/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65149662/usa_today_13277378.0.jpg)
Snaps- As was expected, none of the Washington Redskins’ projected Week 1 starters played against the Baltimore Ravens in Thursday night’s preseason finale. However, several potential key reserves like Dwayne Haskins, Robert Davis, Cam Sims, Samaje Perine, Geron Christian and Wes Martin did get some action in the game.
The Skins’ offense was on the field for a total of 236 snaps in the 2019 preseason (68 > 53 > 61 > 54).
Yards- Washington gained just 180 yards of total offense in the contest, which was the team’s lowest total since their embarrassing 2018 regular season finale against the Eagles (89 yards). The same can be said of their 3.7-yards-per-play average (2.0 vs Philadelphia).
The Redskins ranked 30th (235.8) and 26th (4.41) in yards per game and per play respectively in the exhibition season.
Points- The Burgundy and Gold offense only managed to score a preseason-low 7 points in the game. The team was able to put up just 49 points (3rd worst in the NFL) on the board all August and never scored 20 or more in any one game. You actually have to go all the way back to 2006 to find the last time the Skins scored fewer points in the preseason (27 points).
Red Zone- Washington’s offense scored a touchdown on their lone play inside the Baltimore 20-yard line. Perhaps they would have scored more had they not run the same amount of plays in Ravens’ territory that they did inside their own 15-yard line (includes the 15).
Giveaways- The only turnover the Redskins committed was a fourth-quarter interception. They had one giveaway in all four games this summer and ranked tied for 29th in the league with a total of eight of them.
3rd Down- The team was only able to convert on two of their third-down tries for the third consecutive week. This was their second straight 2-for-11 showing on the money down (18.1%).
This had a lot to do with the fact that they needed to gain eight or more yards on seven of those plays; they were able to move the chains on both of the third downs where they needed to gain fewer than five yards.
Another try and conversion ended with a roughing the passer penalty, but it was not counted since the penalty negated the actual play.
Penalties- The Redskins’ offense was responsible for committing five of the club’s nine accepted penalties and for 38 of their 83 penalty yards.
As a whole, the team committed at least six penalties in all four games.
QUARTERBACKS
Quarterbacks (4 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Dwayne Haskins * | 31 | 57% |
Jalan McClendon | 23 | 43% |
Case Keenum | DNP | N/A |
Colt McCoy | DNP | N/A |
Dwayne Haskins- Dwayne Haskins started for the first time in the NFL and was at the controls for the Washington offense for all 31 of the team’s first-half snaps.
Haskins probably had what was his best performance yet as a pro. He completed 10-of-17 passes (58.8%) for 104 yards (6.1 YPA), 6 first downs, a touchdown and no sacks or interceptions (96.2 passer rating). His numbers could’ve been even better had his receivers not dropped a combined four passes and had a 21-yarder not been nullified by a penalty. His career-best 80.5 PFF grade ranked first on the offense and third on the team.
The rookie out of OSU has shown flashes in every game he’s played in for the Redskins; the problem is that he just hasn’t been consistent. The majority of his production from each game has come on a single drive in those contests. Haskins played 25 drives in the preseason, but 41% of his completions, 54% of his yards and 58% of his first downs came from just four drives (one from each game).
Jalan McClendon- Unlike Haskins, there have not been any flashes of brilliance from Jalan McClendon.
The undrafted signal caller only completed two of his eight passes for a pathetic 4 yards against the Ravens. He was also sacked twice and threw an interception. All of those numbers add up to the following absurdly bad efficiency metrics: 25% completion rate, 0.5 YPA, 0.0 passer rating and -4.2 adjusted net yards per attempt. His overall numbers for the preseason as a whole weren’t much better (40%, 1.6, 8.3 and -2.8).
McLendon is probably a good guy, but he just has no business ever playing on an NFL field. He was only on the team because three of the team’s five other quarterbacks were hurt.
Other QB- Case Keenum was named the starting quarterback earlier in the week and was never going to play in this game. The Redskins are set to become the fourth team Keenum has started for in the last four years (Rams, Vikings and Broncos). He will be the lone starting quarterback with that distinction in Week 1. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Nick Foles will be the only QBs who have even started for more than two teams in the last four years.
