Snaps- Jay Gruden utilized 18 of his 26 offensive players and one defender (Ryan Anderson) over the course of 62 offensive snaps in Saturday’s game against the Titans.
Of the nine who did not play, seven were inactive (Colt McCoy, Maurice Harris, Samaje Perine, Vernon Davis, Jordan Reed, Tony Bergstrom and Ty Nsekhe), one played solely on special teams (Jehu Chesson) and one was active, but did not take a snap of any kind (Mark Sanchez).
Yards- The offense gained 292 total net yards and failed to crack 300 for the fourth consecutive week and for the eighth time this season.
The team ranks 28th in both yards per play (5.1) and yards per game (313.7). Those are their lowest rankings in either category since 2004.
The Drive- Washington’s lone touchdown drive in Saturday’s game was easily their best drive of the entire season.
The team overcame 2 penalties, a sack and a 2nd-and-27 from their own 2-yard line on the possession which lasted 17 plays and 10:58 of game time. It was the second and third-longest drive by any team this season in terms of game time and number of plays, respectively.
No other Skins’ offensive drive in the last 25 years used more game clock. Only one of the team’s other possessions in that span featured more plays (18).
Nearly a third of the team’s net yards (31.8%) and over 40% of their points (44%) and first downs (41%) were picked up on that drive. Half of their drives in the game went three-and-out or ended with a turnover.
Points- The Redskins scored 16 points for the third consecutive week and for the fourth time this year. They dropped to 2-2 in those contests, but they are lucky to have that record in those games. The rest of the league is 2-13 (.133) when they score exactly 16 points this season.
The Burgundy and Gold scored their first points on the game’s opening drive, but they blew the lead and lost the game by 9 points. This was the first time all season the Redskins scored first and failed to pull out a victory (1-7).
3rd Down- The offense was able to move the chains on 8-of-15 third-down plays, which gave them a season-best 57.1% conversion rate for the game. You have to go back almost two full years to find the last time the Skins had a success rate that high on the money down (61.5% vs. Bears in Week 16 of 2016).
Three of the Skins’ four longest plays came on third down.
Red Zone- Josh Johnson and company made it to the red zone twice on Saturday and scored a touchdown on one of those drives. Their unsuccessful trip to the red area ended with a third-down sack.
Giveaways- Washington did not fumble for just the fourth time this season and for the first time since Week 10. The team was turnover-free for the first 58 minutes of the game, but 2 interceptions were thrown following the two-minute warning.
Their 11 turnovers since Week 11 (6 games) are the fifth most in the NFL. They turned it over four fewer times in their first nine games of the year.
#FireBruceAllen- Just 11 different Redskins have made it to the Pro Bowl since Bruce Allen’s first full season running the team (2010), and Allen played no part in the acquisition of three of those players (Brian Orakpo, Lorenzo Alexander and London Fletcher). Only the Lions and Rams have had fewer players make the Pro Bowl in that span (10 each).
Washington ranks 23rd in number of player Pro Bowl seasons (25) with Allen at the helm. However, 44% of those seasons come from just two players (Trent Williams and Ryan Kerrigan). Orakpo, Alexander and Fletcher were responsible for just under a quarter of them.
QUARTERBACKS
Quarterbacks (3 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Josh Johnson * | 62 | 100% |
Mark Sanchez | 0 | 0% |
Colt McCoy | Inactive | N/A |
Josh Johnson (Traditional Stats)- Josh Johnson started consecutive games for the first time since Weeks 6 and 7 of the 2009 season and completed 13 of his 23 passes for 153 yards, 9 first downs, a touchdown and 2 interceptions. He was sacked twice and lost a total of 22 yards on the plays.
This marked the first time in Johnson’s career that he passed for over 150 yards or threw a touchdown in three straight games.
He threw both of his interceptions in the final 90 seconds of the game, the second of which was returned for a pick-six. Colt McCoy was the only one of the four Redskins’ quarterbacks who did not throw an interception that was returned for a touchdown this season. Johnson has now thrown multiple interceptions in three of his seven career starts.
His 55.2 passer rating and 56.5% completion rate were the fourth and fifth-lowest figures posted by a Washington signal caller in either category this season. He ranks outside of the top-30 in the following passing effeciency metrics this season (min. 50 attempts): completion percentage (31st, tied with Alex Smith), passer rating (35th) and adjusted net yards per attempt (32nd).
