Giants vs Redskins: What we learned from the Week 14 matchup

All right, buckle up. This will not be a typical game analysis; it is tough to skim over the more significant issues of this team. The Redskins were down 34 points to the Giants by halftime and trailed by 40 before scoring their first point, and it gets no worse than that. Undoubtedly at this point, head coach Jay Gruden is coaching for his job, and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

Last week against the Philadelphia Eagles was a microcosm of the season; the Redskins 40-16 home defeat against the New York Giants? That performance was an organizational failure. Yes, there is not a lot one can do when you find yourself down to your third and fourth quarterback on the season. However, the failure on the offensive side of the ball, the collective team failures, goes way beyond just one position. The defense continues to regress at a shockingly high level; they cannot defend the run or pass.

Essential players on the defense are continuously playing out of position in the run fits, taking bad angles, and focusing on the “big play” and not the “right play.” Coaching has not hit home to the players, and this is the side of the football that is nearly completely healthy with the addition of a player who supposedly boosted the team in safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. If the coaches cannot put the players in good position to win on a given play, let alone get them to buy into you as a playcaller or coordinator, what does that say about everyone involved? Evaluations are needed.

Jay Gruden and his coaching staff are not the only ones on the hot seat, and there are players on this roster who are in the final year of their respective contracts or on a “prove-it” deal. The homegrown players, Jamison Crowder and Preston Smith, are heading towards free agency following the conclusion of the 2018 season. To this point, there have been no rumors of extension talks for either player, and there should not be at the moment. Crowder, who has played only six games this year due to injury, and mostly played the last two seasons hurt, has been ineffective following a promising 2016 season. Preston Smith has 3.5 sacks this year, and we are heading into week 15, safe to say that is all that is needed to be said about Smith. His career in Washington has been entirely underwhelming, hot streaks have defined each of his first four seasons in the NFL; however, this year he has yet to even reach that point. Although I truly believe he will find a scheme and team that works best for him, this is a bad way to head into free agency.

I write all this to say, the failures of this team do not stop at just the coaching level or regression of the Redskins players, team president Bruce Allen has evaded the Dan Snyder ax for some time now. Barring another disastrous loss such as the one against the Giants, do not expect any mid-season changes. Under owner Daniel Snyder firings before the conclusion of the season do not happen, and that is entirely understandable. However, for as long as Snyder has employed Allen, the Redskins have had a losing record on the field, faced media scrutiny in situations that could be handled ten times better than what they were, and the fans of Washington have endured player signings (or lack thereof) and staff hirings that were known to be weak from the start.

In the end, what we learned from the Giants loss this past Sunday was more significant than the results specifically from that game, the Redskins organization is losing their fan base yet again. At this point it will be on Washington to make the correct decisions in the off-season to begin “earning” the trust of their fans back, until then, the apathy and resentment will continue to drive the collective fan feelings regarding the team.