Game Preview, Week 13: Redskins at Panthers
November 29, 2019
by Steve Thomas
The Redskins are going for their second win in a row this week, on the road against the Cam Newton-less Panthers, after the big win over the Lions this past Sunday. Washington will need to be significantly better on both sides of the ball than they were last week in order to beat Carolina, which features one of the most talented running backs in the game and a defense that has been fearsome at times. The Panthers are a much better team than the Lions and are justifiably heavy favorites, so a victory is probably a tall order. It’s possible, though, and seeing the Redskins build some confidence by getting a big win against a quality team in enemy territory would clearly mean quite a bit to these players. Forget the draft order and root for a victory this week. Our game preview starts below.
Game time & location: Sunday, December 1, 2019, 1:00 p.m. ET, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC; Gates open 11:00 a.m. ET
Television: CBS
Television announcers: Greg Gumbel, Trent Green, Melanie Collins
TV broadcast map: Click here
DC-area radio: The Team 980
Redskins radio network: Click here
Panthers radio network: Click here
Satellite radio: XM: 229 (Panthers broad.) Sirius: 113 (Redskins broad); internet: 831 (Redskins broad.)
Redskins roster: Click here
Redskins depth chart: Click here
Panthers roster: Click here
Panthers depth chart: Click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Panthers: 8 – 6 (last 5: 1 – 4) (streak: 1 – 0)
Last meeting: W, October 14, 2018, 23 – 17
Early odds: Panthers, -9.5
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Containing Christian McCaffrey
McCaffrey is the most important Panther on the field. He’s the NFL’s leading rusher, averages 5.1 yards per carry, and 12 touchdowns, and for good measure also has 586 receiving yards in 62 receptions, with another 4 touchdowns. Overall, McCaffrey is the most productive back in the league. Unfortunately, the Redskins run defense is suspect, making stopping or at least slowing McCaffrey down a task of daunting proportions. If Washington can’t pull it off, though, and instead allows him to run wild, it is highly likely that the Redskins will be in for a long day.
Take advantage of the Panthers’ porous run defense
It seems an odd thing to think about given the Panthers’ historical defensive strengths, but the truth is that in 2019 Luke Kuechly and company have actually been downright bad against the run this season. Considering the Redskins’ natural tendency to rely on their ground game, it would seem that this might be a case of strength on weakness in favor of Washington. The Redskins need to get Adrian Peterson and Derrius Guice rolling early and often to best help Dwayne Haskins and to take advantage of this defense’s biggest vulnerability.
Dwayne Haskins needs to be more accurate than last week
Haskins is a better quarterback than what we all saw last weekend against the Lions. The sort of inaccuracy he exhibited was unlike Haskins’ performance in college and even in his short time as the Redskins starter. Rookie or not, he must perform better and become more consistent, or his time at the top of the depth chart will be short. The Panthers are better against the pass and have gotten 13 interceptions on the year, so they probably won’t hesitate to take advantage of poor quarterbacking. Haskins must play significantly better to give the Redskins a chance to win. Newsflash: he needs to take advantage of receivers open in or near the end zone, not badly miss them.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Jonathan Bostic and Cole Holcomb vs Christian McCaffrey
McCaffrey is most dangerous is space, and he does quite a bit of damage on the edges, mostly via a series of flat passes. The Redskins will need Bostic and Holcomb, in particular, to play solid games, be alert, and show enough athleticism to keep McCaffrey from gaining significant yardage on these plays. McCaffrey is also capable of running between the tackles, for which primary responsibility falls to the defensive line, but it’s his elusiveness in space that really makes him special. That means Bostic and Holcomb need to have good days.
Moore is Allen’s most frequent target and already has 103 targets this season. I don’t necessarily think Moore is the most explosive guy in the world, but he’s a key cog in the Panthers offense. It will principally be the job of Dunbar, as the newly anointed #1 corner, to limit Moore’s effectiveness. The Panthers’ offense is run through McCaffrey and Moore, with an assist from Greg Olsen, so Dunbar is of critical importance this week to the Redskins’ chance to grab a second win.