Josh Johnson (Advanced Stats)- Johnson held the ball an average of 3.35 seconds before attempting passes in Saturday’s game, which was the highest average among all qualifying QBs in Week 16. Both of his sacks and one of his interceptions came on dropbacks in which he remained in the pocket for longer than 2.5 seconds. However, his passer rating actually fell by almost 50 points when he attempted passes in under 2.5 seconds.
He only completed one of his four deep passes for a gain of 30 yards and was intercepted on his final one. Only two signal callers posted a worse passer rating on deep throws than Johnson did this week (18.8).
Josh Johnson (Rushing)- JJ gained 22 yards and picked up 2 first downs on his four rushes against the Titans. Both first downs came on third down. One of those chain movers gained 16 yards, which was the team’s longest rush of day. Johnson hit a top speed of 19.21 mph on the play, which was the fastest speed by an offensive ball carrier in the game.
His 116 rushing yards and 7 first downs on the ground rank fourth and sixth in the NFL since Week 13.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Wide Receivers (6 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Josh Doctson * | 55 | 89% |
Jamison Crowder | 54 | 87% |
Michael Floyd * | 53 | 85% |
Darvin Kidsy | 3 | 5% |
Jehu Chesson | ST Only | 0% |
Maurice Harris | Inactive | N/A |
Josh Doctson- Josh Doctson led all Washington wideouts with 55 snaps, which marks the 14th game (i.e.; every contest he’s been active in) in which he’s led the receiver corps in snaps this season.
Doctson caught 3-of-6 targets for 30 yards and 2 first downs. Both chain movers came on third-and-long plays on Redskins’ scoring drives. The first of those receptions was a 22-yard grab on a 3rd-and-14; it was Washington’s second-longest play of the game.
Unfortunately, the catches he didn’t make overshadowed the ones he did. Josh Johnson overthrew Doctson on the second play of the game and the pair missed out on what would’ve probably been a 68-yard touchdown.
Both of Johnson’s interceptions in the game were on throws to Doctson. The former TCU wideout may not have been entirely at fault on the first pick, but he certainly could’ve made a little bit more effort on his route. He did, at least, make the second tackle of his career on the play. Unfortunately, the second interception was returned by the Titans for a touchdown.
Johnson’s passer rating when targeting Doctson was a lowly 25.0, which brings his year-long rating down to 66.6. The only wide receivers who have produced a lower passer rating for their quarterbacks on the whole of the season are Kelvin Benjamin (24.6), John Ross (52.8) and Jermaine Kearse (53.6).
Jamison Crowder- Jamison Crowder was out there for 54 snaps, which was tied for his second most this season. He led the team in targets (7), receptions (5), receiving yards (78) and receiving first downs (3). Here are where those target, reception, yardage and first down figures rank for him on the season, respectively: tied for second, first, second and tied for first.
He was the target on three of Josh Johnson’s eight third-down passes, the first of which he took for 30 yards to set the Skins up with a field goal on the opening drive of the game. That was the team’s longest play of the game and the second-longest offensive play of the game. His gains of 19, 13 and 11 were Washington’s third, ninth and tenth-longest plays of the contest.
His season-high 72.0 PFF grade ranked second on the Skins’ offense.
This was the third straight game in which he led the team in targets and receiving yards. Since returning from injury in Week 13, Crowder leads the team targets by 4, receptions by 5, receiving yards by 82, receiving first downs and receiving touchdowns.
Michael Floyd- Michael Floyd started for the second time this season (Week 5 at Saints) and for just the third time since the start of last season. His 53 snaps and 85.5% snap share represented his highest playing-time totals since Week 14 of the 2016 season.
Floyd tied a season-high with 3 targets in the game, but it’s hard to make a big deal about that considering this was his fifth 3-target day of the year.
He capped off the Skins’ best drive of the year with a 7-yard touchdown catch against Adoree Jackson. That score was Floyd’s first since Week 17 of 2016. In fact, it was just his third catch inside an opponent’s 20-yard line since his 2016 campaign.
The former first rounder out of Notre Dame failed to haul in what would’ve been about a 17-yard reception at the Tennessee 5-yard line. Floyd got both hands on the ball, but Kevin Byard was credited with a PD instead of him being charged with a drop. The offense settled with a field goal two plays later.
Floyd’s final target was a deep pass on the penultimate play of the contest that was almost picked off.
His 38.1% catch rate ranks fifth-worst in the entire league (min. 20 targets).
Darvin Kidsy- Darvin Kidsy, who was promoted to the active roster this past Thursday, played in his first NFL game and took 3 snaps with the offense, all of which came on rushing plays.
