25 offensive players over the course of 62 snaps in Sunday’s matchup with the New York Giants.
Of the six who did not play, five were inactive (Colt McCoy, Kapri Bibbs, Samaje Perine, Tony Bergstrom and Demetrius Rhaney) and one was active, but did not take a snap of any kind (Zac Kerin).
Yards- Of the team’s 288 offensive yards against the Giants, 237 or 82% were gained after halftime. They started the second half down by a score of 34-0.
The team is averaging just 283 yards since Week 11, which ranks 30th in the league ahead of only the Jaguars (265.5) and Cardinals (256.3). That’s not much better than their season-long ranking of 27th, though (320.7).
Points- The Skins did not score on their first 11 drives of the game and only put up 16 points on a Giants’ defense that ranks 23rd in points allowed this season. All 16 points were scored with under 12 minutes left in the game and after the Giants had already dropped 40 points on them.
This was the ninth time this team has been unable to top 21 points in 2018. Only the Cardinals (12) and Jaguars (10) have been worse in that regard. Washington’s 19.2 PPG average this year ranks 28th in league.
3rd & 4th Down- The Redskins have struggled badly all year on third-down, but on Sunday afternoon they put up their worst numbers of the season by only converting on 2-of-11 tries for a lowly 18.2% conversion rate. That clip isn’t just a season low, it’s also their fifth-lowest since 2015.
Both of the successful attempts came within four yards of the line to gain, with one ending in a touchdown. This was probably mainly the result of the team needing to gain seven or more yards on 7 of their 11 third downs.
Washington now ranks 26th in the league for third-down conversion percentage (35.7%). Their 25% success rate on the money down since Week 12 (8-of-32) ranks dead last in the NFL.
They also went for it once on fourth down, but came up a yard shy and turned the ball over on downs.
Red Zone- The offense went 1-for-2 in the red area. Josh Johnson rushed for an 8-yard touchdown, threw an incomplete pass, completed a 6-yard pass and was picked off on the team’s four plays inside the Giants’ 20-yard line.
The real problem here was that Washington didn’t reach the New York red zone until the fourth quarter. In fact, they didn’t even cross midfield until there was about two minutes left in the third quarter.
Giveaways- The aforementioned red-zone pick was the team’s third interception and turnover of the afternoon, both of which were tied for season highs (Week 12 at Cowboys).
In Weeks 1-10, a span in which Alex Smith played every offensive snap in, the Redskins only turned the ball over seven times and had a plus-11 margin. The team ranked first and third in those categories, respectively.
Since Smith broke his leg in Week 11, the team has given the ball away nine times and owns a -4 TO margin. They ranked 30th and 28th in those statistics during that span.
And of course, let’s not forget that Washington has gone 0-4 since Week 11, after they started out with a mark of 6-3 over the course of Weeks 1-10.
Penalties- The Redskins set new season highs in both total penalties (17) and accepted penalties (15) and accrued their second-most penalty yards of the year (135). The offense was responsible for 11 of the total infractions and 10 of the accepted ones.
The 15 accepted penalties are tied for the most by any team this season and were the most by a Redskins’ team in a regulation-length contest since 1948 (6th most since 1940 among all Redskins’ games).
Only Bills and Chiefs have committed more accepted penalties (99) and have been charged with more penalty yards (896) this season. Washington is on pace to rack up 1,103 penalty yards this year, which would be their second-most since at least 1940.
#FireBruceAllen- I’ve been a part of this movement for a while now, but it’s clearly time for me to start publicly campaigning for it again. So, to that end, I will be including at least one statistic that shows how bad Bruce Allen has been in every one of my articles until he is fired.
The Redskins are the only team in the NFL that has not had at least one of their players be named First-Team All-Pro (Associated Press) since 2010, Bruce Allen’s first full year with team. The Chargers are the only other franchise which has not had at least two of their players make the AP1 team in that span. The player from LA/SD who did earn this honor (Eric Weddle) did it twice, though.