Carolina’s offensive line has leaked like a sieve at times this year and their tackles are something less than top notch. With Ryan Kerrigan in the concussion protocol and likely to miss a game for the first time in his professional career, the job of pressure from the edge now falls to Sweat. Sweat’s ability to take advantage of the situation and make life tough for Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen will be an important part of slowing the Carolina offense.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (as of Thursday (active roster only)) (starters in bold)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful NL – not listed
| Redskins | Panthers |
| S D. Everett, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | T G. Little, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: D |
| LB R. Kerrigan, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP ; Fri: DNP; game: O | RB C. McCaffrey, rest; Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| WR P. Richardson Jr., hamstring; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | DT G. McCoy, knee/quad; Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: NL |
| LB R. Anderson, shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | S E. Reid, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: NL |
| S M. Nicholson, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | RB J. Scarlett, knee/ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP |
| DT D. Payne, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | LB S. Thompson, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| RB A. Peterson, toe; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: FP | WR DJ Moore, ankle/NIR; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| G B. Scherff, shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | T T. Moton, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| RB C. Thompson, toe; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | WR C. Samuel, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| QB D. Haskins Jr., right hand; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | CB R. Cockrell, quad; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| LB C. Holcomb, thumb; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | LB/DE M. Addison, rest; Wed: NL; Thurs; NL; Fri: DNP |
| CB J. Moreland, shoulder; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | LB/DE B. Irvin, rest; Wed: NL; Thurs; NL; Fri: DNP |
| T M. Moses, thumb; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| CB J. Norman, hamstring; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
TEAM STATISTICS
Redskins:
There seems to be no bottom to the statistical depths to which the Redskins’ offense can dive. Despite the big win over the Lions last week, Washington is now last in the NFL in total points scored, total yards, yards per play, passing yards, time of possession, third down conversions, and red zone efficiency. They aren’t much better in most of the other major categories either, the only real saving grace being rushing yards per attempt – their 4.1 average is 21st in the league. Thanks to Steven Sims’ touchdown-scoring 91 yard kickoff return, Washington is ranked 5th by that metric. It’s bad folks. Tress Way continues to be the NFL’s #1 ranked punter.
The Redskins defense is less statistically pathetic than the offense in almost every area, but this unit still has big problems, starting with third downs. Washington is the worst team in the NFL in that area, allowing an astounding 48.37% of the time. The Redskins have also given up a truckload of rushing yards (ranked 28th), but are actually mediocre as measured by yards per attempt (19th). They are also terrible in opponents’ completion percentage (31st), but not quite as bad in quarterback rating. This is principally due to their high number of interceptions (12, ranked 4th). They are ranked 23rd in the most important statistic, points surrendered.
Record: 2 – 9 (4th) (Away: 1 – 4; NFC: 1 – 6)
All-time franchise record: 602 – 599 – 28
Offense
| Offensive rankings | 32 (points) / 32 (total yards) / 32 (yards per game) / 29 (yards per play) / 32 (passing yards) / 27 (passing yards per att.) / 27 (rushing yards) / 21 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 144 |
| Yards per game | 253.4 |
| Passing
|
324 att (29th); 203 comp; 62.7% comp per. (19th); 6.5 Y/A; 1842 net yds; 11 TD; 11 Int |
| Passing leader | Keenum (188 att, 1343 yds (33rd), 67.0% comp perc (10th), 9 TDs / 4 Int, 94.8 QB rating (15th); Haskins (108 att, 654 yds, 54.6% comp perc, 2 TDs / 6 Int, 55.9 QB rating) |
| Receiving leader | McLaurin (638 yds (33rd), 68 tgts (47th), 40 rec (55th), 5 TD, 16.0 YPC) |
| Rushing | 230 att (30th); 945 yds; 4.1 Y/A; 85.9 Y/G (27th); 2 TD |
| Rushing leader | Peterson (134 att (20th), 543 yds (19th), 1 TD, 4.1 Y/A (19th), long 29) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 35 / 24 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 26:34 / 32 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 26.45% / 32 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 31.82% / 32 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 23 (points) / 22 (total yards) / 22 (yards per game surrendered) / 18 (yards per play) / 11 (passing yards) / 25 (passing yards per att.) / 28 (rushing yards) / 19 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 269 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 369.0 |
| Opponent’s passing | 348 att (4th); 245 comp; 70.4% comp perc. (31st); 7.8 Y/A; 2545 net yds; 20 TDs; QB Rating 97.9 (23rd) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 355 att (31st); 1514 yds; 4.3 Y/A; 9 TD; 137.6 Y/G (28th) |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 29 / 15 / Ioannidis (5.5) |
| Tackles leader | Collins (94) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 12 / 4 / Dunbar (4) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 48.37% / 32 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 55.00% / 14 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 25.6 Y/R (5th), 26 returns, long 91 yards (5th), 1 TD |
| Punt returns | 5.2 Y/R (30th), 14 returns, long 15 yards (30th), 0 TD |
| Kick return defense | 25.1 Y/R (27th), 10 returns, 0 TD |
| Punt return defense | 9.5 Y/R (27th), 27 returns, 0 TD |
| Punting | 49.2 Y/P (1st) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank): 17 / 17 / 0 / 18
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 84 / 22
Panthers:
The Panthers are only 12th in total points scored and 19th in yards, but they have the #1 running back in the league, McCaffrey, who leads the league with 1,123 yards and another 586 receiving yards. Carolina is bad on third downs (28th). Cam Newton’s apparent replacement, Kyle Allen, has completed just 61.9% of his passes and has earned a 83.8 quarterback rating. The Panthers have already given up 38 sacks, which is 28th in the league.
