Examining how the Redskins did in their tie with the Bengals in London.
Week 8: Redskins moved to 4-3-1 with a 27-all tie with Cincinnati in London on Sunday (Oct. 30, 2016)
Passing Game: B+
Kirk Cousins had arguably his best game of the season for third consecutive game, breaking his own single-game franchise completions record. He went 38-of-56 for a career-high 458 yards, two touchdowns and a pick, was sacked just once and had a fourth-quarter third-and-one three-yard quarterback sneak. Kirk registered a season-best Total QBR of 80.7 and authored his third fourth-quarter comeback of the season.
Making Kirk’s numbers even more impressive were that a good number of the 18 incompletions came on drops and throwaways. The three drops:
Redskins’ ninth offensive drive…was a fourth-quarter three-and-out…Jamison Crowder had a drop on a second-and-eight shotgun incompletion
Redskins’ fourth offensive drive…resulted in Kirk’s second-quarter pitch to George Iloka (eye-LOH-kuh)…a first-and-10 under-center play-action ball went off the hands of a leaping Robert Kelley for an incompletion
Opening drive of the game…resulted in Kelley’s first-quarter four-yard touchdown run…DeSean Jackson was guilty of poor effort on a first-and-10 shotgun incompletion that featured the ball going off his hand
Among the many good plays by Kirk:
Redskins’ 13th offensive drive…their second in overtime…what should have been the game-winning drive if not for Dustin Hopkins’ missed 34-yard field-goal attempt…Kirk, working off under-center play-action, made a nice throw while running to his right for a second-and-four 14-yard completion to Jordan Reed
Redskins’ eighth offensive drive…came off Will Compton’s early-fourth-quarter interception…Kirk, working off an under-center play-action boot, did a good job of scrambling and then rifling a throw to Vernon Davis in a tight window for a first-and-10 26-yard completion on the first play of the drive…three plays later was a third-and-one three-yard quarterback sneak…the play after that saw Kirk with a first-and-10 10-yard completion to Crowder despite taking a shot from 6-7 defensive lineman Michael Johnson off an under-center play-action boot…and then three snaps later was a second-and-eight 33-yard shotgun touchdown pass to Crowder
Redskins’ seventh offensive drive…Kirk had a second-and-two under-center 38-yard completion to DeSean, who suffered a head contusion on the play…three plays later was a third-quarter second-and-seven 23-yard shotgun touchdown pass to Jordan Reed, who was sensation after the catch
Redskins’ 10th offensive drive…resulted in Hopkins’ game-tying 40-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter…Kirk had a first-and-10 17-yard shotgun completion to Ryan Grant …and a third-and-13 20-yard shotgun completion to Crowder to beat the blitz
Redskins’ third offensive drive…resulted in Hopkins’ 20-yard field goal…Kirk dropped a dime on the drive’s first play, a second-quarter first-and-10 44-yard completion to Davis off under-center play-action
The negatives for Kirk:
Redskins’ 12th offensive drive…was the first drive in overtime…resulted in a punt…Kirk appeared to have Ryan Grant wide open but didn’t throw to him on a third-and-seven shotgun incompletion intended for Crowder
Redskins’ 14th offensive drive…was the final drive of the game…Kirk should have taken off and run but didn’t on a first-and-20 shotgun throwaway…he had a ton of room in front of him while scrambling to his left
Kirk’s second-quarter third-and-14 pick to Iloka (eye-LOH-kuh), while it had the result of a punt, was the result of an overthrow to DeSean…the ensuing Bengals drive began at their 14
Redskins’ second offensive drive…resulted in a turnover on downs early in the second quarter…the Kirk-led offense committed a first-quarter second-and-three five-yard delay-of-game penalty
Redskins’ fifth offensive drive…resulted in Hopkins’ missed 55-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of the second quarter…there was nothing wrong with Kirk per se, but he went 5-of-6 for just 20 yards…maybe this was simply what was made available by the defense, maybe this was on pass catchers not winning on routes, maybe this was on Kirk…whatever the case, averaging 3.33 yards per pass attempt on an end-of-half two-minute drive is highly disappointing
Helping Kirk’s cause were four pass catchers who were terrific:
Crowder had that fourth-quarter second-and-eight drop but finished with nine receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets
Reed returned from a two-game absence caused by his sixth concussion in six years and was instant impact, finishing with nine receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets…his YAC on his third-quarter second-and-seven 23-yard touchdown reception was something else, as he displayed tremendous burst in running away from Bengals defenders
Davis continued what is becoming a renaissance season, finishing with five receptions for 93 yards on five targets…he burned linebacker Karlos Dansby on a second-quarter first-and-10 44-yard reception on a wheel route, which seems to be Davis’ best route…Davis, who is in his age-32 season, has 13 receptions for 222 yards and a touchdown over the last three games
Garcon, who was shown yelling at Jay Gruden after the drive that resulted in Hopkins’ second-quarter 20-yard field goal, had six receptions for 67 yards on seven targets…the overtime drive that resulted in Hopkins’ missed 34-yard field-goal attempt included a Garcon throwing a great stiff arm to generate the YAC for the first down on a first-and-10 12-yard completion
Running Game: C+
People like me finally got our wish, as undrafted rookie Robert Kelley got the bulk of the carries with Matt Jones inactive due to a knee injury suffered in the Week 7 loss at Detroit. Fat Rob’s 21 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown came on 10 carries for just 29 yards and the touchdown in the first half but 11 carries for 58 yards after halftime. If Fat Rob not getting more carries indeed has been due to his conditioning, how do you explain that his best work came late in the game?