QUARTERBACKS
Quarterbacks (3 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Mark Sanchez * | 33 | 53% |
Josh Johnson | 29 | 47% |
Colt McCoy | Inactive | N/A |
Mark Sanchez (Traditional Stats)- Mark Sanchez might be the worst quarterback currently on an NFL roster and showed it on Sunday. This was literally one of the worst quarterback performances of the year and in franchise history.
The Sanchize completed 6-of-14 passes, gained just 38 yards on those throws, did not throw a touchdown or a first down, was sacked five times and threw 2 interceptions, one of which was returned for a pick-six. He did not gain any rushing yards either. The yardage, touchdown, sack and first down totals were all season worsts by a Redskins QB.
Sanchez posted a 10.7 passer rating, 2.71 YPA and a -3.71 adjusted YPA in the game, with the latter two of those being new career lows. Here is where those numbers rank this year among all quarterbacks (minimum 10 attempts): 2nd-worst, 3rd-worst and worst. Only Nathan Peterman and Tyrod Taylor were worse in any of those three statistics.
Let’s take it another step further, shall we. Here is where those same figures rank among all Redskins’ players since the merger: 7th-worst, 6th-worst and 7th-worst.
Mark Sanchez (Advanced Stats)- Sanchez did not complete a single deep pass and his only completion under pressure gained 10 yards, which was his longest play of the game.
His QBR against the Giants was a pathetic 1.0, which is the second-lowest rating by a qualifying signal caller this season (0.8 by Nathan Peterman in Week 1).
Sanchez is now tied for the lowest adjusted interception rate (83 interception % index) among all qualifying quarterbacks in NFL history. He is the owner of the fifth-worst unadjusted-for-era INT rate in the last 25 years (3.84%).
I don’t care about the dropped passes and penalties, this was a god-awful showing, any way you cut it. Mark Sanchez should never step foot on an NFL field again.
Josh Johnson (Traditional Stats)- Sanchez was benched following the first drive of the second half, and rightfully so. Journeyman Josh Johnson replaced him for the final 29 snaps of the game.
These were Johnson’s first snaps in an NFL game since the 2013 season, and his 29 snaps eclipsed his total from 2012 and 2013 combined (16). This was also the first time he’s attempted a pass in the regular season since 2011. The 6 years and 363 days between his passing attempts are the most by any player since Doug Flutie went 8 years and 277 days between passes. Flutie had a much better excuse though, as he was busy winning three Grey Cups and three CFL MVP awards during his NFL hiatus.
On Sunday, Johnson completed 11 of his 16 passes for 195 yards, 5 first downs, a touchdown and an interception. He was not sacked once.
His 68.8% completion rate, 104.9 passer rating, 70.8 raw QBR and 12.2 YPA ranked 4th, 3rd, 4th and 1st by a Washington signal caller this year. Every one of those figures represented a new career high for Johnson (minimum of 10 attempts).
Josh Johnson (Rushing)- Johnson gained 45 yards, scored a touchdown and picked up 4 first downs, two of which accounted for all of the team’s third-down conversions, on his 7 carries against the Giants. He led the team in rushing yards, first downs and touchdowns, all of which were also career highs.
His 45 yards on the ground were the most by a Redskins’ QB since the start of the 2015 season. Robert Griffin is the only Washington signal caller who has gained more rushing yards in a single contest in the last ten years.
Redskins QB Roulette- Johnson will be the the fourth quarterback to start for the Redskins in 2018, which will mark the first time in franchise history that the team has started more than three different QBs in a single season. All four of the team’s quarterbacks this year-are 32 or older.
Colt McCoy- Colt McCoy is still on the active roster, because the team is hoping that he can return if they make a playoff run. Expect him to be put on IR in a week or two.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Wide Receivers (5 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Josh Doctson * | 55 | 89% |
Jamison Crowder * | 54 | 87% |
Maurice Harris * | 35 | 56% |
Michael Floyd | 31 | 50% |
Jehu Chesson | 1 | 2% |
Josh Doctson- Doctson was in for 88.7% of the offensive snaps and caught 4-of-5 targets for 3 first downs and a career-high 84 yards. The third-year wideout was responsible for Washington’s second, third and fifth-longest plays against the Giants. His gains of 31 and 30 yards were the seventh and eighth-biggest plays of his career.
