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Snaps- Greg Manusky’s defense was on the field for a preseason-high 84 snaps in Thursday night’s finale. In all, Washington’s defense was on the field for 295 snaps this past August.
Montez Sweat and Josh Harvey-Clemons were the only Redskins defenders who played against the Ravens that are actually expected to get a fair amount of playing time in the regular season. Reserves Cassanova McKinzy, Greg Stroman and Troy Apke also took snaps on defense in the game.
Yards- The defense gave up 358 total yards in the game, which was the second-highest yardage figure they allowed in their four games (417 yards at Cleveland). Their 336.3-yard average ranked 26th in the NFL this preseason. Just remember to take some solace in the fact that the first-team defense only played on 48 of the 295 defensive snaps (16.3%).
Points- The Burgundy and Gold D allowed 20 points on Thursday night, which brings their summer total up to 80 points allowed. The resulting 20-point average gave them a rather middling 19th-place ranking.
Red Zone- The Skins did make one impressive red-zone stand where they held Baltimore out of the end zone despite facing eight plays inside the 20-yard line, but they also surrendered touchdowns on the Ravens’ two other trips to the red area (66.6%).
The red-zone possessions Washington’s defense allowed touchdowns on came after an interception and a blocked punt, so their lack of success in this regard needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
3rd Down- The Ravens were able to move the sticks against the Redskins on eight of their 18 third-down plays (44.4%).
The team’s third-down defense was far from spectacular in the exhibition season (ranked 19th at 37.9%), but at least they were far better than the offense was on the money down (ranked 30th at 26%).
Takeaways- The Ravens muffed two punts, which officially count as fumbles, but they did not turn the ball over once. This was the first game in 2019 in which Washington failed to take the ball away at least once. They were averaging two takeaways per game coming into this contest.
Penalties- Just three of the Redskins’ 12 total penalties were committed by their defenders and two of them were declined (both offsides). The one accepted penalty against the defense (neutral zone infraction) accounted for just five of the club’s 83 penalty yards (6%).
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Defensive Line (10 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Ryan Bee * | 65 | 77% |
JoJo Wicker * | 53 | 63% |
Jonathan Bonner | 46 | 55% |
Austin Maloata * | 31 | 37% |
Khairi Clark | 21 | 25% |
Jonathan Allen | DNP | N/A |
Caleb Brantley | DNP | N/A |
Matt Ioannidis | DNP | N/A |
Daron Payne | DNP | N/A |
Tim Settle | DNP | N/A |
Ryan Bee- Bee led all Washington D-linemen in snaps played (65), solo tackles (5) and stops (3). He also pressured Trace McSorley on a third down and drew a holding penalty on another play, which negated a 19-yard pass by the Ravens.
The rookie UDFA from Marshall ranked second on the team in solo (14) and total (17) tackles. He led or was tied for the lead among all Redskins linemen in TFLs (2), stops (3), sacks (1), QB hits (2) and total pressures (5).
He put up solid numbers across the board, but they weren’t enough to secure him a spot on the 53-player roster. However, Bee was signed to the practice squad today.
JoJo Wicker- JoJo Wicker put forth what was a solid last-ditch effort to make the team. The second-year ASU product recorded the first sack of his career (loss of 6 yards) and registered another TFL on a 3rd-and-1 stop he made on a goal-line play. In all, he made 4 tackles in the game, which is three more than he had recorded in his career prior to that.
Wicker was released today, but he has a good chance of landing on the practice squad.
Jonathan Bonner- Bonner recorded a pair of tackles (1 solo), but failed to create any pressures on his 22 pass rushes.
In his four games played this August, he made just 4 tackles and scored 3 pressures, including a half sack. That wasn’t nearly enough production to land him a spot on the team considering he played 131 defensive snaps.
Austin Maloata- The rookie Samoan lost his job as the Redskins’ third-string nose tackle after a 2-tackle and zero-pressure performance on Thursday night. He never recorded more than 2 tackles in any of the team’s four games and generated pressure on just 1-of-36 pass-rushing snaps. At just 283 pounds, Maloata also isn’t quite what you would call an immovable object on the interior of your defensive line. He was cut on Saturday.