One of the best aspects of Kelley was his yardage after contact. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Kelley gained 44 of his 87 yards after first contact and averaged 2.10 yards after contact.
Among Kelley’s best runs:
Redskins’ 13th offensive drive…their second in overtime…what should have been the game-winning drive if not for Hopkins’ missed 34-yard field-goal attempt…Kelley had a first-and-10 six-yard under-center-handoff run on the first play of the drive…a first-and-10 four-yard under-center-handoff run…and a first-and-20 16-yard under-center-handoff run two plays before Hopkins’ miss
Redskins’ second offensive drive…resulted in a turnover on downs early in the second quarter…Kelley had a first-and-10 seven-yard under-center-toss run on which he had nothing, changed direction and got more than just something
Opening drive of the game…he had back-to-back four-yard under-center handoff runs on a first-and-10 and second-and-six…and then eventually capped the drive with a second-and-three four-yard under-center-handoff touchdown run on which he made a great cut to his right
Redskins’ seventh offensive drive…resulted in Reed’s third-quarter 23-yard touchdown reception…Kelley had a first-and-10 eight-yard under-center-handoff run…and a first-and-10 four-yard under-center-handoff run that drew a 15-yard unnecessary-roughness penalty on defensive lineman Domata Peko
Redskins’ eighth offensive drive…resulted in Crowder’s fourth-quarter 33-yard touchdown reception…Kelley had a first-and-10 five-yard under-center-handoff run…and then a second-and-five four-yard under-center-handoff run
Kelley worst run was a big one: he slipped on the Wembley turf on a fourth-and-one under-center-handoff run for no gain early in the second quarter.
Chris Thompson, coming off perhaps his best game as a Redskin, had seven carries for just 14 yards. Six of those yards came on a first-and-10 six-yard under-center-handoff run on the first play of the second quarter. Thompson had two pistol-handoff runs that were killers: a second-quarter second-and-10 carry for minus-four yards and a fourth-quarter first-and-10 carry for minus-three yards.
Defense: D+
This was one of those games for the defense in which there is a ton to sort through.
Let’s start with this: the Redskins’ defense struggled big time after halftime for a second consecutive game.
The Redskins allowed the Bengals to score 20 points in the second half and put up 333 total net yards of offense and go 7-of-11 on third downs after halftime
A.J. Green had eight receptions for 111 yards on 14 targets after halftime
Tyler Eifert had seven receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown on nine targets after halftime
Another major negative: penalties by defensive backs.
Josh Norman committed five penalties, only three of which were accepted, in defending Green…Norman had four five-yard illegal-use-of-hands penalties, three of which were accepted…and he committed an obvious pass-interference penalty that was declined on a fourth-quarter first-and-10 40-yard reception by Green on the drive that resulted in Jeremy Hill’s one-yard I-formation-handoff touchdown run on which he went into the end zone untouched
Bashaud Breeland committed a second-quarter first-and-10 five-yard holding penalty on a no-play that otherwise would have been a Will Blackmon recovery of a Norman forced fumble of Giovani Bernard on a 27-yard reception (the drive resulted in Mike Nugent’s missed 51-yard field-goal attempt)…also, Breeland committed two 15-yard face-mask penalties on Bernard runs: a first-quarter eight-yard shotgun-handoff touchdown run and a third-quarter first-and-10 five-yard under-center-pitch run on which Preston Smith missed on a tackle
Quinton Dunbar committed two pass-interference penalties in the fourth quarter: a third-and-three seven-yarder on a shotgun throwaway by Andy Dalton on the drive that resulted in Compton’s interception and a second-and-goal-at-the-2 one-yarder on the drive that resulted in Hill’s one-yard touchdown run
Norman also had a missed tackle on a first-and-10 12-yard under-center-handoff run by Bernard on the second play of the third quarter. That drive resulted in Eifert’s wide-open second-and-six 15-yard touchdown reception that beat the Redskins’ blitz.