He’s posted five of his ten highest yardage totals in the last five weeks (30 NFL games). This was also the third straight week he’s topped 50 yards, which is quite something considering he had never gone over 40 yards in back-to-back games until about a month and a half ago.
There is no doubt that Doctson put up good numbers in this one, but I do think it’s important to point out that pretty much all of his production came on the Redskins’ final offensive drive of the game. With less than six minutes left in the contest, Doctson got 60% of his targets, 66.7% of his first downs and 72.6% of his yards on a three-play stretch at the end of the aforementioned drive.
Doctson’s biggest mistake of the afternoon occurred on one of those plays, as well. After hauling in his 31-yard reception and taking it to the New York 3-yard line, he was flagged for a 15-yard taunting penalty. He was targeted on the very next play, but the pass was intercepted at the goal line.
Getting flagged for taunting when you’re down by more than 20 points is not a good look, but it’s becoming something of a habit for Doctson. He was also tagged with a taunting infraction against the Falcons when his team was losing by 21 points.
Doctson is currently in the concussion protocol.
Jamison Crowder- Jamison Crowder struggled for the better part of the game, but saved face with one huge fourth-quarter play.
The walk-year slot receiver caught two of the 7 targets thrown his way for a season-high 87 yards and a touchdown (second of the year). His yardage total bested his previous 2018-high by 32 yards. Crowder’s 28.6% catch rate was a new career low.
He set another personal record with 3 drops. Two of those drops came on what would’ve been chain-moving grabs on third down and the other one was picked off at the Washington 28-yard line; the Giants scored a touchdown three snap later.
Crowder did find some redemption when he took his final target and reception of the day to the house for a 79-yard touchdown. It was the longest play of the game and his longest reception as a pro by a margin of 24 yards. The play also bested the team’s previous long reception of the year by 26 yards (53-yard TD to Vernon Davis on Thanksgiving).
Overall, it was the Skins’ second-longest offensive play of the year (90-yard rushing TD by Adrian Peterson last week) and their sixth-longest in the last ten years.
That one great reception was not enough to make up for his shortcomings against the Giants, though. He earned a career-worst 46.0 grade from Pro Football Focus.
Maurice Harris- Mo Harris started for the fifth time in the last six weeks and played on more than half of the snaps for the tenth consecutive game.
He didn’t haul in his lone target in the contest, which made this his third straight game without a catch. Harris has not caught any of his last 10 targets. Since Week 11, he ranks dead last among all wide receivers in catch percentage (9.1%), yards per target (1.18) and yards per route run (0.14).
I know a lot of Redskins fans wanted Harris to happen, but at this point I’m not sure that he ever will.
Michael Floyd- Michael Floyd’s 30 snaps, 50% snap share and 20 routes run on Sunday, represented his second-highest playing-time figures in each of those categories since October of last year.
Per usual, Floyd was unable to cash in on the majority of the chances he received in the game. His first target was tipped at the line, picked off and returned for a New York touchdown. He couldn’t haul in a TD of his own on an end-zone target thrown to him from the Giants’ 22-yard line. However, Floyd did score in the game, as his only catch of the day came on the Redskins’ second two-point conversion of the afternoon.
He is the owner of the sixth worst yards-per-target (4.13) and yards-per-route-run (0.50) averages among all wide receivers with 10 or more targets this season.
Jehu Chesson- Chesson played on offense for the first time since Week 10. Like in Week 2 when he was targeted for the only time this season, he got an opportunity on offense on his lone snap of the game and blew it.
In Week 2, he didn’t come back to a catchable ball on a third-down play and the pass fell incomplete. On Sunday, Chesson was tackled 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage on a jet sweep. That was just the third touch of the wide receiver’s career, and he has only gained 14 yards of offense on those plays (21 career games).
TIGHT ENDS
Tight Ends (3 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Vernon Davis | 49 | 79% |
Jeremy Sprinkle * | 16 | 26% |
Jordan Reed | 7 | 11% |
Jordan Reed- Jordan Reed played on just 7 snaps before being forced from the game with a toe injury. The 7 snaps are tied for the career low he set in the 2014 regular season opener against the Texans.
