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Skins Stats & Snaps: Redskins @ Bills (Offense)

A look at the stats and snap counts for every offensive player on the Redskins in the team’s Week 9 matchup with the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills and the Washington Redskins Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Record- The Washington Redskins fell to 1-8 on the year, which is tied with three other seasons (1935, 1950 and 1998) for the second-worst record through the team’s first nine games in franchise history. The only time they started worse was in 1961 (0-9), which may very well have been the worst season in the 88-year history of the team.

Snaps & Plays- The Skins’ offense was on the field for 49 plays and 51 snaps against the Buffalo Bills. This was the team’s fourth game with 50 or fewer plays, which is two more such games than any other club in the league (Arizona, Jacksonville and Miami with two each).

Game Time- The game only lasted for 2 hours and 40 minutes, which makes it the third-shortest contest of the entire year. The two shortest games of the year? Well, they were the Burgundy and Gold’s last two outings (2:39 at Minnesota and 2:36 vs. San Francisco).

Just saying that doesn’t really articulate how fast these games have gone by, though. Those three games and last year’s Week 17 finale against the Eagles were four of the fastest five games in the last decade (1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th).

Points- The Redskins were held to just nine points for the second week in a row. This also marked the league-high fifth time that the team failed to score double-digit points, which puts them on pace to set a new franchise record for the most games with fewer than 10 points in a single season (8 games in 1961 ).

The scoring output has been so horrendously low because the team has not been scoring touchdowns, like at all. In fact, they haven’t found the paint in the last 13 quarters and three whole games. The Redskins have failed to score a touchdown in back-to-back games on six occasions (last in 2001), but this was the first time in franchise history that the team went three consecutive games without scoring a single TD. The 2008 Browns are the only other club that went three games without a tuddy in the last 13 years (since 2007).

Red Zone- The offense failed to score a touchdown on both of the team’s two trips inside the Buffalo 20-yard line. Washington has now gone six whole games without a single red-zone touchdown (2 RZ TDs in Week 3 vs. Chicago), which is the team’s longest such streak in the last 18 years (0 RZ TDs in Week 1-6 of the 2001 season).

Somehow the team only ranks third-worst in the red-zone-scoring rate this season (35.3%).

3rd & 4th Down- The Washington offense was only able to convert on 2-of-11 third-down tries in the contest (18.2%), with both of those chain movers taking place in the fourth quarter. The team hasn’t converted on more than three third-down plays since Week 1 (5), despite facing an average of 9.75 third downs in those weeks.

It certainly didn’t help that they needed to gain an average 9.75 yards on the money down this week. The offense was faced with six third-and-longs compared to just one third-and-short. Haskins was forced to scramble on two money down-plays and was sacked on two other ones.

Callahan and O’Connell didn’t go for it on fourth down until there was just over a minute left in the game. The 4th-and-4 pass came up two yards shy of the sticks on what ended up being the Redskins’ final offensive snap of the game.

Giveaways- The Redskins did not commit a turnover for first time since their win against Miami in Week 6. They did fumble the ball late in the fourth quarter but were able to make the recovery.


QUARTERBACKS

Quarterbacks (3 Players)
Player (* - starter) Snaps Snap %
Dwayne Haskins * 51 100%
Colt McCoy 0 0%
Case Keenum Inactive N/A

Dwayne Haskins (Traditional Stats)- Dwayne Haskins finally started for the first time in his career. He played all 51 snaps in the game, which is five more than he had in his two other appearances combined (46).

The 2019 first-round pick completed 15-of-22 passes, which gave him a 68.2% completion rate, the third-highest completion percentage by a Redskins’ rookie QB in his first pro start (73.1% by Robert Griffin in Week 1 of 2012 at New Orleans and 70.3% by Kirk Cousins in Week 15 at Cleveland also in 2012). On his 22 passes, Haskins gained 144 yards (6.55 YPA), picked up 7 first downs and did not throw any touchdowns or interceptions.

The Ohio State product ran the ball three times and gained 14 yards on those plays, including a 9-yarder in the fourth quarter that gave the offense one of their two third-down conversions on the day. Haskins has gained 11 more rushing yards and recorded the same number of chain movers as Case Keenum and Colt McCoy have combined this season, despite the fact that he’s played 312 fewer snaps, taken 181 fewer dropbacks and has run the ball four times less than the combo of Keenum and McCoy have.