And a third issue with Norman was him dropping three picks. There are several caveats to this, as a) he has been dealing with an injured right wrist and b) he deserves credit for being in position to make these picks. But, still, in a game that ended in a tie, these picks-that-weren’t loom large.
Bengals’ fourth offensive drive…resulted in a second-quarter punt…Norman baited Dalton into a throw to Green on a third-and-eight but dropped what likely would have been a pick-six
Bengals’ fifth offensive drive…resulted in Eifert’s third-quarter 15-yard touchdown reception…Norman dropped another potential pick on a second-and-10 Dalton under-center play-action incompletion intended for Green
Bengals’ sixth offensive drive…resulted in Dalton’s third-quarter second-and-goal one-yard I-formation fake-handoff touchdown run…Norman dropped another potential pick on a first-and-10 Dalton shotgun incompletion intended for Green
But all of this said, the defense deserves credit for producing two big takeaways and three key sacks.
Compton’s early-fourth-quarter second-and-10 pick came thanks in part to pressure from Ziggy Hood and was the Redskins’ first takeaway since Norman’s game-sealing interception in the Week 5 win over Cleveland
Chris Baker, who had perhaps his best game of the season, forced a fumble that Anthony Lanier (who was making his NFL regular-season debut off having been inactive for each of the first seven games) recovered on a Dalton third-and-one one-yard quarterback sneak on the Bengals’ second drive in overtime
Ryan Kerrigan had a third-and-eight sack for an eight-yard loss on the Bengals’ 11th offensive drive, which was their first in overtime and resulted in a punt
Sua Cravens had a late-fourth-quarter third-and-10 sack for a four-yard loss on the Bengals’ 10th offensive drive, which resulted in a punt and essentially clinched the game going to overtime
Baker had a second-quarter second-and-nine sack for a nine-yard loss on the drive that resulted in Nugent’s missed 51-yard field-goal attempt
Special Teams: D
He has been terrific since the Redskins signed him on Sept. 14, 2015. You can say that conditions for kicking were far from ideal, as Nugent missed not just his 51-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter but also the extra-point attempt that followed Eifert’s third-quarter 15-yard touchdown reception. But Hopkins did not deliver in this game, missing the 34-yard field-goal attempt that should have won the game in overtime in addition to his 55-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of the first half. Give Hopkins credit for his game-tying 40-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter, but 2-for-4 on field goals in this game wasn’t good enough.
Another bad moment for Redskins specials teams in this game was giving up Alex Erickson’s 65-yard return on the kickoff that followed Kelley’s first-quarter four-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive. The ensuing Bengals drive resulted in Bernard’s first-quarter second-and-five eight-yard shotgun-handoff touchdown run.
Maurice Harris committed a holding penalty that offset an unnecessary-roughness penalty by linebacker Marquis Flowers and negated a 14-yard punt return by Crowder early in the second quarter. The ensuing drive resulted in Hopkins’ 20-yard field goal.
Martrell Spaight committed a nine-yard holding penalty on a third-quarter Thompson kickoff return, giving the Redskins the ball at their 9. The ensuing drive, though, resulted in Reed’s third-quarter 23-yard touchdown reception.
Another what-if from this game: Mason Foster forced a fumble of Adam Jones that the Bengals recovered on a fourth-quarter punt return.
Crowder did have a fourth-quarter 23-yard punt return that set up the drive that resulted in Hopkins’ game-tying 40-yard field goal with 1:07 left in regulation.
Injury/Absentee Report:
DeSean Jackson suffered a head contusion but passed his concussion test.
Morgan Moses suffered a sprained ankle.
Niles Paul suffered a shoulder injury.
The Redskins’ offense played this game without:
Matt Jones (inactive due to a knee injury suffered in the Week 7 loss at Detroit)
Arie Kouandjio
Rashad Ross (inactive for a second straight game)
Nate Sudfeld (inactive for an eighth straight game)
Vinston Painter (inactive for a fifth straight game)
Josh Doctson (placed on injured reserve on Oct. 21 due to a left Achilles injury that dated back to the spring and had limited him to having played in just the first two games of the season)
Kory Lichtensteiger (placed on injured reserve on Sept. 27 due to a calf injury suffered in the Week 3 win at the Giants)
Derek Carrier (on the physically-unable-to-perform list due to a torn right ACL and MCL suffered in the Week 14 win at Chicago last season)
Silas Redd (suspended indefinitely without pay for multiple violations of the NFL’s Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse)
Will Blackmon suffered a thumb fracture and dislocation.
Duke Ihenacho suffered a concussion.