He dropped his lone target on the fourth play of the afternoon. It was only his fourth drop since the start of 2016.
His 34.3 PFF grade for the game ranked second-to-last on the team and was a new career low.
Reed will, in all likelihood, not return this season. His 13 games played are one shy of the career high he set in 2015. He did, however, set a new personal record in number of consecutive games played to start a season.
Even if he does miss the final three games of the year, Reed will still likely finish first or second on the team in targets (84, leads by 14), receptions (54, leads by 15) and receiving yards (558, leads by 89).
All of those figures represent the third-highest totals of his career. Unfortunately, he also set career lows or posted his second-worst numbers as a pro in receptions per game (4.2, worst), catch percentage (64.3%, worst), yards per target (6.64, 2nd worst) and yards per route run (1.64, 2nd worst).
Reed turns 29 next July and will count $9.7M against the cap in 2019; the team could save approximately $6.1M by moving on from him in the offseason ($3.6M in dead cap).
Vernon Davis- Reed leaving the game early allowed Vernon Davis to set new season highs in both snaps (49), snap rate (79%) and routes run (30).
VD caught all four of his passes for 31 yards, but only moved the chains on one of those plays. He also chipped in with a two-point conversion following the team’s first touchdown; it was the just the second two-pointer of his career. Davis forced 3 missed tackles, as well, which was his highest total since his first game with the Redskins (Week 1 of the 2016 season vs. Steelers).
All four of his looks in the passing game came in the second half of Sunday’s contest.
Jeremy Sprinkle- Reed’s departure did not result in significantly more PT for Jeremy Sprinkle (16 snaps and 25.8% snap rate).
He was not targeted either. Even if Reed is, in fact, done for the year, I would be surprised if the second-year blocking tight end even averaged one target per game in Weeks 15-17.
RUNNING BACKS
Running Backs (5 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Chris Thompson | 25 | 40% |
Adrian Peterson * | 19 | 31% |
Byron Marshall | 18 | 29% |
Kapri Bibbs | Inactive | N/A |
Samaje Perine | Inactive | N/A |
Adrian Peterson- Adrian Peterson played on just 30.6% of the Redskins’ offensive snaps against the Giants, which was his second-lowest snap share in over a calendar year (21.3% at Saints in Week 5).
Peterson did not have a 90-yard score to buoy his stat line this week, and as a result he posted some very poor numbers. AP gained just 16 yards and only picked up one first down on his 10 carries (1.60 YPC). Just as with the snaps, the only game he put up worse rushing yardage and YPC figures in was against the Saints (6 yards and 1.50 YPC). Peterson’s single first down on the ground also tied a season low (four other games).
He picked up 12 of his 16 yards on his long carry of the day. Peterson only gained more than a single yard on one other tote (4 yards). He had four runs a piece that gained 1 yard or that were stopped for a loss or no gain. In all, 80% of his runs gained a yard or less. AP still leads the league in rushes which failed to gain positive yardage (49), and those plays account for just under a quarter of his runs this year (24.3%).
This type of performance from Peterson in a loss is nothing new. Here are his averages across the team’s seven losses when you subtract last week’s 90-yard touchdown: 10 attempts, 21.9 rushing yards, 2.19 YPC, 1.6 first downs and 0.3 TDs. Sunday’s game represented the fifth time this season that he’s been held to a single first down and under 40 yards and a 3-yard average.
His lone reception against the Giants gained 3 yards.
Somehow his 71.0 grade ranked first on the offense.
Chris Thompson- Thompson led the RB corps in snaps for the second week in a row (25 and 40%). This marks just the second time this season that no Washington running back played on 50% or more of the snaps.
Unfortunately, just like last week, Thompson didn’t do much with the opportunities he got. For the second straight game, CT caught 3-of-5 targets, dropped a pass and picked up a single first down through the air, but he gained a total of just 15 yards on his catches (18 at Eagles in Week 13).