Jehu Chesson- Chesson didn’t play on offense for the fifth time in the last six weeks and he only made it onto the field for one offensive snap in that span (Week 14 vs. Giants).
If you can’t get playing time ahead of an UDFA in his first career game then it’s just not going to happen for you, at least not on this team, in this season.
Maurice Harris- Maurice Harris missed the game with a concussion.
Last week, I talked about how much of an outlier Harris’ Week 9 performance against the Falcons was (12 targets, 10 receptions and 124 yards); I want to take it yet another step further. Here are Harris’ rankings among the 100-plus wide receivers with 30 or more targets this season in catch percentage, yards per target and yards per route run if you exclude his numbers from that contest: 11th worst (51.4%), 5th worst (5.14) and 5th worst (0.73).
Wide Receiver Woes: Part Whatever- The Redskins wide receiver corps ranks second-to-last in receiving touchdowns (8) and receptions (138). They rank dead last in the NFL in receiving yards (1,624) and 100-yard games (1).
TIGHT ENDS
Tight Ends (4 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Jeremy Sprinkle * | 46 | 74% |
Matt Flanagan | 28 | 45% |
Vernon Davis | Inactive | N/A |
Jordan Reed | Inactive | N/A |
Jeremy Sprinkle- Jeremy Sprinkle made his third consecutive start and set new career highs in snaps (46) and snap percentage (74.2%) for the second straight week.
He tied the career-high in targets (3) that he had established seven days prior and turned his 2 receptions into 22 yards, which was another personal record.
The second-year tight end got his first look on the final play of the opening drive, but was unable to haul in the pass.
Both of his grabs came on the offense’s 17-play drive. Sprinkle caught a 7-yard pass on a 2nd-and-8 that set up a first-down run on the following play and picked up a first down on an 11-yarder that put the offense inside the red zone.
He was charged with allowing a hurry in pass protection, but I’d personally count him as being responsible for giving up the 3rd-and-9 sack to Harold Landry inside the Titans’ red zone.
Nevertheless, Sprinkle’s season-best 71.6 PFF grade ranked third on the offense.
He has done some nice things in the past couple of weeks, but that shouldn’t totally distract us from the fact that he ranks 96th out of 97 tight ends (min. 5 targets) in yards per route run (0.49).
Matt Flanagan- Flanagan, who made his NFL debut last week in Jacksonville, set new highs in offensive snaps (28), offensive snap rate (45.2%) and total snaps (38).
He was used as a run blocker on 23 of his 28 snaps with the offense.
Flanagan was targeted for the second straight week and we shouldn’t expect much from him in this department. He only had 35 receptions for 305 yards and 3 touchdowns over the course of his 43 games in college. About 20% of that yardage total and a third of his touchdowns came from a pair of games against Youngstown State and Norfolk State.
Vernon Davis- Vernon Davis missed the game with a concussion. It the first time he hasn’t played since Week 5 of the 2015 season (with the 49ers).
He is the fifth-oldest tight end to play in a game in the last seven seasons. The four older tight ends are either already retired (Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten) or are 38-years-old and on the final year of their contracts (Antonio Gates and Ben Watson).
In all likelihood, Vernon Davis will be the oldest tight end in the NFL next season.
Jordan Reed- Reed sat out for the second straight week with a toe injury and per Jay Gruden, he would need to make “significant improvement” in order to play in next week’s finale.
Despite missing the last two games, and likely another one, Reed still has a great shot at leading the team in targets (leads by 10), receptions (leads by 12), receiving yards (leads by 59) and receiving touchdowns (tied).
RUNNING BACKS
Running Backs (5 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Adrian Peterson * | 39 | 63% |
Chris Thompson | 22 | 35% |
Byron Marshall | 3 | 5% |
Ryan Anderson | 1 | 2% |
Samaje Perine | Inactive | N/A |
Adrian Peterson- This may have well been Adrian Peterson’s best game of the year.
The future Hall of Fame running back set a new season-high with a 62.9% snap rate and tied a season-high with 26 carries (third time this season), which is tied his second highest attempt total since the 2015 season.
On those 26 runs, he gained 119 yards and picked up 4 first downs. AP ran for 5-plus yards on 12 rushes, while only failing to gain any yardage twice. He posted a very impressive 62% success rate on the day.
This was his third 100-yard performance of the season and a league-leading seventh time he’s gone for over 95 yards on the ground (tied with Ezekiel Elliott).
