Redskins Report Card: 10/23/17
The Washington Redskins lost to the Philadelphia Eagles away in Philadelphia, 34-24. The Redskins’ offense looked strong throughout most of the game, but the defense could not handle emerging star and MVP candidate Carson Wentz.
Quarterback: Kirk Cousins has clearly shown us that he is not the Redskins’ problem in any way, shape or form. Cousins was 30/40, throwing for 303 yards and three TDs and one (horrible) INT. While some considered this game a matchup of Cousins v. Wentz that Wentz won, Wentz’s performance is really irrelevant to Cousins’, who threw well most of the game. Grade A-
Running Backs: Main back Rob Kelley returned from injury this week, but struggled to be effective (30 total yards and 2.3 yards per carry). Any hopes to see Kelley become an every down stud were crushed this week, as he was outperformed by Chris Thompson, who contributed 64 total yards and a receiving touchdown on 5.4 yards per carry. Even though the Eagles do have a top run defense, the Redskins needed more than 54 combined rushing yards from Kelley and Thompson to help out Cousins. Grade C+
Receivers: The Redskins receiving corps was led by their tight ends. Vernon David led them in yards (67) and Jordan Davis was second (64 yards) and had two of the Redskins’ three touchdowns. Other receivers barely made an impact (Josh Doctson, Jamison Crowder, Terrelle Pryor Sr, and Ryan Grant all had under 40 receiving yards), and Pryor lost his starting spot this week. Grade B
Offensive line: Cousins was sacked four times for 34 yards lost, which could be improved, but the O-line generally gave Cousins enough time to drop back and hit receivers for big gains. Grade B-
Defensive line: The defensive line will have to be without Jonathan Allen going forward, which hurts the pass rush from the D-line. Matt Ioannidis had another sack this week and was the stand out from the D-line. However, Wentz had plenty of time to drop back all night. Grade C+
Linebackers: Ryan Kerrigan continued to apply lots of pressure, and Zach Brown had a good week, rushing Wentz several times. The linebackers certainly helped contain Wendell Smallwood and LeGarrette Blount to under 30 yards rushing each. Grade B
Secondary: The Redskins’ secondary is beat up and it showed tonight (four passing TDs is never great for a secondary). Even though Deshazor Everett and Bashaud Breeland played despite injury, they were not in top form. No Josh Norman hurt them a lot. Quinton Dunbar played well, adding an interception and good coverage throughout, but the reality is that Carson Wentz was probably bound to pick apart a beat-up Skins secondary from the beginning. Grade D+
Special Teams: Kicker Nick Rose replaced Dustin Hopkins this week. He did not get any big opportunities, but made his only field goal (27 yards) and was 3/3 on extra points. Tress Way continued to be fine, averaging 47.8 yards per punt. Grade B
Coaching Staff: They did fine with what they were given. On offense, receivers were routinely open, and on defense, they were just getting beat. There’s nothing a coach can do to make DJ Swearinger run faster than Mack Hollins, who beat him on a fly for a 64 yard TD. Grade B+
Overall: It would have been nice to get a win against the Eagles, but the Eagles look great and have only lost one game to date. Plus, it wouldn’t have taken a genius to predict that Carson Wentz would tear apart an injury-plagued Redskins’ secondary. Grade C+