The Redskins’ defense played this game without:
Matt Ioannidis
Dashaun Phillips (inactive for a fifth straight game off suffering a hamstring strain in the Week 3 win at the Giants)
DeAngelo Hall (placed on injured reserve on Sept. 27 due to a torn right ACL suffered in the Week 3 win at the Giants)
David Bruton Jr. (placed on injured reserve on Oct. 5 due to a concussion suffered in the Week 4 win over Cleveland)
Kedric Golston (placed on injured reserve on Sept. 19 due to a hamstring injury suffered on the Redskins’ first defensive play of the game in the Week 2 loss to Dallas)
Junior Gallette (placed on the non-football-injury list on July 28 due to a torn right Achilles tendon; it was a torn left Achilles tendon that cost him all of the 2015 season)
Steven Daniels (on injured reserve due to a torn labrum suffered during training camp)
Other Thoughts:
The Redskins had 15 accepted penalties for 106 yards and now are tied for 30th in the NFL in fewest accepted penalties with 66.
Complaining about officiating is the lament of the loser (or, in this case, the tie-er). But officials missed an obvious face-mask penalty committed by safety Shawn Williams on Crowder on his fourth-quarter 33-yard touchdown reception. The ensuing Bengals drive resulted in Hill’s one-yard touchdown run. Also, DeSean’s third-quarter 38-yard reception that left him with a head contusion included a helmet-to-helmet hit by safety George Iloka (eye-LOH-kuh) that wasn’t flagged. And Garcon got called for an extremely ticky-tack 10-yard pass-interference penalty that negated his first-and-10 14-yard reception on corner Adam Jones on the first play of the game’s final drive.
More on Kirk’s statistical performance:
Kirk’s career-high 458 passing yards were the second-most in a single game in team history, trailing only Brad Johnson’s 471-yard performance on Dec. 26, 1999
Kirk’s 56 attempts were a career-high and were the second-most in a single game in team history (58, Jay Schroeder on Dec. 1, 1985)
Kirk recorded his 16th career 300-yard passing game, including postseason play, to tie Sonny Jurgensen for the most 300-yard passing games in team history.
The Redskins went 1-for-4 in the red zone and now are 31st in the NFL in red-zone touchdown-scoring percentage at 40.62.
The Redskins went 0-for-2 on fourth downs and now are 2-for-8 on fourth downs this season.
A few game-management notes:
Redskins’ 10th offensive drive…resulted in Hopkins’ game-tying 40-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter…Kirk had a first-and-10 shotgun incompletion intended for Maurice Harris with 1:21 left…that was a good opportunity to run the ball and kill some clock, as the Skins ultimately left the Bengals with more than a minute left in the fourth quarter on their ensuing drive
Redskins’ 14th offensive drive…was the final drive of the game…Jay, following a second-and-20 one-yard reception by Crowder, allowed about 12 seconds to elapse before calling his first timeout with 30 seconds left…and then allowed the clock to bleed down to two seconds left before calling the second timeout, which came after a third-and-19 eight-yard reception by Reed…so the Redskins had two seconds for a fourth-and-11 at the Bengals’ 48, which resulted in a pressured Kirk throwing up a shotgun pass that wasn’t anywhere close to the end zone…I get not wanting to leave the Bengals any time to work with, but playing things so conservatively made getting into field-goal range nearly impossible
Baker, as mentioned, had arguably his best game of the season. But he wasn’t happy about the rushed nature of the trip to London: “The idea of coming over here is cool. [But] it’s really hard on our bodies to come here for two days. We needed more time to recover and prepare ourselves like a normal week of football. To have us over here for two days and a five-hour time difference? It was really hard on us. We did what we could. You have to cut your week short, you have to travel and you only get a day to really adjust. You want to come over here and enjoy it, but you have to pick sightseeing or rest your bodies. It’s really tough on us. … I just think when we do play, have us out for the whole week so we can adjust to the time and get in our normal week of work. You do certain things on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday to prepare yourselves.” Three reactions to this: 1) Baker couldn’t have had that hard of a time adjusting, because he played well 2) the Redskins put a lot of research into how to best handle the trip to London, including talking with other NFL teams; Blackmon played in London with Jacksonville and said travelling early in the week made for a draining trip and 3) Baker pretty clearly now has a hard time keeping his opinions to himself.
Playing-time observations: Kelley, even in being the featured back, played on fewer snaps than Thompson did (47 percent of the Redskins’ offensive snaps versus 53 percent)…Crowder played on 70 percent of the Redskins’ offensive snaps. Shouldn’t a guy who has been as good as he has be on the field more?…Donte Whitner played on every Redskins defensive snap for a second consecutive game.
Davis’ second-quarter 44-yard reception was upheld by replay review, which appeared to have no good shots of whether he stepped out of bounds while running his route. The only replay shown on FOX was from the opposite side of the field. The reason: there weren’t the usual number of cameras due to the game being in London. How does that happen in the NFL?
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