Redskins Report Card: 11/12/17
The Washington Redskins lost to the Minnesota Vikings 38-30 at home. Injuries continued to hurt the Redskins this week on both sides of the ball, but this was a winnable game. Today’s loss dropped them below .500 to four wins and five losses. The battle for a playoff spot will be uphill from here on out.
Quarterback: Kirk Cousins continues to not be the Redskins’ problem, but could have played better. Cousins threw for 327 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, and added two touchdowns rushing. Even though we would have liked to see Cousins throw for more than one TD, it’s hard to blame a QB who puts up 30 points with little to no help from his RBs. Grade B
Running Backs: Lead back Rob Kelley went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter and did not return. Even with Kelley, the Redskins rushing attack has been atrocious, routinely averaging around three yards per carry. Today saw a similar pattern, with Kelley, Chris Thompson, and rookie Samaje Perine combining for 71 yards rushing on 22 attempts (3.23 YPC). Thompson continued to be involved in the passing game, racking up 41 yards receiving. Grade C
Receivers: Former practice squad player Maurice Harris had what might be the catch of the year for the Redskins only receiving TD in the first quarter. Other than Harris’ gem, Redskins receivers were nothing to write home about. They were again led in yards by a tight end; Vernon Davis racked up 76 yards on seven receptions with Jordan Reed out. Jamison Crowder also added 76 yards to lead WRs in yards. Terrelle Pryor continued to be a complete non-factor this week. Grade B-
Offensive Line: Kirk Cousins was sacked only once this week for fourteen yards lost, an improvement on past weeks. While the RB committee’s 3.23 YPC is still poor, it is up from past weeks as well. Considering how injury plagued the OL is, this week was not horrendous. Grade B
Defensive Line: Case Keenum was sacked zero times. He had all the time needed to drop back and throw for four touchdowns. The DL is riddled with injuries, but the Redskins need to find a way to deal with it soon, as it is a major problem in their defense. Grade F
Linebackers: The Linebackers were not any better than the DL. Partially responsible for Keenum’s ample pocket time, and partially responsible for poor coverage, the Linebackers were a problem this week. Grade F
Secondary: DJ Swearinger had two INTs late in the game. Other than that, it would be difficult to find positives in the secondary. All four of Keenum’s TD passes were to different receivers, and Adam Thielen tore them apart for 166 yards and a touchdown. Grade D
Special teams: Kicker Nick Rose was three for three on field goals and three for three on extra points, including a 55 yard FG. It would have been nice to see Rose pull off an onside kick to get the ball back for a final drive, but that might be asking too much. Grade A-
Coaching staff: Giving Terrelle Pryor’s snaps to Maurice Harris paid off nicely this week. It was also a good call to have Samaje Perine run it on 4th and 1; his conversion led to a Cousins rush TD. When it comes down to it, there’s little a coach can do to make his secondary not get torn apart, which is what happened today. Grade A-
Overall: Today’s loss boiled down to bad defense. Corners and safeties were routinely beat and Case Keenum had nothing but time to work. Grade C