He did fare slightly better in the running game, though. The Redskins’ third-down back gained 23 yards and moved the chains once on his three carries (7.67 YPC). Two of his rushes gained more than 10 yards, but the other one was stopped for no gain on a 3rd-and-2 play.
Thompson surrendered a hurry on his 5 pass-blocking snaps.
CT earned a 45.0 PFF rating for the performance, his lowest grade since Week 17 of the 2015 season (44.0).
Byron Marshall- Marshall has seen his playing time fluctuate from 17 (22.7%) in his first game after returning from IR, to 1 (1.6%) against the Cowboys and, finally, to a season-high 18 (29%) on Sunday.
He gained 4 yards on a 1st-and-10 carry, which was his only rush of the day. Marshall caught all three of his targets for a total of 13 yards; he did not come within 3 yards of the line to gain on any of those plays. Every one of his touches came in the fourth quarter.
Kapri Bibbs- Bibbs was inactive for the first time since Week 3, when he was called up to active roster. He played solely on special teams last week against the Eagles.
I’m not really sure why Marshall was inactive over Bibbs, who has averaged 6.2 yards per touch and scored four times this season.
Samaje Perine- This was the ninth game in which Samaje Perine was inactive this season. He’s only played on offense in three of the four games he’s been active for this year. Perine played in all 16 contests with the team as a rookie in 2017 and was on the field for 36 of a possible 39 games in his three years at Oklahoma.
Redskins Rushing- Washington ran the ball 22 times for 84 yards, a 3.82-average, 6 first downs and a touchdown. They gained 5-plus yards on eight of their carries (36%), while failing to gain any ground or going backwards on six rushes (27%). Not bad.
The problem was that five of the other rushes only gained a single yard. Add up the last two figures and you find that half of the team’s rushes gained 1 yard or less. That and their only touchdown, two-thirds of their first downs and 54% of their yards came via quarterback Josh Johnson’s legs.
Washington ranks 25th in rushing yards per game since Week 9 (97.8).
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Offensive Linemen (9 players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Morgan Moses * | 62 | 100% |
Ty Nsekhe * | 62 | 100% |
Chase Roullier * | 62 | 100% |
Trent Williams * | 62 | 100% |
Austin Howard * | 33 | 53% |
Luke Bowanko | 29 | 47% |
Zac Kerin | 0 | 0% |
Tony Bergstrom | Inactive | N/A |
Demetrius Rhaney | Inactive | N/A |
Offensive Line (Team)- The line did not block well for the team’s backs and receivers. The team averaged just 2.60 yards per attempt and picked up 2 first downs on their 15 non-quarterback runs. They were stopped for no gain or a loss on 40% of those plays (6-of-15). Two of the team’s three rushes with two or more yards to go on third or fourth down were stopped shy of the sticks.
On top of that, Washington’s QBs were pressured on 37.5% of their dropbacks, with five of those plays ending in a sack. The Skins rank 20th in the league with a 7.5% sack rate this season (35 sacks).
And we haven’t even gotten to the penalties yet. Six of the team’s 15 accepted penalties (not including one declined) were committed by O-linemen. The Redskins now lead the league in accepted offensive holding infractions (27) and rank second in false starts (24).
That’s over 50 combined holding and false starts for the Skins’ offense. They only had 34 of those types of penalties go against them all of last season.
Trent Williams- Trent Williams was only officially charged with allowing a single QB hit, but I wouldn’t argue with you if you wanted to place some responsibility on him for allowing two of the Giants’ four sacks on Sunday. After all, it was the man he was blocking, Olivier Vernon, who led the G-Men with 1.5 sacks.
He also committed a holding penalty at the Redskins’ own 2-yard line that was declined because of a TFL on Adrian Peterson.
Nevertheless, Williams’ 67.6 PFF grade ranked second on the offense.
Ty Nsekhe- Nsekhe made the 15th start of his career and just his second start as a guard (Week 13 of 2017 at Cowboys).
He played all 62 snaps at left guard and didn’t allow a single pressure for the third time this year (minimum 30 snaps). Nsekhe did, however, commit an illegal use of hands penalty that ended up negating a 13-yard first-down reception by Josh Doctson.