Haskins was sacked four times for 28 yards, with at least two of those being his fault for holding the ball too long. That is the second-most sacks ever by a Skins’ rookie signal caller making their first start (7 sacks on Patrick Ramsey in Week 5 of the 2002 season vs. New Orleans). Haskins’ 15.4% sack rate this season would rank dead last in the league if he had attempted enough passes to qualify.

With the exception of rushing yards and YPA, every one of the single-game numbers you just read was a season high for Haskins.

Dwayne Haskins (Advanced Stats)- The advanced stats did not paint a pretty picture for the big rookie. Haskins ranked 24th in PFF grade (57.8), 24th in raw QBR (31.9) and 25th in Total DYAR (-30) among the 28 qualifying passers this week. On a positive note, at least those were all career highs for him.

It’s also worth noting that he only attempted one deep throw in the entire game. The overthrown pass traveled 20 yards before it fell incomplete in the end zone. However, the windy conditions in Buffalo likely played a big role in his limited number of deep attempts.

Other Quarterbacks- Case Keenum is still in the concussion protocol and Bill Callahan has refused to name a starting quarterback for Week 11. Either way, Colt McCoy will likely be a weekly inactive as soon as Keenum is cleared to play again.


WIDE RECEIVERS

Wide Receivers (5 Players)
Player (* - starter) Snaps Snap %
Terry McLaurin * 51 100%
Trey Quinn * 31 61%
Kelvin Harmon * 25 49%
Paul Richardson 24 47%
Steven Sims 3 6%

Terry McLaurin- Scary Terry played on 100% of the offensive snaps for the first time in his career. He has not played on fewer than 89.6% of the snaps in any of his eight games this year.

McLaurin led the Skins with 6 targets and tied a team high with 4 receptions. The rookie wideout gained 39 yards and picked up 2 first downs on those catches. His most impactful grab was a 12-yard screen on a 3rd-and-18 play that turned what would’ve been a 51-yard field goal try into a 39-yarder which Dustin Hopkins nailed.

McLaurin was, however, charged with dropping the fifth pass of his career. He is tied for the fifth most drops in the entire league and has the tenth worst drop rate, as well (13.5%). The drops should in no way take away from what Terry Mac has done so far this season and what he is still likely to accomplish.

He is only the sixth Redskins’ rookie to catch four-plus passes in six games and is the 15th rook to gain 450 or more receiving yards. McLaurin is on pace to set the record for the most four-reception games (pace of 11) and most receiving yards (931) by a rookie in franchise history. He’s also set to smash the team’s rookie record for receiving first downs (pace of 48 to Jamison Crowder’s record of 34).

Paul Richardson- Paul Richardson was only out there for 24 snaps and a 47% snap rate, which were easily his lowest such numbers since Week 15 of the 2016 season (11 snaps and an 18% snap rate with the Seahawks vs. the LA Rams).

Despite the reduced PT, P-Rich was still targeted five times, tied for a team-high 4 receptions and led the club in air yards (47), receiving yards (42), receiving first downs (3) and expected points added (5.6). The reception, receiving yardage and first down figures represented his second-highest totals of the year.

He was responsible for one of the team’s two conversions on third down. The only target Richardson didn’t haul in this week was the club’s lone deep pass, a shot to the end zone that was slightly overthrown.

His 76.0 PFF grade for the performance was both the highest grade given to any Redskin who played more than three snaps this week and his best mark since he earned an 88.2 rating in Week 8 of the 2017 season (6-105-2 with Seattle vs. Houston).

Trey Quinn- Mr. Irrelevant caught one of his three targets on the day, a 9-yarder on a 3rd-and-11. The target and reception totals were tied for season lows and his 9 yards topped the season-worst total he posted in Week 6 by just a yard (8 yards at Miami). To be fair, Quinn was wide open on play that he would’ve picked up at least 12 yards on, but Haskins badly overthrew him.

Sure, Quinn has been the victim of some bad passes, but that doesn’t negate his absolutely horrible efficiency numbers. He ranks dead-last among all 30-target non-running backs in yards per reception (7.88), yards per target (4.61) and yards per route run (0.76). If those numbers hold, they will go down as the worst, second-worst and worst averages by a non-running back in recorded franchise history (minimum 50 targets).

