Snaps- Greg Manusky used 35 of his 42 defenders over the course of 73 defensive snaps against the Broncos.

The only starters who did not suit up for the game were Matt Ioannidis and Zach Brown. The majority of the first-team defense was on the field for 3 drives and 21 snaps. Four starters stayed in for another 6-snap drive.

Depending on whether you count that last series or not, Washington’s starting defense was on the field this preseason for a total of 5 or 6 drives and 36 or 42 snaps.

Starter Results- Again, this really depends on whether or not you count the drive that only four starters played on.

The first-string defenders gave up 130 yards, 7 first downs and 10 points on the first three drives of the game. The defense faced 15 snaps and 14 plays on those series, which means they allowed Denver to average a very healthy 6.84 yards per play.

Things look even worse if you include the fourth drive. The Broncos’ offense gained 75 yards and picked up 3 first downs on a drive that ended with a touchdown. Add those numbers to the mix and you’re up to 205 yards, 10 first downs and 17 points allowed on just 25 plays (8.2 yards per play). The starting defense failed to record a sack or force a turnover in the game.

These results look a little bit better from a total preseason perspective, because the starters performed much better in their limited action against the Jets. In total, the starting D allowed 242 yards, 13 first downs and 20 points on the 6 drives and 39 plays (6.2 yards per play) they faced in the preseason. They recorded two sacks, but were unable to force any takeaways.

If you subtract the aforementioned last drive, those numbers drop to 167 yards, 10 first downs and 13 points on 33 plays (5.1 yards per play). Either way you look at it, the Redskins’ starting defense did not have a great preseason.

QB Pressure- The pass rush regressed after a bounce-back performance last week against the Jets. The Skins only recorded one sack and pressured the Broncos’ passers on just 18.4% of their dropbacks (7-of-38), which was their lowest such rate of the preseason.

Rushing Defense- This was also the team’s worst game in rushing defense. They gave up 146 yards, 9 first downs and 1 touchdown on Denver’s 30 rushing attempts in the game. The Broncos averaged 5.1 yards per carry on all non-kneel-down plays, 2.69 yards after contact and 2.38 yards before contact.

Missed Tackles- The poor rushing defense had a lot to do with the fact that the Redskins missed a preseason-high nine tackles on defense in the contest, five of which came in the running game. I wish I could say this was a new problem, but the team has missed eight or more tackles on defense in all three preseason games.

Penalties- The defense and special teams were responsible for five of the team’s six penalties and 46 of their 56 penalty yards. The defense was flagged three times for 26 yards and the special teams unit committed two infractions for a total of 20 yards.

3rd Down- The Skins’ defense allowed the Broncos to convert on 6 of their 13 third-down attempts, which equates to a 46.2% conversion rate. They moved the chains on 3-of-5 third downs (60%) when the Redskins had starting defenders in the game.

The defense has given up conversions on 18 of the 40 third downs they’ve faced this preseason, which gives the Redskins the 6th worst conversion rate allowed (45%) on the money down. Washington’s starters were even worse, as opposing offenses converted on 5-of-9 third down attempts (55.6%) against them.

Red Zone- The D may not have been clutch on third down, but they did step up in the red zone. Denver failed to score touchdowns on both of their trips to the red zone. In fact, the Broncos’ offense only gained 5 yards and failed to pick up a first down on their five plays inside Washington’s 20-yard line.

The Skins’ red-zone defense has improved in both of the last two games (100% > 33% > 0 %). They currently rank 10th in the NFL, with a 50% touchdown-conversion rate allowed. The defensive starters prevented a TD on their only red-zone series of the preseason (Jets).

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

Daron Payne- Daron Payne made his second straight start and took all 19 of his snaps with the first-team defense. Payne didn’t fill up the stat sheet, but he definitely made his presence known on the interior of the Redskins’ line.