Colt McCoy is still recovering from offseason surgery and is at least a couple of weeks away from being able to play.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Wide Receivers (11 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Robert Davis * | 32 | 59% |
Cam Sims * | 31 | 57% |
Darvin Kidsy | 26 | 48% |
Kelvin Harmon | 19 | 35% |
Steven Sims | 19 | 35% |
Brian Quick | 14 | 26% |
Jehu Chesson | 12 | 22% |
Josh Doctson | DNP | N/A |
Terry McLaurin | DNP | N/A |
Trey Quinn | DNP | N/A |
Paul Richardson | DNP | N/A |
Robert Davis- The offensive star of the first and second weeks of the preseason caught a pass against the Ravens; unfortunately, his lone catch did not result in a touchdown like it did in the first two games.
His reception on Thursday went for a 14-yard first down on Washington’s only scoring drive of the night. Davis was one of 20 players to catch two or more touchdowns this preseason. He was also the single Skins player who gained 40 or more yards on an offensive play from scrimmage, and he did it twice (46 and 55 yards).
His big-play ability and work as a gunner on special teams earned him a spot on the final roster just a year after tearing multiple ligaments in his knee.
Cam Sims- Cam Sims did not pick a good night to have the worst game of his pro career. He did catch a 12-yard pass, but that was the only one of his 7 targets he was able to haul in (14.3% catch rate). What’s even worse is he dropped three targets in a row at one point. Had he hypothetically not dropped those passes, he would’ve added at least another 28 yards and 2 first downs to his stat line.
Outside of a strong performance against the Falcons in Week 3 (3 receptions for 48 yards and 2 first downs), Sims did relatively nothing during the 2019 exhibition season. This comes in stark contrast to the team-best 131 yards he put up last August.
He was cut by the team on Saturday, but brought back on Sunday as a member of the practice squad.
Steven Sims- After almost scoring on multiple occasions over the last two weeks, Steven Sims finally found the paint in this one when he made a diving 7-yard grab in the end zone. The touchdown was the first of his career and represented the Redskins’ only score of the game.
His only other target of the night came on a 3rd-and-8 pass that was thrown slightly behind him and fell incomplete.
He caught 3-of-9 balls for 32 yards and the aforementioned touchdown in his four games.
Sims made the final roster today, and while the touchdown helped, it was really his play on special teams that got him the job. Look out for the next article to read about his contributions as a returner.
Darvin Kidsy- The second-year slot receiver was targeted six times but was only able to haul in 2 receptions for 16 yards. His 14-yard grab on a 3rd-and-2 represented half of the Redskins’ third-down conversions in the entire game.
His stat line could’ve been better had he not dropped a 6-yard reception on 2nd-and-5 and had a 21-yarder not been negated by a holding penalty.
Despite all that, Kidsy still led the team in targets (17), receptions (11), receiving yards (118) and receiving first downs (4) this August. However, most of his production came in Week 1 against the Browns when we he had 5 receptions for 86 yards and 2 first downs on 7 targets.
Kelvin Harmon- We didn’t hear much from Kelvin Harmon in this one. He was targeted just once on his 19 snaps and 11 routes and lost a yard on the play.
The sixth-rounder’s summer ends with 9 targets, 5 receptions, 52 yards and 3 first downs. He could’ve been credited with a 30-yard DPI and a 42-yard catch in Week 2, but the referees thought he committed pass inference himself on the plays.
Brian Quick- Mercifully, the Brian Quick experiment ended today, as the team parted ways with the veteran receiver. He failed to catch all three of his targets in the preseason and committed an OPI penalty, albeit a questionable one, the only time the ball was thrown his way on Thursday. At 30-years-old, Quick’s time in the league is winding down.
Jehu Chesson- Chesson played 12 snaps against the Ravens and was not targeted. His preseason ends with 49 offensive snaps, 2 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards, a first down and a holding penalty. His only real value in the NFL is as a kick coverage man on special teams.
Josh Doctson- Washington finally moved on from the 2016 first-round bust. He never produced like a first-round pick or a true #1 receiver and history tells us that he never will.