Defensively, the Panthers have surrendered a ton of points, 291, which is 26th in the NFL; however, they are slightly better in total yards (19th). They are a bad rushing defense, ranked 30th in total rushing yards, with teams averaging 5.0 yards per attempt (ranked 30th). The Panthers do get a significant number of interceptions (13, ranked 3rd) and sacks (41, ranked 2nd in the NFL). Opposing quarterbacks have posted a fairly poor overall quarterback rating, 84.6 (ranked 6th). The Panthers are also bad in the red zone (ranked 28th), so the rushing yards and red zone results explain the high number of points despite the success against the pass.
Record: 5 – 6 (2nd) (Home: 2 – 3; NFC: 2 – 6)
All-time franchise record: 195 – 199 – 1
Offense
| Offensive rankings
|
12 (points) / 19 (total yards) / 19 (yards per game) / 21 (yards per play) / 21 (passing yards) / 24 (passing yards per att.) / 9 (rushing yards) / 3 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 259 |
| Yards per game | 347.0 |
| Passing | 410 att (10th); 248 comp; 60.5% comp per. (27th); 6.7 Y/A; 2436 net yds; 13 TDs; 10 Int |
| Passing leader | Allen (320 att, 2179 yds (22nd), 61.9% comp per., 13 TDs / 9 Int, 83.8 QB rating (27th)) |
| Reception leader | Moore (905 yds (5th), 103 targets (8th), 68 rec (7th), 3 TD, 13.3 Y/C) |
| Rushing | 276 att (18th); 1381 yds; 5.0 Y/A; 125.5 Y/G (9th); 15 TDs |
| Rushing leader | McCaffrey (221 att, 1123 yds (1st), 12 TDs, 5.1 Y/A (7th), long 84 yds; 82 tgts, 62 rec, 586 yds, 4 TDs, 8.6 Y/C) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 38 / 28 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 29:02 / 23 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 31.43% / 28 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 58.82% / 14 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 26 (points) / 19 (total yards) / 19 (yards per game surrendered) / 21 (yards per play) / 18 (passing yards) / 18 (passing yards per att.) / 27 (rushing yards) / 30 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 291 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 367.1 |
| Opponent’s passing | 400 att (23rd); 260 comp; 65.0% comp per. (22nd); 7.2 Y/A; 2636 net yds; 14 TD; QB Rating 84.2 (6th) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 282 att (14th); 1402 yds; 5.0 Y/A; 12 TD; 127.5 Y/G |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 41 / 2 / Addison (8.0) |
| Tackles leader | Kuechly (96) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 13 / 3 / Jackson (3) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 41.30% / 22 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 64.10% / 28 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 21.9 Y/R (19th), 26 returns, long 36 yards (22nd), 0 TDs |
| Punt returns | 6.2 Y/R (21st), 16 returns, long 39 yards (8th), 0 TDs |
| Kick return defense | 22.0 Y/R (11th), 25 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 8.7 Y/R (25th), 30 returns, 0 TD |
| Punting | 45.7 Y/P (15th) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank): 20 / 20 / 0 / 18
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 62 / 2
* Statistics courtesy of www.pro-football-reference.com, www.nflpenalties.com, www.nfl.com, www.teamrankings.com, www.espn.com, www.sportingcharts.com