Kelvin Harmon- Harmon’s 25 snaps and 49% snap rate were the second-highest playing-time figures of his career. The only other time he topped a dozen snaps and a 26% snap share was in the Week 4 matchup with the Giants (28 snaps and 57.1%). This also marked the first time he ever out-snapped Paul Richardson.

The rookie sixth-round pick out of NC State tied a career high with 2 targets (at New York Giants). He took a screen for a gain of four yards in the red zone on his first look, but was unable to haul in an underthrown pass that would’ve gained 21 yards on a 2nd-and-22 play; it was Harmon’s first career target that fell incomplete (8-of-9).

On the very next play after the incompletion, the young wideout recovered a Redskins’ fumble. It was his first recovery either in the pros or in college.

Steven Sims- Sims only played 3 snaps, all of which came from the slot, but he managed to snag a 12-yard chain mover on one of those plays. The speedy UDFA has only been in for 15 offensive snaps over the course of the last four games. The team might want to bump those numbers up a touch to see what he can do.


TIGHT ENDS

Tight Ends (3 Players)
Player (* - starter) Snaps Snap %
Jeremy Sprinkle 38 75%
Hale Hentges 9 18%
Vernon Davis Inactive N/A

Jeremy Sprinkle- Jeremy Sprinkle did not start for the first time since Week 13 of last season (at Philadelphia), which snapped his streak of consecutive starts at 12 games.

The third-year tight end caught his only target and picked up 16 yards on the 3rd-and-20 play before fumbling for the first time in his career; luckily for him, Kelvin Harmon recovered the ball. Sprink has recorded at least one reception in all nine contests this season, but has still never gained 25 or more yards in a game.

Sprinkle committed a drive-stalling false start on a 2nd-and-2 play in the third quarter. It was his second game in a row with a penalty (holding at Minnesota). He was also fined about an eighth of his 2019 salary for two counts of unnecessary roughness against the Vikings.

Hale Hentges- Hentges was on the field for a season-low 9 snaps (8 as a run blocker), as the team opted to go with more six O-linemen than two tight end looks.

Vernon Davis- Davis missed his fifth straight game because of a concussion. The only other time VD sat out more than two games in a single season was in 2006, when he was limited to ten games as a rookie because of a hairline fracture in his left leg.


RUNNING BACKS

Running Backs (5 Players)
Player (* - starter) Snaps Snap %
Adrian Peterson * 36 71%
Wendell Smallwood 18 35%
Michael Burton 5 10%
Craig Reynolds ST Only 0%
Chris Thompson Inactive N/A

Adrian Peterson- Adrian Peterson got 36 snaps and a 71% snap share with the offense against the Bills, which were his second-highest playing-time numbers in either category this season.

The legendary runner turned his 18 carries into 108 yards (6.0 YPC), 4 first downs, 83 yards after contact and 4 averted tackles. The yardage and first down totals were his second-best marks of 2019 and the rushing average, averted tackles and yards after contact figures were all season highs.

AP also had four runs of 10-plus yards for the first time since Week 3 of last season (vs. Green Bay). He kicked off the second quarter by rushing for gains of 18, 17 and 28 yards on three consecutive plays. Peterson added a 19-yarder on the team’s next drive, as well. Those were his second, fourth, fifth and seventh-longest rushes of the year.

As if that wasn’t enough, he racked up 22 receiving yards on a screen pass two plays after his 19-yard run, which was his longest gain through the air since Week 5 of last season (24-yarder at New Orleans). In all, AP was responsible for the Redskins’ five longest offensive gains against the Bills.

All Day has racked up 75 or more rushing yards in all four games since Bill Callahan took over as head coach. His 383 rushing yards, 15 rushing first downs and 5.11 YPC average since Week 6 rank third, sixth and sixth in the league, respectively.

First Half Hero & Second Half Zero- Virtually all of AP’s production came in the first half. He gained 101 of his 108 rushing yards and 123 of his 130 yards from scrimmage before halftime. Those were the ninth and sixth-highest totals of his 13-year career. All of his team-high 5 first downs were picked up before the break, as well.

It was the third-most rushing yards in the first half by any player this season (Lamar Jackson 111 yards and Dalvin Cook with 105 yards). It was Peterson’s first 100-yard first half since 2012 and his 11th career game with 100-plus rushing yards before halftime, which is the most among all active players and three ahead of Frank Gore’s eight such games.