Other WR- Locked-in starters Paul Richardson and Trey Quinn, who played 9 and 10 snaps between Weeks 1-3 respectively, both predictably sat this one out.
Terry McLaurin didn’t play, either. Doctson’s departure paves the way for the rookie third-rounder to start opposite of P-Rich on the outside.
TIGHT ENDS
Tight Ends (6 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
J.P. Holtz * | 39 | 72% |
Donald Parham | 14 | 26% |
Jeremy Sprinkle * | 10 | 19% |
Vernon Davis | DNP | N/A |
Matt Flanagan | DNP | N/A |
Jordan Reed | DNP | N/A |
Jeremy Sprinkle- Sprinkle, who started and played 10 snaps, was not able to carry over any of the success he had last week into Thursday night’s preseason finale. He caught a play-action pass that only gained a yard on the first play from scrimmage and committed a drive-stalling false start penalty on the following snap. He wasn’t heard from after that.
Yes, he caught four passes this August, but he also allowed a QB hit, committed a pair of penalties and dropped a pass. It seems like he may have improved some over the offseason, but probably not enough to get excited about.
J.P. Holtz- John Paul Holtz turned 26 the day before the game, and, at least by his standards, he had a pretty decent post-birthday showing. The fourth-year vet tied his personal record for receptions in a single game, with two of them (reached once before), and set new career marks in reception yards (30 yards) and long reception (24 yards). His previous bests in both categories were 15 yards.
His 24-yard grab against the Ravens set the offense up in the red zone for their only score of the night and was tied for the second-longest play from scrimmage in the game.
Holtz did not make the final 53, but he land himself a job on the practice squad.
Donald Parham- Not much had gone right for the UDFA out of Stetson during the first three weeks of the preseason (22 offensive snaps, 2 penalties, 1 target and 1 drop), but something certainly did in Week 4. Parham made a 25-yard grab that was his first NFL catch, the longest play from scrimmage in the game and a major part of the Redskins’ lone scoring drive.
There is definitely some potential here. Don’t forget he caught 143 receptions for 2,136 yards and 14 touchdowns over the course of his last 19 college games, and that at 6’8”, he is the tallest player on the team.
Parham was released today, but the 22-year-old tight end is an excellent candidate for the practice squad.
Matt Flanagan- Flanagan sat the game out with a hand injury. He finished the preseason with 65 offensive snaps, 4 targets, 1 reception and 15 yards. He was waived with an injury designation on Saturday.
Other TE- The releases of Holtz, Parham and Flanagan indicate that the Washington front office is confident Jordan Reed will be able to go in Week 1.
RUNNING BACKS
Running Backs (7 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Craig Reynolds | 23 | 43% |
Byron Marshall | 16 | 30% |
Samaje Perine * | 15 | 28% |
Derrius Guice | DNP | N/A |
Adrian Peterson | DNP | N/A |
Chris Thompson | DNP | N/A |
Shaun Wilson | DNP | N/A |
Samaje Perine- It pains me to say this, but Samaje Perine had basically become the Ryan Grant of running backs for the Redskins, and I’m not talking about the former Packers runner. Jay Gruden talked him up all summer, but outside of last week’s 4 carry, 16-yard, 1 touchdown performance we haven’t seen anything from him at all that could even be misconstrued as remotely impressive.
He gained just 13 yards between his five carries and his one target (no catch) against the Ravens. He did move the chains on 3rd-and-1 with a 2-yard rush, but he followed it up with a carry that went for a loss of 4 yards on the next play. And on top of his poor showing in the running game, he allowed a pair of hurries despite only taking 4 snaps as a pass blocker.
Perine has turned his 22 exhibition touches in 2019 into just 47 yards (2.14-yard average). His 2.2 YPC clip ranks 113th out of 122 players with at least 10 rushes this preseason. That’s even lower than the 3.47 average he posted in his first two regular seasons combined (57th out of 62 RBs with 150-plus carries between 2017 and 2018).
The team parted ways with the third-year back today.
Byron Marshall- Marshall led the Skins in rushing yards (45), yards per carry (5.6), long rush (16) and rushing first downs (2).
However, those numbers are deceiving for two reasons: 1) the rest of the team was horrible in the running game, so leading the club didn’t mean much, and 2) almost all of his production came on the last three plays of the game, which all things considered, were about as meaningless as you can get.