He generated pressure on one of his 11 pass rushes (a hurry) and made a solo tackle to end a 3-yard run on first down by fellow rookie Royce Freeman. He also caused Matt Paradis to commit a holding penalty that negated a 15-yard Broncos rushing first down.

Payne’s 78.6 PFF grade for the game ranked second on the team and first on the defense.

Jonathan Allen- Like his partner in crime, Daron Payne, Allen also played for 19 snaps with the defensive starters and made his only tackle on a short rush (4 yards) by Royce Freeman. But not only did he register a hurry, he scored a third-down hit on Case Keenum that led to an incompletion and a Denver three-and-out. His two pressures in the game were tied for the most on the team.

Jon Allen has a recorded at least two pressures in seven of his ten total NFL games (70%). He played 18 or fewer snaps in all three of the games he failed to generate any pressure in, all three of which were preseason games.

Tim Settle- Tim Settle’s 51 defensive snaps were the most by a Redskins’ front-seven defender in the game. Unfortunately, he failed to make the most of the opportunity.

Settle was, somehow, unable to record a single tackle on his 23 snaps as a run defender, yet he did miss a tackle on a Denver catch and run.

He only notched one pressure (a hurry) on his 24 pass rushes, but was at least able to defend a pass on a 2nd-and-5 Case Keenum throw. Keenum was sacked on the following play and the Broncos went three-and-out. Settle has defended a pass in all three preseason games.

Anthony Lanier- Lanier saw the field for 29 defensive snaps on Friday night and played his best game of the preseason. The third-year D-end made three solo tackles on the night. His first tackle came on a 9-yard sack against the Broncos’ starters; this was the Redskins’ only sack in the game. Lanier moved the offense backwards again when he recorded a 3-yard TFL on a De’Angelo Henderson run. The Denver offense averaged -2.3 yards on the plays Lanier made a tackle on.

He has recorded at least one tackle and one pressure in all three preseason games and his 4 total pressures are tied for the most on the team.

People seem to be quick to forget that between Weeks 11 and 17 of last season, Lanier ranked 8th and 2nd among all defensive linemen in sacks (5) and pass defenses (6), respectively. Here are the players who bested him in either of those categories: Ezekiel Ansah, Cameron Heyward, Aaron Donald, Cameron Jordan (sacks and PDs), Khalil Mack, Carlos Dunlap and Yannick Ngakoue.

Ziggy Hood- Ziggy Hood started again, which makes him and Quinton Dunbar the only defenders on the team who have started in all three preseason contests. Hood played 9 snaps, stopped the Broncos for a gain of 1 yard on his only tackle of the night and failed to record any pressures. That stat line is giving me a serious case of deja vu.

Phil Taylor- Big Phil Taylor made his first appearance in an NFL game since tearing his quad in Week 3 of last preseason. His 31 snaps in the game exceeded his entire total from the 2017 preseason (23 snaps).

Taylor impressed as he recorded a game-high 4 solo and total tackles by a defensive lineman. One of those tackles went for a 2-yard loss and another stopped the Broncos a yard shy of the sticks on 3rd-and-2.

His biggest misstep of the night was the helmet penalty he committed on a 3rd-down rush by the Broncos that moved the chains. Denver’s first down would’ve been negated because of an illegal formation infraction had Taylor not been penalized on the play.

I know Phil Taylor would be the third nose tackle on the team, but I think I’d rather see the Redskins keep him than Ziggy Hood.

Ondre Pipkins- Ondre Pipkins’ defensive snap total has been more than cut in half in each of the last two weeks (48 > 23 > 10). The only play he made in the game (a solo tackle on a 7-yard run) was negated by a Denver holding penalty.

He recorded at least two solo and total tackles in both of the team’s first two preseason contests, but he has yet to record a pressure of any kind in his two-year NFL career. Pipkins did not record a single sack and only registered 6 TFLs in 34 college games.

Dante Sawyer- Sawyer spent two of his three defensive snaps rushing the passer. He failed to dent the stat sheet or to notch a pressure in the game. His total contribution to the defense on his 53 preseason snaps are a single assisted tackle and one QB hit. That will not be nearly enough to give the 23-year-old rookie a shot at even sniffing the final roster.