The problem was that Peterson only produced 7 yards on his eight touches in the second half. Here is his yardage output on those touches: 0, 8, -3, 0, 0, 0, 4 and -2.

Wendell Smallwood- Smallwood played a season-high 18 snaps on Sunday. He was only able to muster gains of two and three yards (5 total) on his two carries, both of which came on 1st-and-10 plays.

He fared even worse in the passing game. The fourth-year RB was unable to corral a bad throw on a third down, lost four yards on a failed screen and came up two yards shy of the line to gain on the offense’s only fourth-down try (-2 receiving yards). To top it off, he also allowed a pressure (a hurry) for the first time this season, despite only pass-blocking on three snaps.

Smallwood’s 52.4 grade was the worst mark he had received from PFF since Week 6 of 2018 (46.6 with Philadelphia at New York Giants in Week 6).

Michael Burton- Fullback Michael Burton got 5 snaps of action in this one, three of which were on running plays. Of his 19 snaps this season, 13 of them have come on Washington rushes. Burton’s last offensive touch of any kind was in Week 1 of last season (6-yard reception for Chicago at Green Bay).

Chris Thompson- CT missed his third straight game with a toe injury. This absence ensures that Thompson will be unable to top 13 games played for the sixth time in his seven-year career. On the bright side, he is expected to return following the Week 10 bye.

Craig Reynolds- The rookie Kutztown University alum played exclusively on special teams for the third consecutive week.

Reynolds was released today to make room for Derrius Guice, who is about to be taken off IR and added back to the active roster.

Redskins Rushing- Peterson, Smallwood and Haskins combined to rush the ball 23 times for 127 yards, a 5.52 YPC average and 5 first downs. The attempt and yardage figures were the team’s third-highest totals of the year, their rushing average was their second-best clip of the year and the 5 first downs tied the season-high they set in three other games.

The Redskins also gained 10 or more yards on a 2019-high four runs against the Bills. Those rushes represented their third, fifth, seventh and ninth-longest carries this year. The only problem was that three of them came on the same field-goal drive.

All of the aforementioned statistics in this section might have all ended up being season highs if Washington had not played one of the worst teams in NFL history (Miami Dolphins) and gained 65 yards on a single carry against the New England Patriots.

That 65-yarder occurred in Week 5 and was the team’s last rushing score and just their second overall on the year. The Jaguars are the only team without a rushing touchdown since Week 6 and the lone club that has scored less on the ground than the Skins have this season (1 TD).

The New England game was the start of the team’s streak of games with 75-plus yards rushing (5 games) and was their first of four 100-yard days in the last five weeks. They’ve averaged 23.6 rushes since that game, but have scored just 8.4 points per game in that stretch. The team only ran it 17 times per game in their first four games, but also scored almost twice as many points on average in those contests (16.5). It will probably say “Establish the Run” on Bill Callahan’s tombstone, so there is no point in hoping for this trend to change.


OFFENSIVE LINEMEN

Offensive Line (9 Players)
Player (* - starter) Snaps Snap %
Ereck Flowers * 51 100%
Donald Penn * 51 100%
Chase Roullier * 51 100%
Brandon Scherff * 51 100%
Morgan Moses * 46 90%
Tony Bergstrom * 15 29%
Geron Christian 5 10%
Ross Pierschbacher ST Only 0%
Wes Martin Inactive N/A

Offensive Line (Team)- The line did pave the way for the Redskins’ fourth 100-yard rushing game in the last five weeks, but this marked the third time in those games that over 75% of the team’s rushing yardage was gained after contact (81.1%).

Haskins was sacked four times, which is tied for the most sacks allowed by Washington this season; however, the line was only charged with one of them. The real problem was that Buffalo was able to generate pressure on 37.9% of Haskins’ dropbacks, which was the second-highest pressure rate allowed by Washington since Week 2 (40% vs. New England in Week 5).

The O-line was also responsible for three of the Skins’ four offensive penalties and four of their five total penalties. Fortunately for them, two of those three infractions were declined.

Donald Penn- Penn gave up a team-high 3 pressures, including an 8-yard sack to Jerry Hughes in Buffalo territory. This marked the fourth time in the last six games that the veteran left tackle had surrendered a sack.