He rushed for gains of 16 and 12 yards on the final drive; those two plays accounted for 62% of his rushing yards (38.4% of the team’s rushing yards) and two of the team’s three rushing first downs. They also represented Washington’s third and seventh-longest plays of the night. Sad.
Marshall gained a single yard on his only target and reception of the night.
The supposed reasons for keeping Marshall around were that he is capable of operating as a third-down back and as a kick returner. He had 3 receptions for 14 yards (1 first down) this preseason and his 17.3 yards per kickoff return ranked last among all qualifiers (player must have 1.25 kickoff returns per their team’s games played).
The fourth-year running back snuck onto the roster, but he only last a day before being replaced by the newly acquired Wendell Smallwood.
Craig Reynolds- The Kutztown University product led the Skins with 9 carries against the Ravens, but was only able to muster 15 yards on those runs (1.7 YPC). How’d he do that, you ask? Well, he gained a yard or less on five of his nine rushes and never had a gain of more than 6 yards.
He also caught a 5-yard pass on a 1st-and-20 play, made the tackle following Jalan McClendon’s interception and allowed a QB hurry.
Reynolds led the team in carries (28), touches (30) and rushing yards (80) this preseason, however he averaged just 2.9 yards per carry and 3 yards per touch. He amazingly only picked up a single first down and gained 10 or more yards on a play once all August.
Other RB- Guice looked good last week, in what was his first game since tearing his ACL a year ago, so there was no need to trot him out there again. AP and CT are vets that have no business sniffing the field in Week 4 of the preseason.
Shaun Wilson’s ankle injury will likely land him on IR.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Offensive Line (15 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Timon Parris * | 45 | 83% |
Ross Pierschbacher | 44 | 81% |
Geron Christian * | 40 | 74% |
Wes Martin * | 40 | 74% |
Zac Kerin * | 31 | 57% |
Hugh Thornton | 23 | 43% |
Blake Hance | 17 | 31% |
Jerald Foster | 14 | 26% |
Tony Bergstrom * | 10 | 19% |
Corey Robinson | 6 | 11% |
Ereck Flowers | DNP | N/A |
Morgan Moses | DNP | N/A |
Donald Penn | DNP | N/A |
Chase Roullier | DNP | N/A |
Brandon Scherff | DNP | N/A |
Geron Christian- The 2018 third-round pick started at left tackle and played into the second half (40 snaps). He regressed a bit this week, after what was a plus-performance in the dress rehearsal game against the Falcons.
The hurry Christian allowed on the offense’s third play of the game led to an incompletion and a three-and-out. He also committed an obvious holding penalty that negated what would’ve been a 21-yard pass to Darvin Kidsy; the hold did likely prevent a sack, though.
Look for Christian to operate as the team’s swing tackle this season.
Wes Martin- Martin, like Christian, started and played 40 snaps. He didn’t commit any penalties and also didn’t surrender a single pressure for the third time in his four games.
He only gave up one pressure (a hurry) and wasn’t flagged for holding once on his 56 pass-blocking snaps this summer.
Tony Bergstrom- The 33-year-old backup pivot only played 10 snaps for the second straight week, so it was difficult to judge his play on such a small sample size. He did, however, whiff on a block on a 3rd-and-20 screen that probably wouldn’t have led to a first down, but would have likely given the team another 10 or so yards of field position.
Zac Kerin- Kerin played the entire first half and fared well, other than allowing a hurry and committing an illegal use of hands penalty that stalled a drive.
Kerin was released today.
Timon Parris- Parris started for the second time in his career and played on a team-high 44 offensive snaps. The second-year right tackle actually led the offense this preseason with 139 snaps.
He didn’t give up any pressures for the second consecutive game, but did get flagged for holding in the fourth quarter. Parris has either allowed a pressure and/or committed a penalty in eight of his nine NFL games. That’s probably a big part of the reason he did not make the final roster. However, he was still good enough to earn himself a spot on the practice squad.
Corey Robinson- After not playing last week, Robinson saw the field for just 6 snaps against the Ravens. He only pass blocked on three of those snaps, yet he somehow allowed a hurry.