Peterson also broke 5 tackles and gained 83 yards after contact against the Titans, both of which represented his third-best showings this season.
All Day was targeted twice, and caught one of those balls for a gain of 8 on a 2nd-and-6 play.
For his efforts in Saturday’s game, Peterson earned an 81.3 PFF grade, the best rating on the offense.
His 1,042 rushing yards and 1,250 yards from scrimmage rank 6th and 21st this season, respectively.
Adrian Peterson (Records)- Peterson topped the 1,000-yard mark on the season with his first carry in the fourth quarter. He became the first Redskins’ player to rush for 1,000 yards since Alfred Morris did it in 2014 and just the fifth player to do it in the Burgundy and Gold in the last 20 years (Stephen Davis, Ladell Betts, Clinton Portis and Morris). Only seven other players have accomplished that feat in franchise history (Larry Brown, Mike Thomas, John Riggins, George Rogers, Earnest Byner, Reggie Brooks and Terry Allen).
This was the eighth career 1,000-yard campaign for AP, which is tied for the sixth most such seasons in league history with six others (12 players). He also became just the 14th one to have ever gained 1K rush yards multiple times after turning 30.
He is just the fifth player to hit that mark at the age of 33 or older. The others are John Riggins (twice), John Henry Harrison (twice), Frank Gore and Franco Harris. Riggins was the last player to have accomplished this feat and he last did it all the way back in 1984. Peterson was older than Gore when he hit this mark and only a week younger than Harris. Emmitt Smith, Marcus Allen and Larry Csonka are the only other players who even topped 800 yards on the ground after turning 33.
AP is 7 yards away from compiling the fourth most rushing yardage at or after the age of 33, which would only put him behind one of Harrison’s seasons and both of Riggins’. He is 127 yards from scrimmage away from passing Riggins for the most scrimmage yards by a RB at this age in NFL history.
Peterson also moved ahead of Eric Dickerson and into eighth-place on the all-time rushing yards list (13,318 yards).
Chris Thompson- Chris Thompson didn’t get a ton of touches or rack up a bunch of yards, but this may have been his best game in almost three months.
CT caught his only target of the game on a 3rd-and-6 play and gained 8 yards on the grab. The team kicked a field goal four plays later. Believe it or not, but that was his first receiving first down since Week 5. In fact, it was his first catch that was counted as successful since Week 14 (vs. Giants).
He also rushed for just his second first down since returning from injury in Week 13. His 15-yard gain was tied for the Redskins’ second-longest run of the day and his longest since Week 1 (16 yards at Cardinals). Again, Hopkins kicked a field goal four plays later. His three other runs, all of which were on 1st-and-10 plays, went for gains of 1, 2 and 2 yards (20 yards total).
He did, however, allow a pressure for the third week in a row (all hurries), for the first time in his career.
Byron Marshall- Marshall saw his playing time drop significantly for the second straight week (29% > 10.3% > 4.8%) and was only on the field for 3 snaps against the Titans. His 12 total snaps (offense + special teams) were a season-low.
The Redskins’ backup third-down back was targeted on the fifth play of the game, but the pass fell incomplete. He did not get any other opportunities in the game.
Ryan Anderson- Ryan Anderson played fullback on one snap, but Adrian Peterson was stopped for no gain on the 3rd-and-1 play. This was his first offensive snap in exactly a month. Anderson was in for 8 offensive snaps in the team’s first five games, but has only taken the field with the O for 5 snaps in the last ten contests.
Samaje Perine- Perine was inactive, which marks the 11th game in which he failed to appear in this season. Somewhat surprisingly, Jay Gruden said he wants to get Perine some carries in Week 17.
Redskins Rushing- The Redskins ran the ball 34 times, gained 161 yards and picked up 7 first downs on those plays, which were their third, fourth and fourth-highest totals in 2018, respectively.
The 4.74 YPC average represented their second-best showing in this category since Week 10, and the one game in which they posted a better average in that span included a 90-yard run (at Eagles in Week 13).
The team gained five or more yards 14 times, rushed for 10-plus yards on four carries and were only stopped for no gain or a loss twice. Nearly two-thirds of their attempts (64.7%) were considered successful.
This was Washington’s tenth 100-yard rushing game of the year, which is their most since 2014 (also 10 games).