Khairi Clark- Clark was on the field for 21 snaps, after playing just 3 snaps in his NFL debut last week. He assisted on a pair of second-down tackles and failed to generate any pressure on his seven plays rushing the passer. The UDFA out of Florida was waived by the team on Saturday.
Other DL- The team releasing Bee and Wicker and opting to go with five D-linemen tells us that they are probably fairly confident about injured rotational backups Tim Settle and Caleb Brantley being able to play come Week 1.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS
Outside Linebackers (7 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Marcus Smith | 77 | 92% |
Andrew Ankrah | 51 | 61% |
Cassanova McKinzy * | 11 | 13% |
Montez Sweat * | 7 | 8% |
Ryan Anderson | DNP | N/A |
Jordan Brailford | DNP | N/A |
Ryan Kerrigan | DNP | N/A |
Montez Sweat- It was a bit surprising to see the first-round pick out there starting for the third consecutive week. This either means he is not actually the starter or the coaches just think he needs more work; maybe both things are true.
Perspective on the reasoning behind the decision aside, Sweat was impressive in this game. I say that mainly because he only played 7 snaps and still found a way to record 2 tackles and score a third-down quarterback hurry.
Montez Sweat certainly didn’t set the world on fire with his play in the preseason (5 tackles, 2 pressures and a QB hit), and maybe he won’t in the regular season either, but we also need to acknowledge he still has the potential to post a monster rookie season if things start to click for him.
Cassanova McKinzy- McKinzy recorded a tackle and a hurry before being forced from the game with a concussion after 11 snaps. He is reportedly on track to be available for Week 1.
The fourth-year edge rusher led the team in preseason pressures (10), hits (3) and sacks (2).
Marcus Smith- Marcus Smith replaced Montez Sweat on the right side and played 77 defensive snaps, which represented the second-most playing time given to any player on the team this week.
Smith made 4 tackles, including a pair of third-down stops. He also tallied a team-high 4 pressures, one of which was a QB hit on a third-and-long play. Smith did, however, commit a pair of penalties in the game.
After virtually accomplishing nothing in nearly the last two years, the veteran outside backer had a fairly productive preseason (8 pressures, 2 QB hits, 1 FF and 1 PD). Unfortunately for Smith, the Redskins are relatively deep at outside linebacker, otherwise they might not have released him.
Andrew Ankrah- The JMU alum made 3 tackles in the contest, all of which coincidentally happened to occur on Ravens’ rushes on third or fourth-and-1 plays that picked up a first down.
Ankrah also generated a hurry on one of his 23 rushes and was flagged for jumping offsides (declined) on a third-down. This was the first time he was penalized this summer, but it was the first time he was able to pressure the opposing quarterback, too.
His 44.3 PFF grade was tied for the worst such mark on the Washington defense.
The Skins parted ways with the rookie outside backer this weekend.
Other OLB- I was halfway expecting to see Ryan Anderson out there instead of Sweat; but as I mentioned earlier, perhaps this means Anderson has won the starting ROLB job, at least for the time being.
Jordan Brailford made the 53-man roster, but will be placed on injured reserve prior to the start of the regular season.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS
Inside Linebackers (8 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
B.J. Blunt | 54 | 64% |
Marquis Flowers * | 51 | 61% |
Darrell Williams | 33 | 39% |
Josh Harvey-Clemons * | 18 | 21% |
Gary Johnson | 15 | 18% |
Jon Bostic | DNP | N/A |
Shaun Dion Hamilton | DNP | N/A |
Cole Holcomb | DNP | N/A |
Josh Harvey-Clemons- Harvey-Clemons started and was in for 18 defensive snaps, which was the most PT that any key defensive reserve got in this game.
JHC made 2 assisted tackles, one of which came after the 8-yard reception he allowed to Ravens running back De’Lance Turner. He also scored a QB hit on Baltimore’s first third down of the game.