Chase Roullier- Thirty-three players have taken snaps with the Redskins’ offense this season, but Chase Roullier is the only one of them who has yet to miss a single snap. This was the 17th straight game he’s played on every offensive snap in.
Roullier, did, however surrender a QB hurry and commit a career-high two penalties. In fact, he had only committed two penalties in his first 25 games as a pro, and both of them were declined; on Sunday, he was flagged on back-to-back snaps (ineligible downfield pass and false start).
Austin Howard- The Austin Howard at guard experiment officially failed on Sunday. In what was his first game as a starting guard since 2014, Howard committed a holding penalty the play before Sanchez’s second interception and allowed a team-high 3 pressures, one or two (depending on how you look at it) of which went for a sack.
The sacks came on the first and third offensive plays for the Redskins of the second half. Howard was promptly benched for Luke Bowanko after that.
Howard’s career-worst 32.1 PFF (96 games) grade ranked dead last on the team and second-worst among all offensive linemen who played 20 or more offensive snaps in Week 14.
Luke Bowanko- Bowanko took over for Howard at left guard and played the final 29 snaps of the game.
He did not surrender a single pressure or a commit a penalty on the day. This was the first time he accomplished that feat in a game in which he played more than a dozen snaps since his rookie season (2014).
Morgan Moses- Morgan Moses’ struggles continued on Sunday. He was not charged with allowing any pressures, but the defender he was responsible for blocking did record a half sack. Moses was flagged for a false start on the following play. He was also penalized for a false start the play before another Giants’ sack.
He leads the NFL in both total penalties (14), accepted penalties (12) penalties and offensive holding infractions (7) this season. Only one player has been flagged for more false starts (6 to Bobby Hart’s 8).
Not only are his 14 penalties this year a career high, they eclipse his combined total from 2016 and 2017 (14 to 13).
Zac Kerin- Kerin was active, but did not play on Sunday.
He has only played in one game since the start of the 2017 season. In that contest, he played all 70 offensive snaps at left guard for the Lions against the Falcons. Kerin allowed 5 hurries and committed a penalty in the game.
Demetrius Rhaney- Rhaney was on the inactive list for his first game back with the team.
Of Rhaney’s 123 career snaps on offense, 119 came in an eight-day span in November of the 2015 season.
Tony Bergstrom- Bergstrom’s ankle injury sidelined him for the game. He will likely miss this coming week’s game against the Jaguars, as well.
His 51.6 PFF grade on the year ranks 68th out of 84 qualifying guards this season.
ALL OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
Offense (25 Players) | ||||||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | |
Morgan Moses * | 62 | 100% | Chris Thompson | 25 | 40% | |
Ty Nsekhe * | 62 | 100% | Adrian Peterson * | 19 | 31% | |
Chase Roullier * | 62 | 100% | Byron Marshall | 18 | 29% | |
Trent Williams * | 62 | 100% | Jeremy Sprinkle * | 16 | 26% | |
Josh Doctson * | 55 | 89% | Jordan Reed | 7 | 11% | |
Jamison Crowder * | 54 | 87% | Jehu Chesson | 1 | 2% | |
Vernon Davis | 49 | 79% | Zac Kerin | 0 | 0% | |
Maurice Harris * | 35 | 56% | Tony Bergstrom | Inactive | N/A | |
Austin Howard * | 33 | 53% | Kapri Bibbs | Inactive | N/A | |
Mark Sanchez * | 33 | 53% | Colt McCoy | Inactive | N/A | |
Michael Floyd | 31 | 50% | Samaje Perine | Inactive | N/A | |
Luke Bowanko | 29 | 47% | Demetrius Rhaney | Inactive | N/A | |
Josh Johnson | 29 | 47% |
*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
Besides injuries, what has been the biggest problem for the Redskins’ offense this season?
This poll is closed
-
15%
Penalties
-
26%
Lack of playmakers
-
16%
Poor quarterback play
-
22%
Coaching/scheme
-
10%
Poor play from stars (Williams, Moses, Reed, Crowder, etc.)
-
9%
Lack of clutch plays (third down, red zone, end of game, etc.)