It was his first pressure allowed all preseason, but he only played 27 total and 15 pass-blocking snaps.
Jerald Foster- The Nebraska product did not allow a single pressure or commit a penalty on any of his 35 snaps this August.
Nevertheless, the team parted ways with Foster today.
Ross Pierschbacher- The fifth-round pick from the Redskins’ minor league affiliate, the Alabama Crimson Tide, was the first third-string O-lineman to come off the bench. He took over for Bergstrom at center and played the final 44 snaps of the contest. Pierschbacher allowed a single pressure (a hurry) for the second straight week, but he’s delivered a clean slate in pass protection this summer outside of those two exceptions.
Hugh Thornton- Like fellow third-team guard, Jerald Foster, Thornton gave up no pressure of any kind in the preseason and was not flagged once. It’s frankly a little surprising that he wasn’t at least a little rustier considering he hasn’t played since all the way back in 2015.
Unfortunately for him, Thornton might not be playing in the regular season this year either, because he was released today.
Blake Hance- The rookie lineman took snaps at both left (8) and right tackle (9) on Thursday night and for the third time in four games he did not surrender any pressures or commit a penalty. Hance can reportedly play all five positions on the line, but he spent most of his time in college protecting the blind side at left tackle.
The team let Hance go this morning.
Other OL- I get why Brandon Scherff, Morgan Moses, Chase Roullier and Donald Penn didn’t play in the finale, but I don’t understand at all why Ereck Flowers wasn’t out there.
Sure, he hasn’t given up any sacks this preseason, but he has allowed 3 QB hits and committed a pair of penalties. His 39.3 PFF pass-blocking grade ranks him 314th out of 343 offensive linemen who played at least 50 snaps this August. Oh, that and the fact that his 90 snaps at left guard this preseason represents 100% of the snaps he’s ever played at any of the interior O-line positions in his entire NFL career.
ALL OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
All Offensive Players (43 Players) | ||||||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | |
Timon Parris * | 45 | 83% | Tony Bergstrom * | 10 | 19% | |
Ross Pierschbacher | 44 | 81% | Jeremy Sprinkle * | 10 | 19% | |
Geron Christian * | 40 | 74% | Corey Robinson | 6 | 11% | |
Wes Martin * | 40 | 74% | Vernon Davis | DNP | N/A | |
J.P. Holtz * | 39 | 72% | Josh Doctson | DNP | N/A | |
Robert Davis * | 32 | 59% | Matt Flanagan | DNP | N/A | |
Dwayne Haskins * | 31 | 57% | Ereck Flowers | DNP | N/A | |
Zac Kerin * | 31 | 57% | Derrius Guice | DNP | N/A | |
Cam Sims * | 31 | 57% | Case Keenum | DNP | N/A | |
Darvin Kidsy | 26 | 48% | Colt McCoy | DNP | N/A | |
Jalan McClendon | 23 | 43% | Terry McLaurin | DNP | N/A | |
Craig Reynolds | 23 | 43% | Morgan Moses | DNP | N/A | |
Hugh Thornton | 23 | 43% | Donald Penn | DNP | N/A | |
Kelvin Harmon | 19 | 35% | Adrian Peterson | DNP | N/A | |
Steven Sims | 19 | 35% | Trey Quinn | DNP | N/A | |
Blake Hance | 17 | 31% | Jordan Reed | DNP | N/A | |
Byron Marshall | 16 | 30% | Paul Richardson | DNP | N/A | |
Samaje Perine * | 15 | 28% | Chase Roullier | DNP | N/A | |
Jerald Foster | 14 | 26% | Brandon Scherff | DNP | N/A | |
Donald Parham | 14 | 26% | Chris Thompson | DNP | N/A | |
Brian Quick | 14 | 26% | Shaun Wilson | DNP | N/A | |
Jehu Chesson | 12 | 22% |
*All statistics are courtesy of ESPN, NBC Sports, NFL.com, NFL Gamebooks, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, Redskins.com and The Washington Post*
Poll
How many games will Case Keenum start this season?
This poll is closed
-
0%
1 or 2
-
23%
3 to 5
-
35%
6 to 8
-
12%
9 to 11
-
28%
12 or more