Other Defensive Linemen- Matt Ioannidis remained out with knee injuries, but he is expected to be fully healthy for the regular season opener against the Cardinals. Stacy McGee, on the other hand, will remain on the PUP list, which will keep him on the sideline for another couple of months.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS

Ryan Kerrigan- Ryan Kerrigan played 15 snaps in Friday’s game, but completely blanked on the stat sheet. That’s right, the seven-year vet did not record a single traditional stat or pressure in the game. The last time this happened to Kerrigan was the team’s second game of the 2017 preseason. Kerrigan was given a 38.3 PFF grade for this performance, the fourth worst rate handed out to a Redskins defender in the game.

At least he was able to register a pair of pressures against the Jets last week.

Preston Smith- Kerrigan’s counterpart at the other starting outside backer spot was in for 21 of the 27 snaps taken by the defensive starters. He also didn’t record any traditional stats against the Broncos, but he did, however, get on the board with a team-high 2 pressures (both hurries).

Smith committed a coverage gaffe when he allowed his man, Philip Lindsay, to get wide open for an 18-yard first-down reception on a wheel route.

Like Kerrigan, Smith also earned a bottom five PFF grade (45.1) among the team’s defenders.

Ryan Anderson- Last year’s second-round pick led all Washington edge rushers with 35 snaps played against the Broncos.

He recorded 1 solo and 2 assisted tackles in the contest, and his 3 total tackles were the second most of his career (5 tackles in Week 14 of last season).

Anderson notched a QB hit on one of his 16 pass rushes. The hit came on a 3rd-and-10 Chad Kelly completion that only gained 2 yards. This marked the first time in his career Ryan Anderson pressured the opposing quarterback in back-to-back games.

It wasn’t a perfect night for the outsider backer from Alabama, though. He gave up a 5-yard reception on the only target thrown his way in the game and cost the team another 5 yards when he committed a neutral zone infraction.

Pernell McPhee- Nearly half of Pernell McPhee’s snaps (12 of 25) came with the first-team defense. McPhee finished the game with a solo tackle and a QB hit, his first hit or sack since Week 10 of last season. Those plays represented his second tackle and first pressure of the preseason.

Pete Robertson- Pete Robertson received 24 defensive snaps against the Broncos. He made a solo stop on a 3-yard Denver run late in the third quarter, but that was his only contribution to the box score.

After generating at least one pressure in each of the first two preseason games, Robertson failed to hurry, hit or sack a Denver QB on any his ten pass-rushing snaps.

He did, at least, cause Cyrus Kouandjio to commit a holding penalty.

Several analysts have said Robertson will make the team because of his chops on special teams. The thing is, we haven’t really seen him do anything on special teams this August. Robertson has not made any tackles on any of his 24 preseason teams snaps this year and has only recorded 2 tackles on his 163 career specials snaps. He’s also never recorded a PFF special teams grade of 70 or higher in a game.

Dadi Nicolas- Dadi Nicolas only got onto the field for five defensive snaps and was able to record a solo tackle on one of those plays.

The 26-year-old has only played on 28 defensive snaps in two years in the league. Nicolas needs to start producing at a higher level if he ever wants to make an NFL roster again; either way, any opportunity that he does get likely won’t come from the Redskins.

Cassanova McKinzy- At least Nicolas has actually played in a regular season game; McKinzy has yet to do so since leaving Auburn after the team’s 2015 season. McKinzy couldn’t find his way onto the stat sheet over the course of his ten snaps on Friday night.

He allowed a 15-yard first-down reception to fifth-string Broncos’ running back Dave Williams on his only coverage snap of the night, missed a tackle and was tagged with the lowest PFF grade on the entire team (28.2).