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Offensive Linemen (9 players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Luke Bowanko * | 62 | 100% |
Morgan Moses * | 62 | 100% |
Chase Roullier * | 62 | 100% |
Trent Williams * | 62 | 100% |
Kyle Fuller | 33 | 53% |
Zac Kerin * | 29 | 47% |
Timon Parris | 6 | 10% |
Tony Bergstrom | Inactive | N/A |
Ty Nsekhe | Inactive | N/A |
Offensive Line (Team)- The line blocked for a running game that averaged 1.74 yards before contact and picked up first downs on four of their five rushes on third-and-short.
Josh Johnson was pressured on 38.5% of his dropbacks and sacked twice. However, the O-line was only responsible for about half of the pressures allowed and none of the sacks. This was the first time the team’s signal caller/s were sacked fewer than three times since Week 8 (0 sacks at Giants).
In typical fashion, the unit was responsible for 4 total and 3 accepted penalties for 20 yards.
Trent Williams- This was another down game for the 7-time Pro Bowler. Williams allowed a team-high 3 pressures on Johnson and gave up the only QB hit on the team. No other Redskin gave up more than one pressure against the Titans.
He also committed a game-high 2 penalties (holding and an illegal block).
Zac Kerin- Kerin started for the second time of his career, but only got to play 29 snaps at left guard because of an injury. He did not allow a single pressure or a commit a penalty during his limited time on the field.
Kyle Fuller- New signee Kyle Fuller took over for Kerin and played the other 33 snaps at LG, which were the first snaps of his season. He is the eighth player the team has used at left guard this year and the tenth guard they have played overall.
Fuller didn’t give up any QB pressures, but he was flagged for a false start and his 31.9 PFF grade was the worst rating earned by an offensive lineman in Week 16.
Chase Roullier- Roullier gave up one pressure on the day (a hurry) and played on every offensive snap for the 18th straight game. He is one week away from becoming the first non-quarterback to play on every single snap for the team since 2013 (Chris Chester, Tyler Polumbus and Will Montgomery).
Luke Bowanko- Bowanko bounced back from a horrendous Week 15 showing in Jacksonville and actually fared well in this one. He played 62 snaps at right guard, did not commit any penalties and only gave up one hurry in pass protection. Bowanko posted his best PFF grade (70.1) in a game he played more than 12 snaps in since his rookie year (2014).
Morgan Moses- Moses was only responsible for allowing one pressure (a hurry) and did not commit a penalty for the first time since Week 11 (vs. Texans). This was just the third time this year that he didn’t either commit a penalty or surrender multiple pressures.
Timon Parris- Parris was utilized as a sixth lineman in his NFL debut. He played 6 snaps and committed a drive-stalling false start on a 4th-and-1 play.
Tony Bergstrom- Bergstrom’s sprained ankle kept him on the sidelines for the third consecutive week. He surrendered an average of 2.8 pressures in his last five games.
Ty Nsekhe- Nsekhe’s knee injury forced him to miss a game for the first time since Week 9 of 2017. He has already set a new career high with 403 offensive snaps this season.
ALL OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
Offense (27 Players) | ||||||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | |
Luke Bowanko * | 62 | 100% | Timon Parris | 6 | 10% | |
Josh Johnson * | 62 | 100% | Darvin Kidsy | 3 | 5% | |
Morgan Moses * | 62 | 100% | Byron Marshall | 3 | 5% | |
Chase Roullier * | 62 | 100% | Ryan Anderson | 1 | 2% | |
Trent Williams * | 62 | 100% | Mark Sanchez | 0 | 0% | |
Josh Doctson * | 55 | 89% | Jehu Chesson | ST Only | 0% | |
Jamison Crowder | 54 | 87% | Tony Bergstrom | Inactive | N/A | |
Michael Floyd * | 53 | 85% | Vernon Davis | Inactive | N/A | |
Jeremy Sprinkle * | 46 | 74% | Maurice Harris | Inactive | N/A | |
Adrian Peterson * | 39 | 63% | Colt McCoy | Inactive | N/A | |
Kyle Fuller | 33 | 53% | Ty Nsekhe | Inactive | N/A | |
Zac Kerin * | 29 | 47% | Samaje Perine | Inactive | N/A | |
Matt Flanagan | 28 | 45% | Jordan Reed | Inactive | N/A | |
Chris Thompson | 22 | 35% |
*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
Which of these positions should the Redskins use their 2019 first-round draft pick on?
This poll is closed
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30%
Quarterback
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1%
Running Back
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35%
Wide Receiver
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4%
Tight End
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7%
Tackle
-
18%
Guard
-
2%
Center