Redskins Week 1 Report Card
The stat page does not always correlate to the scoreboard. In Sunday’s 17-6 loss to the Houston Texans, the Redskins offense outrushed the Texans, 131 yards to 115 yards. This is the fourteenth time in the last seventeen games that the Redskins have outrushed their opponent. Yesterday’s loss was the Redskins’ ninth in a row dating back to last season.
Where did it all go wrong?
Simply put, you cannot win games in the NFL when a punt is blocked for a touchdown and the offense has two red zone turnovers.
Quarterback: Robert Griffin, III has caught a lot of flak recently for his preseason performances; although he did an adequate job running Head Coach, Jay Gruden’s offense, while facing one of the league’s top pass rushing teams. Griffin finished the day with a decent stat line, 29 of 37 passes for 267 yards with a passer rating of 96.7. One of the team’s two fumbles in the third quarter can be attributed to Griffin as he tripped over the foot of center, Kory Lichtensteiger. Grade B-
Running Backs: Alfred Morris was unstoppable at times as he sliced and powered his way through the Texans’ defense. Morris rushed for 91 yards on just 14 carries. Roy Helu provided great explosiveness, averaging 11.5 yards per carry and fullback, Darrel Young did a great job extending the ball over the goal line for the Redskins’ only score of the game. Grade A
Gruden: “If I had to do it all over again Sunday, then I would’ve ran the ball more than I did” vs. the Texans.
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) September 8, 2014
Wide Receivers: Pierre Garcon quietly managed to catch ten passes and continued his streak of sixteen consecutive games with five receptions or more. DeSean Jackson made his Redskins debut and recorded eight receptions for 62 yards. The offensive game plan was obviously to attack the Texans with short to intermediate passes and they made the best of that game plan. Grade B+
Tight Ends: Losing Jordan Reed in the first half definitely hurt the Redskins’ ability to attack the middle of the field; however, Niles Paul filled in nicely for Reed and finished the day with four catches for 86 yards – including a career long 48-yard reception. Unfortunately, that career long reception ended with Paul being stripped of the football and resulted in a turnover. Grade B-
Offensive Line: This group is a tale of two offenses. On the ground, this group dominated the Texans’ front seven and would earn an A for the results: 131 yards rushing with an average of 5.7 yards per carry. Too bad the same cannot be said for the pass blocking; this group earned an F. Griffin was under pressure on almost every play, being sacked three times and hit fourteen times while throwing. Grade C
Defensive Line: Led by defensive ends, Jason Hatcher and Jarvis Jenkins, the Redskins defensive line provided an average performance against the Texans’ offense. Hatcher had the Redskins’ lone sack while the entire unit allowed Texans’ running back Arian Foster to rush for 103 yards on 27 carries. Grade B-
Linebackers: Holding the Texans’ offense to a touchdown and a field goal is a great accomplishment. Keenan Robinson and Perry Riley did an excellent job in run support and pass coverage. Brian Orakpo had a quiet game unlike Ryan Kerrigan, who forced and recovered an Arian Foster fumble deep in the Redskins zone early in the fourth quarter. Grade B
Defensive Backs: There was one missed coverage for this unit. Late in the second quarter, safety Bacarri Rambo allowed Texans receiver, DeAndre Hopkins to get behind him for a 76-yard touchdown. Other than that miscue, the Redskins’ secondary did a great job in coverage holding the Texans to 201 yards passing. Grade B
Special Teams: Only two things to speak of here: a blocked extra point and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. Grade F
Gruden on special teams issues yesterday: “It just can’t happen.” Said he was encouraged by #Redskins‘ returns and coverage.
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) September 8, 2014
Overall: The Redskins’ defense played an above average game. Holding an opponent’s offense to ten points is usually enough to secure a victory. Unfortunately, the major mistakes on the special teams and two turnovers by the offense in the red zone put the nail in the coffin for the Redskins. Gruden needs to open up his offense next week at home against the Jaguars. Grade C-