Vontae Diggs- Like McKinzy, Diggs was unable to make any plays with his limited playing time (11 defensive snaps). Diggs recorded 4 tackles in the preseason opener and registered a pressure against the Jets last week, but that’s about all he’s done on his 74 preseason snaps.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS

Mason Foster- The Redskins’ starting MIKE linebacker played on all 27 of the snaps with the first-team defense.

He somehow got matched up against Emmanuel Sanders on a third-down snap and allowed Sanders to beat him for a 15-yard chain mover. That was the only time Foster was targeted in the game. He made one of his two solo tackles in the game on that snap.

Foster wasn’t able to get any pressures on his six pass rushes, but he was able to bat down a third-down Case Keenum pass on one of those plays.

Zach Vigil- The 2017 tackling machine, Zach Vigil, started alongside Foster and played for 19 snaps, but was only able to muster a single defensive takedown (an assist) in Friday night’s game. A second assisted tackle was negated by Matt Paradis’ holding penalty. Vigil did add another helper on special teams, though. He was not targeted in the game.

The fact that Vigil has started for the Redskins in eight of their last nine overall games seems to indicate his spot on the roster should be safe.

Shaun Dion Hamilton- Shaun Dion Hamilton led all Washington inside backers with 46 defensive snaps played against the Broncos. He tied or led the game in assisted tackles (3), total tackles (6) and defensive stops (3). Four of his six tackles came on third down. This was the second time this preseason that SDH led the Redskins in both total tackles and stops (Week 1).

The problem was that half of his tackles came on plays Denver picked up first downs on. Hamilton also gave up receptions on two of three targets thrown into his coverage for 12 yards and a first down. Both of those catches were made by running back De’Angelo Henderson.

Hamilton’s 18 total tackles on defense this preseason are tied for third most in the NFL.

Martrell Spaight- Martrell Spaight ranks second on the Redskins with 14 tackles this August, four of which he recorded during his 38-snap outing in this game. The Broncos didn’t pick up a single first down on the plays Spaight made a tackle on, as three of his tackles were made five or more yards away from the line to gain and the other one was made a yard shy of it.

Spaight also recorded a hurry on his only pass-rushing snap of the night; he was the only Washington ILB with a pressure in the game.

This was far from a perfect game for the contract-year linebacker, though. He missed a tackle and gave up a reception in coverage, both of which were firsts for him this preseason; the reception was a 19-yard first down by De’Angelo Henderson. PFF gave Spaight a 36.2 grade for the performance, which was the second worst mark by a Redskins defender.

Josh Harvey-Clemons- Harvey-Clemons played 15 snaps in his 2018 debut, with 12 of those coming with the starting defense. JHC was not targeted on his eight plays in pass coverage and recorded 2 two solo tackles, one of which was a TFL that went for a loss of 3 yards.

Jerod Fernandez- Fernandez only played one defensive snap after leading the team in both tackles (6) and sacks (2) last week against the Jets. Fernandez has seen his playing time take a nose dive in each of the last two weeks (50 snaps > 19 snaps > 1 snap).

It would help his cause if he were making plays on special teams, but that has not been the case. He’s failed to make a tackle for Ben Kotwica’s unit and has seen his snap totals drop in this department, too (15 snaps > 11 snaps > 8 snaps).

Zach Brown- Zach Brown didn’t play for the second time this preseason. The former second-round pick out of North Carolina has averaged 9.5 total and 6.2 solo tackles in his last two seasons.

CORNERBACKS

Josh Norman- This was Josh Norman’s worst game since Week 14 of last season, when the Chargers lit him up for 142 yards, 3 first downs and a touchdown. On 5 targets and just 13 coverage snaps, he surrendered 3 receptions for 3 first downs and 50 yards (3.85 yards per coverage snap). Two of those first-down catches and 37 of the yards came against rookie wideout Courtland Sutton. Norman was at least able to make solo tackles on two of the three receptions he allowed, but he whiffed on his third attempted tackle.

His 37.8 PFF grade for the game ranked third worst on the defense. This was his lowest graded game as a member of the Washington Redskins.