Look for Harvey-Clemons to patrol the middle of the Redskins’ defense on obvious passing downs this season.
B.J. Blunt- The rookie inside backer made 5 tackles (3 solo) in the preseason finale. Unfortunately, for Blunt and his hopes of sneaking onto the final roster, he also missed a team-high 2 tackles and gave up a reception on each of the four passes thrown into his coverage. The Ravens gained 35 yards on those four throws, including a 10-yarder on a 3rd-and-9 play.
On the plus side, he did register hurries on two of his three pass-rushing snaps. The Redskins were wise to utilize him in this way, as he recorded 11 sacks in college last year.
Blunt did some nice things for the defense in the preseason, but he didn’t do quite enough to make the team. He may well show up on the Redskins’ practice squad roster, however.
Marquis Flowers- The sixth-year veteran started and made a few plays, but didn’t do enough to make up for the mistakes.
He recorded 6 tackles (3 solo), with half of those takedowns coming within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage. One of those tackles was a three-and-out forcing stop for a 2-yard loss on a 3rd-and-1 rush. He missed a tackle, as well.
Flowers notched what was just the fifth pass defense of his career, but he struggled in coverage outside of that. He gave up 3 receptions for 44 yards and 3 first downs on 6 targets. The yardage and first down totals were the most allowed by any player on the team. What’s even worse is that two of the chain movers he surrendered came on third down.
He tied Ankrah for the lowest PFF grade on the team (44.3).
Flowers was released on Saturday.
Darrell Williams- The UDFA from LSU had a strong showing on Thursday night. He led the team in both solo tackles (6) and defensive stops (5). The Ravens gained a total of 2 yards on half of those tackles, which includes his stop for no gain at Washington’s own 1-yard line. He did miss a tackle in the game, though.
Williams also allowed catches on both of the targets thrown his way, but the Ravens only gained 14 combined yards on the plays, neither of which went for a first down.
His 82.0 PFF rating ranked second on the team.
Despite his best efforts in the game, Williams was released.
Gary Johnson- After only playing one snap in his NFL debut last week, Johnson was on the field for 15 of them against Baltimore. He assisted on 3 tackles, all of which were made on the same fourth-quarter drive. His final takedown of the night was a stop for no gain on a 3rd-and-1 run by quarterback Joe Callahan. Johnson led the entire team with a 90.0 PFF grade.
The Redskins released the speedy Texas product, but he does have a good shot at making it onto the practice squad.
Other ILB- Jon Bostic and Shaun Dion Hamilton predictably did not suit up for the game. Rookie fifth-rounder Cole Holcomb probably would’ve played if not for his sprained AC joint.
CORNERBACKS
Cornerbacks (10 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Deion Harris | 70 | 83% |
D.J. White | 53 | 63% |
Ashton Lampkin | 45 | 54% |
Adonis Alexander * | 41 | 49% |
Greg Stroman * | 12 | 14% |
Jimmy Moreland | ST Only | N/A |
Quinton Dunbar | DNP | N/A |
Fabian Moreau | DNP | N/A |
Josh Norman | DNP | N/A |
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie | DNP | N/A |
Greg Stroman- Stroman drew the start at the right cornerback spot and played 12 snaps. He was thrown at twice on the first drive. The first ball thrown his way was a deep pass in the end zone that was overthrown. Four snaps later, Stroman made the tackle after allowing a 15-yard gain on a 3rd-and-25 play.
He snuck onto the roster as the team’s sixth cornerback.
Adonis Alexander- The 2018 supplemental draft pick started alongside Stroman, who was also his teammate at Virginia Tech. He was on the field for 41 defensive snaps in what was his 2019 debut.
Alexander was targeted twice on his 25 coverage snaps and gave up a 17-yard first down on one of those throws; he finished the play off by making his lone tackle of the night. He would’ve had two tackles if he hadn’t whiffed on what should’ve been a first-down saving takedown on a 16-yard Kenneth Dixon run.
Alexander wasn’t as lucky as his former VA Tech teammate and was released on Saturday. He was signed to the practice squad this afternoon, though.
