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What a nightmare of a game to have to watch for Washington fans.
After a nine day layoff, the team came out and laid a complete egg on the road in Buffalo in front of a rowdy and boisterous crowd. The worst part about all of this mess - the issues we saw in the first two games continued to plague the team again yesterday. This is the definition of insanity!
Well, it’s time to put this one in the rear view mirror...so onto my Studs and Duds of the game; followed by some notes.
Spoiler alert - there are not going to be many Studs for this writing.
Studs:
Antonio Gibson - Gibson carried 12 times for a mere 31 yards, but it was his effort on the screen, where he outraced the Bills defense and made a beautiful dive for the pylon, that lands him here. It was an all-effort play by the second year back.
Dustin Hopkins - It it wasn’t for his pooch kickoff that he also recovered, the score in this one could have been worse.
Duds:
Taylor Heinicke - To this point, I’m not quite sure who the true Taylor Heinicke is. He’s had some wow moments, and some complete head-scratching plays. He threw two horrible interceptions in yesterday’s game that gave the Bills a short field. That simply can’t happen when you’re playing a team that good. He also had some passes that sailed - one of which could have been another pick if not for a penalty against Buffalo.
He did have a beautiful diving touchdown reminiscent of his play against Tampa in the Wild Card game last year, and his touchdown to Logan Thomas in the end zone was a nice throw where only the tight end could get it. Aside from that, his day was pretty blah.
Dyami Brown - I know he’s a rookie, but you need to help your team out. Dropping a ball that hits you directly in the hands with no one near you, that would have extended a drive by giving us a first, is unacceptable. Aside from that, he did nothing on the afternoon.
Defensive Front Four - This “vaunted” unit, complete with a litter of first round draft picks, did essentially noting all afternoon (aside from a few disruptive plays from Payne). The sad part is, Del Rio continues to try and rely on four-man pressure.
Jon Bostic - I can’t blame Bostic if Del Rio keeps putting him in situations where he’s being asked to cover people. The man simply can’t do it. As usual though, Bostic is out of place in his zone, showing ZERO spatial awareness, and is more often than not, no where near his man in Cover One.
He was completely embarrassed on an angle route by early in the game - which essentially set the tone for his performance.
Cole Holcomb - Although not as bad overall as Bostic, Holcomb was poor in coverage yesterday. He was responsible for two touchdowns (although one should have been called offensive pass interference as Knox clearly pushed off), and many more easy receptions. On a positive note, he did lead the team in tackles, with a total of 14.
Kendall Fuller - Fuller continues to get absolutely torched by opposing receivers. It’s really getting to be quite embarrassing! He came out in the press conference and admitted to playing poorly, but like they say, talk is cheap.
Jack Del Rio - Another horribly coached game by Del Rio. The front four was applying zero pressure on Allen, and he completely picked us apart because of this. Also, to continually trot out Jon Bostic and expect him to cover ANYTHING is the definition of insanity.
Notes:
- I can’t put Logan Thomas in the Duds category. I know his fumble was bad, and he needs to learn to just go down and live to fight another down, but he did haul in four receptions for 42 yards and a nice leaping touchdown.
- I have to go back and re-watch the game, but I did not see a ton of issues in pass protection with our offensive line. However, I didn’t see many holes opened up in the run game.
- I really think Jamin Davis is beginning to come into his own. He had beautiful back-to-back stops on third and short and fourth and one respectively early in the game... then, I see him on the bench while Bostic is running around in circles trying to find a man to cover.
- Rookie Ben St-Juste did not play poorly. His coverage was decent on the afternoon, and his tackling was pretty sound. He’s getting there...it’s just going to take some time.
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