Quinton Dunbar- Quinton Dunbar started for the third straight game and played on all 27 starter snaps. He allowed 2 receptions for 14 yards to Courtland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders, but neither play went for a first down. He recorded a solo stop after allowing an 8-yard catch to Sutton.

His biggest mistake of the night was committing a holding penalty that gave the Broncos’ offense a first down at the Redskins’ 29-yard line. Denver would’ve been faced with a 3rd-and-9 play from the 34 if Dunbar had not committed the infraction. Instead, Royce Freeman ran for a 24-yard touchdown two plays later.

Fabian Moreau- Last year’s third-round pick made his way onto the field for 26 defensive snaps on Friday night, with 18 of those snaps coming alongside the team’s defensive starters.

He spent most of his time in the slot, where he took 14 of his 15 coverage snaps in the game. That pitted him against Denver slot-man Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders was targeted three times and caught two balls for 40 yards and a first down in Moreau’s coverage. Moreau recorded his lone solo tackle after one of those receptions and swooped in for a nice third-down PD on the other target thrown his way.

His elite athleticism was displayed on that play. Moreau’s relative athletic score of 9.99 is tied for second among all cornerbacks in the entire RAS database. The only corner with a better score is 2017 rookie of the year Marshon Lattimore (10.0) He is tied with future Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis (9.99).

Adonis Alexander- The 2018 supplemental draft pick played on 52 snaps from scrimmage and 64 total snaps in his NFL debut; both totals were team highs.

Alexander only allowed 2 receptions for 24 yards and a first down on his 3 targets and 25 coverage snaps. He made both of his solo tackles in a three-play span on the first drive of the second half. On that same drive, Alexander recorded a very impressive PD on a deep pass to fellow rookie DaeSean Hamilton.

We should get another chance to watch Alexander in the final preseason game.

Greg Stroman- Greg Stroman has gotten his fair share of work this preseason. His 36 defensive snaps against Denver brought his total up to a team-high 124 defensive snaps. He ranks second on the team in snaps from scrimmage this August (Geron Christian has 142 such snaps).

The only catch Stroman allowed on his 19 coverage snaps was a Demaryius Thomas reception that gained no yards. So far this preseason, he ranks first or second among the team’s cornerbacks in yards per coverage snap (0.76), snaps per target (8.3) and snaps per reception (14.5). This was the first game in which he did not record a tackle.

Greg Stroman’s 81.6 PFF grade through three games ranks second on the defense.

Ranthony Texada- Ranthony Texada was targeted on half of his coverage snaps in the game (5-of-10) and allowed 3 receptions for 39 yards and 2 first downs on those targets.

He did defend a pass, but he allowed a third-down conversion on the very next snap; he made his only tackle of the game on that play.

No player on the team has been targeted more often (10) or has allowed more receptions (6), receiving yards (78) and receiving first downs (5) than Texada has this preseason.

Prince Charles Iworah- Iworah played on 15 defensive snaps in Friday’s game. He did not allow a single reception on his 3 targets and 8 coverage snaps and recorded a pass defense on one of those targets.

Check out his coverage stat line through three games: 23 coverage snaps, 5 targets, 1 reception, 18 yards, 1 first down, 1 PD, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. Throw those numbers into a passer rating calculator and you’ll see that the opposing quarterbacks have combined to post a dismal 2.5 QB rating when targeting Iworah.

If he keeps playing like this, then maybe one day you’ll actually be able find him on the internet when you only Google his first name.

Other Cornerbacks- Danny Johnson and Darius Hillary only played on specials teams. Hillary was waived the day after the game. Joshua Holsey did not play and remains on the Non-Football Injury list.

SAFETIES

D.J. Swearinger- D.J. Swearinger played on all 27 snaps with the starters. He was not targeted on his 15 coverage plays and made a solo stop on a 1-yard rush on first down. He missed a tackle on Royce Freeman’s 24-yard rushing score.