D.J. White- The fourth-year DB was targeted twice on his 31 coverage snaps and allowed a reception on both plays. Baltimore slot receiver Sean Modster gained a combined 12 yards on the catches, with seven of those yards coming on a 3rd-and-3 play. Both of White’s tackles came on third downs the Ravens moved the chains on.
The Redskins cut White yesterday.
Ashton Lampkin- Lampkin surrendered an 8-yard reception on one of the three targets he was the primary cover man on. He also assisted on a pair of tackles.
The only big play Lampkin made in the preseason was a fumble recovery that he literally fumbled away himself three seconds after scooping the ball up.
Lampkin got his walking papers on Saturday.
Deion Harris- Deion Harris was on the field for 70 of the team’s 84 defensive snaps in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Ravens.
Harris did defend a pair of passes, which bumped his total up to a team-high 4 PDs this past month, but he surrendered a team-worst 44 receiving yards, 2 first downs and a touchdown.
The rookie corner allowed a touchdown in three of the team’s four games. The three scores accounted for 60% of the passing touchdowns scored against the defense in the preseason. Harris also gave up the most receiving yards (150) on the team.
I think Harris might’ve only stuck around as long as he did because his dad played with Jay Gruden; that obviously was never going to be enough for him to make the final roster, though.
Other CB- Four of the six corners that made the final roster did not play in the game. Jimmy Moreland did get some action, but only on special teams. If Fabian Moreau’s ankle prevents him from playing in Week 1, then the People’s Corner might end up starting in what will be his first regular season game.
SAFETIES
Safeties (6 Players) | ||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
Jeremy Reaves * | 84 | 100% |
Troy Apke * | 46 | 55% |
JoJo McIntosh | 40 | 48% |
Landon Collins | DNP | N/A |
Deshazor Everett | DNP | N/A |
Montae Nicholson | DNP | N/A |
Troy Apke- Apke started at free safety against the Ravens and recorded 4 tackles (3 solo). One of those tackles was a stop of Kenneth Dixon 2 yards in the backfield on a 3rd-and-2 play. He did, however, miss a tackle after a Baltimore reception, as well.
He was only targeted once all summer and did not allow a single reception.
Last year’s fourth-round pick survived yesterday’s cuts for the second straight year and made the final 53.
Jeremy Reaves- Reaves was on the field for all 84 of Washington’s defensive snaps in the game; combining that with his 19 special teams snaps brought him to a whopping 103 total snaps played. His 84 defensive snaps, 100% snap rate and 103 total snaps on Thursday night were all 2019 highs for any Redskins player. He also led the team in snaps from scrimmage (195) and total snaps (245) over the course of the entire preseason.
He recorded a team-best 7 tackles (3 solo) in the exhibition finale, include a diving takedown on a 3rd-and-9 play that stopped Baltimore wideout Jaleel Scott a yard shy of the line to gain. Reaves wasn’t perfect in this regard, as he led the team with two missed tackles. He ranked first on the club in total tackles (20), solo tackles (15) and missed tackles (3) this August. Let’s not forget he recovered a fumble against the Browns a few weeks ago, too.
Ravens signal callers threw at Reaves three times on Thursday, but the second-year safety only surrendered one catch that gained 7 yards on a 1st-and-10 play. He also scored a PD for the second time this month when he defended a pass thrown to Joe Horn, Jr.
Reaves finished the preseason with the third highest defensive PFF grade on the team (81.6). Despite all of these accomplishments, the Redskins choose to release Reaves. Hopefully, he will be signed to the practice squad.
JoJo McIntosh- McIntosh split time with Apke (48% snap rate) and made 4 tackles (3 solo) in the game, two of which were made within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage. He was not targeted in the passing game for the second time this preseason.
McIntosh, who received the second-highest UDFA bonus handed out by Washington, was solid this summer, but he never really made any big plays, either (no interceptions, pass defenses, TFLs, pressures, etc.).
The Redskins released him on Saturday.