He has now committed a penalty in five of his last seven contests, after being called for holding on the team’s final offensive play of the day; the infraction was declined in favor of the turnover on downs.

Penn’s 50.5 PFF rating for the game ranked last among all offensive players on the team with more than 15 snaps.

Ereck Flowers- Ereck Flowers bounced back a week after he allowed a pair of sacks, which were the first ones he had given up all season. The former tackle did not commit a penalty for the fourth straight week and was only charged with one hurry against the Bills. On top of that, 61 of the team’s 127 rushing yards (48%) were gained through Flowers’ gaps (left guard and middle left).

Chase Roullier- Roullier was the only one of the starting five O-linemen on the team who didn’t allow a single QB pressure in Buffalo. He didn’t commit a penalty for the sixth time in his seven games this year, too.

Brandon Scherff- The walk-year guard was responsible for 3 Buffalo hurries, which gave him a team and season high 3 total pressures allowed, a number that nearly doubled his total coming into the game (4). And while he wasn’t officially charged with a sack, it was his man (Jordan Phillips) who sacked Haskins and stalled Washington’s final drive of the game.

Scherff did, at least, make a key block on Adrian Peterson’s 22-yard reception, which was the Skins’ second-longest play of the game.

Morgan Moses- Morgan Moses only gave up a single pressure in the game (a hurry). He has only allowed a pressure per game over the course of the last four weeks compared to the 3.8-clip he was operating at in Weeks 1-5. Although, the decreased number of overall and passing plays certainly has something to do with that.

Moses was flagged for holding on an Adrian Peterson run, but the penalty was declined because AP was stopped for no gain on the 2nd-and-10 play. It was the fourth holding infraction he had committed on the season and his seventh penalty overall.

He missed five snaps with a pectoral injury, but returned to the game and appeared to be fine.

Other Offensive Linemen- Geron Christian replaced the injured Morgan Moses at right tackle for 5 snaps. Tony Bergstrom started and was utilized as an extra offensive lineman on a whopping 15 snaps, which easily represented the Redskins’ highest usage of extra linemen all season. Bergstrom was penalized for not declaring himself eligible on the team’s first offensive play. Neither player allowed any pressures in the game.

Ross Pierscbacher played solely on special teams for the third straight week and has still yet to see time on offense. Wes Martin practiced leading up to the game for the first time since Week 5, but was inactive against the Bills.


ALL OFFENSIVE PLAYERS

All Offensive Players (25 Players)
Player (* - starter) Snaps Snap % Player (* - starter) Snaps Snap %
Ereck Flowers * 51 100% Tony Bergstrom * 15 29%
Dwayne Haskins * 51 100% Hale Hentges 9 18%
Terry McLaurin * 51 100% Michael Burton 5 10%
Donald Penn * 51 100% Geron Christian 5 10%
Chase Roullier * 51 100% Steven Sims 3 6%
Brandon Scherff * 51 100% Colt McCoy 0 0%
Morgan Moses * 46 90% Ross Pierschbacher ST Only 0%
Jeremy Sprinkle 38 75% Craig Reynolds ST Only 0%
Adrian Peterson * 36 71% Vernon Davis Inactive N/A
Trey Quinn * 31 61% Case Keenum Inactive N/A
Kelvin Harmon * 25 49% Wes Martin Inactive N/A
Paul Richardson 24 47% Chris Thompson Inactive N/A
Wendell Smallwood 18 35%

*All statistics are courtesy of Air Yards, ESPN, Football Outsiders, NBC Sports, NFL.com, NFL Gamebooks, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, Redskins.com, Sports Info Solutions and The Washington Post*

Poll

Which of the following seasons was the worst for the Redskins in the past 40 years?

This poll is closed

  • 7%
    1993 (3-13, the Petitbon season)
    (7 votes)
  • 2%
    1994 (3-13, Turner’s first season)
    (2 votes)
  • 0%
    1998 (6-10 w/Turner)
    (0 votes)
  • 5%
    2003 (5-11, Spurrier’s last season)
    (5 votes)
  • 17%
    2013 (3-13, Shanahan’s final season)
    (16 votes)
  • 0%
    2014 (4-12, Gruden’s first season)
    (0 votes)
  • 66%
    This season (1-8, Gruden’s last season)
    (59 votes)
89 votes total Vote Now