The veteran safety’s preseason ends with 2 solo tackles and 2 receptions allowed for 9 yards and no first downs.

Last season, Swearinger led the team in interceptions (4) and ranked second in total tackles (79) and pass defenses (10).

Montae Nicholson- Nicholson made his third straight start of the preseason and took 21-of-27 snaps with the first-team defense. He, Quinton Dunbar, Ziggy Hood and Jeremy Sprinkle are the only players who have started in all three games.

He surrendered a 6-yard reception to tight end Jeff Heuerman on the only target thrown his way over the course of his 21 coverage snaps this preseason (13 vs. Denver). He made up for it by forcing a fumble on the play, but the ball went out of bounds.

Nicholson recorded three other tackles on the night to give him a total of four (3 solo and 1 assist). A fifth tackle was negated by a Denver holding penalty. He missed a tackle, as well.

His 72.6 Pro Football Focus grade ranked third on the defense.

Deshazor Everett- The Redskins’ first safety off the bench, Deshazor Everett, was quite impressive in Friday’s game.

He played 30 snaps, was not targeted on his 13 coverage snaps, recorded 2 solo tackles, scored a solo stop at the line of scrimmage and hit Chad Kelly on one of his three pass-rushing snaps of the game. The hit came on a third-down play in which Kelly completed a pass 7 yards shy of the sticks.

Everett earned the second highest PFF grade (73.2) on the defense for the second straight week against the Broncos. So far this preseason, he is the highest graded defender on the team (82.8). Cam Sims (92.1) is the only Redskin who has played 15 or more snaps and has a better grade than Everett.

Troy Apke- Apke led the safety corps in snaps (36) for the third consecutive week. Unfortunately, the extra seasoning doesn’t seem to be helping.

The rookie fourth-round pick missed a team-high 3 tackles in the game. One of those whiffs came on what should have been an easy takedown of Emmanuel Sanders on a wide-receiver reverse. The missed tackle allowed Sanders to gain the extra 16 yards he needed to reach the end zone and score a touchdown. He was, however, able to stave off further embarrassment by recording more solo tackles (4) than misses.

Apke also committed a holding penalty, which negated a 10-yard punt return by Trey Quinn and gave up a 3-yard reception the only time he was targeted.

On top of all that, his much ballyhooed athleticism has failed to translate into production on special teams. He has not recorded a single specials stat, despite playing 26 snaps on that unit this August.

Like Geron Christian, to say that Troy Apke is a project is putting it nicely.

Fish Smithson- Fish Smithson saw his snap count drop for the second straight week (30 > 18 > 16). He recorded a pair solo tackles on the Broncos’ last full drive of the night and added an assist on a third-quarter punt return.

Smithson didn’t see any targets on his eight snaps in coverage. In Week 3 of the 2017 preseason, Smithson picked off an A.J. McCarron pass at the Redskins’ goal line and flipped the field with a 63-yard return. Fish has yet to record a PD, pressure or turnover of any kind so far this year. He has, however, given up a touchdown catch, committed a penalty and missed a tackle.

Kenny Ladler- Kenny Ladler put forth another decent showing. He recorded 4 tackles (2 solo and 2 assisted) and one stop on just 16 defensive snaps. He also made a solo stop on a kickoff return at the 16-yard line. All five of his tackles (4 defensive + 1 special teams) came on the same fourth-quarter drive.

This was the third straight week that Ladler has made a tackle on special teams. He leads the team in both solo (2) and total specials tackles (3).

Quin Blanding- The rookie was relegated to special-teams only role after seeing a combined 38 defensive snaps in Weeks 1 and 2 of the exhibition season.

ALL DEFENSIVE PLAYERS

SPECIAL TEAMS

Snaps- Washington’s special teams unit utilized 59 of the team’s 90 players over the course of 30 teams snaps against the Denver Broncos.