Other Safeties- Starters Landon Collins and Montae Nicholson watched this one from the sidelines, as did veteran backup Deshazor Everett.
ALL DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
All Defensive Players (41 Players) | ||||||
Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | |
Jeremy Reaves * | 84 | 100% | Montez Sweat * | 7 | 8% | |
Marcus Smith | 77 | 92% | Jimmy Moreland | ST Only | N/A | |
Deion Harris | 70 | 83% | Jonathan Allen | DNP | N/A | |
Ryan Bee * | 65 | 77% | Ryan Anderson | DNP | N/A | |
B.J. Blunt | 54 | 64% | Jon Bostic | DNP | N/A | |
JoJo Wicker * | 53 | 63% | Jordan Brailford | DNP | N/A | |
D.J. White | 53 | 63% | Caleb Brantley | DNP | N/A | |
Andrew Ankrah | 51 | 61% | Landon Collins | DNP | N/A | |
Marquis Flowers * | 51 | 61% | Quinton Dunbar | DNP | N/A | |
Troy Apke * | 46 | 55% | Deshazor Everett | DNP | N/A | |
Jonathan Bonner | 46 | 55% | Shaun Dion Hamilton | DNP | N/A | |
Ashton Lampkin | 45 | 54% | Cole Holcomb | DNP | N/A | |
Adonis Alexander * | 41 | 49% | Matt Ioannidis | DNP | N/A | |
JoJo McIntosh | 40 | 48% | Ryan Kerrigan | DNP | N/A | |
Darrell Williams | 33 | 39% | Fabian Moreau | DNP | N/A | |
Austin Maloata * | 31 | 37% | Montae Nicholson | DNP | N/A | |
Khairi Clark | 21 | 25% | Josh Norman | DNP | N/A | |
Josh Harvey-Clemons * | 18 | 21% | Daron Payne | DNP | N/A | |
Gary Johnson | 15 | 18% | Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie | DNP | N/A | |
Greg Stroman * | 12 | 14% | Tim Settle | DNP | N/A | |
Cassanova McKinzy * | 11 | 13% |
SPECIAL TEAMS
Special Teams Players (43 Players) | ||||||
Player | Snaps | Snap % | Player | Snaps | Snap % | |
Jehu Chesson | 21 | 81% | Jimmy Moreland | 5 | 19% | |
Jeremy Reaves | 19 | 73% | Cam Sims | 5 | 19% | |
Gary Johnson | 18 | 69% | Austin Maloata | 4 | 15% | |
J.P. Holtz | 16 | 62% | Byron Marshall | 4 | 15% | |
Marcus Smith | 16 | 62% | Ryan Bee | 3 | 12% | |
Marquis Flowers | 15 | 58% | Dustin Hopkins | 3 | 12% | |
Troy Apke | 14 | 54% | Jonathan Bonner | 2 | 8% | |
B.J. Blunt | 12 | 46% | Donald Parham | 2 | 8% | |
Kelvin Harmon | 11 | 42% | JoJo Wicker | 2 | 8% | |
Samaje Perine | 11 | 42% | Khairi Clark | 1 | 4% | |
Andrew Ankrah | 10 | 38% | Blake Hance | 1 | 4% | |
Craig Reynolds | 10 | 38% | Josh Harvey-Clemons | 1 | 4% | |
Steven Sims | 9 | 35% | Zac Kerin | 1 | 4% | |
Nick Sundberg | 9 | 35% | Wes Martin | 1 | 4% | |
Tress Way | 9 | 35% | Cassanova McKinzy | 1 | 4% | |
Robert Davis | 8 | 31% | Timon Parris | 1 | 4% | |
D.J. White | 8 | 31% | Ross Pierschbacher | 1 | 4% | |
Adonis Alexander | 6 | 23% | Corey Robinson | 1 | 4% | |
Deion Harris | 6 | 23% | Jeremy Sprinkle | 1 | 4% | |
Darrell Williams | 6 | 23% | Greg Stroman | 1 | 4% | |
Ashton Lampkin | 5 | 19% | Montez Sweat | 1 | 4% | |
JoJo McIntosh | 5 | 19% |
Snaps- Jehu Chesson was on the field for a team-high 21 specials snaps. Jeremy Reaves and Gary Johnson weren’t far behind him with 19 and 18 snaps, respectively.
This was the first exhibition game this year in which Marquis Flowers didn’t lead the Redskins in special teams snaps; he did, however, finish with the most teams snaps by a Washington player in the preseason as a whole (56 snaps). Reaves (54) and Chesson (51) ranked second and third. All three players were cut on Saturday.
Dustin Hopkins- Hopkins was only on the field for 3 snaps against the Ravens, because the Skins only scored once and the offense never really put the team in position to kick a field goal.
He connected on his lone extra point, which gave him an 80% success rate on such attempts this preseason (4-of-5). The answer is yes, if you noticed the denominator inside the parentheses was five and you’re wondering if that is how many touchdowns the Redskins scored all preseason (Davis, Nicholson, Davis, Perine and Sims).
On the snap following his extra point, Hop kicked the ball to the Baltimore 1-yard line and watched as Tyler Ervin returned the ball out to the 31 for a gain of 30 yards. Hopkins booted the ball for a touchback on the opening kickoff of the second half.
Tress Way- Tress Way was pretty busy this past Thursday, as he went back to punt eight times in the preseason finale.
His punt was blocked on his final snap of the game. That was just the third time one of Way’s punts has been blocked in his seven-year career and the first time it’s happened since 2015.
The seven punts he actually got off traveled a combined 314 yards (44.9-yard average), and the Ravens only gained a measly 5 yards on their four returns (1.3 yards per return). Way pinned the Baltimore offense inside their own 20-yard line three times, as the Ravens fair caught balls at the 10 and 15-yard lines and muffed a catch at the 10, losing 2 yards on the play.
That was one of first-round pick Marquise Brown’s two muffs on the night, which brought the total number of Tress Way punts muffed by return men to four in the preseason.
Kick Coverage- Jehu Chesson made the tackle on the Ravens’ muff that lost 2 yards, but he was also flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play. Jay Gruden took issue with the call and his response drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Of the Redskins’ 83 penalty yards, 40 of them came on special teams plays (48%).
B.J. Blunt took down Tyler Ervin at the 44 after an 8-yard punt return. Ervin was tackled by Marquis Flowers on his next runback for a loss of a yard at the 32. The return of Way’s blocked punt was shut down at Washington’s 6-yard line by Jeremy Reaves, who made his eighth total tackle of the game on the play.
Jimmy Moreland, who played exclusively on special teams (5 snaps), ended a 30-yard kickoff return by Ervin at the 31.
Punt Returns- Steven Sims operated as Washington’s return man on all five Baltimore punts. Sims fair caught the first two punts at the 25 and 10-yard lines and watched as the third one was downed at the 20.
He fielded the next punt at the 18 and returned it 4 yards out to the 22-yard line. Sims picked up 8 yards on his final return before being tackled at the 22; however, JoJo McIntosh was flagged for an illegal block above the waist on the play and the ball was moved back to the 10. McIntosh wasn’t alone, as Robert Davis was also flagged on the play (offsides).
Kickoff Returns- Craig Reynolds watched as the first two Ravens’ kickoffs sailed into the end zone for touchbacks and J.P. Holtz returned the final kickoff of the game 12 yards on a squib kick, but they weren’t the real story here.
Steven Sims returned a pair of kickoffs for gains of 41 and 39 yards, which gave him 80 total kickoff return yards and a 40-yard average. Those were the second and third-longest runbacks by a Redskin since the start of 2017 and the most return yards in a single game by a Washington player since Bashaud Breeland gained 88 yards on his four returns in Week 14 of the 2017 season (at Chargers).
Sims, who returned 26 kickoffs for 564 yards (21.7-yard average) at Kansas, will likely be the team’s primary kickoff returner in Week 1.
*All statistics are courtesy of ESPN, NBC Sports, NFL.com, NFL Gamebooks, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, Redskins.com and The Washington Post*