This was the first time this preseason that Vontae Diggs did not lead the team in special teams snaps. Instead, it was Deshazor Everett and Pete Robertson leading the way with 15 specials snaps each. Nobody has played more ST snaps for the Redskins in the last three years than Everett has (719). Robertson played on at least 20 teams snaps in each of his four regular season games last year.

Rookies Troy Apke, Shaun Dion Hamilton and Adonis Alexander were tied for third on the team with 12 special teams snaps. Diggs, Kenny Ladler and Zach Vigil were right behind them with 11 snaps.

Kick Coverage- Ladler shutdown a kickoff return at the 16-yard line, and an unnecessary roughness penalty on the play pushed Denver’s starting field position back to the 8. Alexander and Vigil combined to end another kickoff return at the Broncos’ 26-yard line.

Josh Harvey-Clemons made a solo stop on a punt return that lost two yards and placed Denver's offensive at their 25. JHC’s 87.2 grade on special teams was tops on the team. Fish Smithson and former Redskins’ cornerback Darius Hillary teamed up to end the other Broncos’ punt return of the night at the 36-yard line.

Tress Way- Tress Way had yet another strong outing. He was only able to pin the Broncos inside their own 20 on one of his six punts in Friday’s game, but this had a lot to do with the fact that all but one of his punts came inside the Redskins’ own 25-yard line. The average yard line of where Way’s punts took place was at the 21.

He recorded 316 total and 296 net yards on his punts, which gave him averages of 52.7 and 49.3 yards. He only topped the average of 52.7 once all last season. The net average of 49.3 is tied for his third best mark ever in that statistic.

His two longest punts of the night went for 63 and 62 yards, which would’ve been his second and third longest punts of all of last season. This was also just the second time in Way’s career that the opposing team has returned multiple punts and failed to gain positive return yardage (0 yards on 2 returns).

Dustin Hopkins- Dustin Hopkins followed up his five-field goal game with a single field goal and two extra points against the Broncos. The field goal was from 33 yards out, so he essentially just kicked three extra points.

Two of his four kickoffs went for touchbacks, and the other two were returned 18 and 15 yards to the 26 and 16 yard lines, respectively; the latter of which was moved back to the 8 because of a Denver penalty.

Kickoff Returns- The Broncos scored a whopping seven times in the game, which when combined with the opening kickoff, gave the Redskins eight opportunities to return a kickoff.

Rookie cornerbacks Greg Stroman and Danny Johnson handled return duties on all four of the first-half kickoffs. Stroman took a pair of returns for gains of 17 and 13 yards, giving him a total of 30 return yards and a 15-yard average. Unfortunately, he fielded the kickoffs at the 3-yard line and the goal line, so those returns ended at the Washington 20 and 22-yard lines. Danny Johnson fielded a touchback and took his only return of the night for 21 yards out to the 22.

Kapri Bibbs and Darvin Kidsy took over for them in the second half. Kidsy took a knee in the end zone on the only return he fielded. Kapri Bibbs took both of his returns for 17 yards, which gave him 34 kickoff return yards on the night; that is a 2018 preseason high for a Redskins player. Bibbs caught those kickoffs at the 3 and 5-yard lines, so the best starting field position he set the offense up with was at the 22. His other return made it out to the 20-yard line, but a Danny Johnson unnecessary roughness penalty pushed the team back to their own 10.

None of the Redskins’ 9 kickoff returns this August have made it out past the 25-yard line. The team literally would have been better off taking a knee in the end zone for a touchback every time.

Punt Returns- Marquette King and the Broncos only punted twice in the entire contest, so Trey Quinn didn’t have a lot of opportunities to work with. He took his first return for 4 yards out to the Washington 21. His second and final punt return of the night went 10 yards to the 44, but a holding infraction by Troy Apke negated the entire return and sent the Redskins offense back to their 34-yard line.

*All statistics are courtesy of ESPN, NBC Sports, NFL.com, NFL Gamebooks, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, USA Today, Redskins.com, The Washington Post and the Washington Times*