Game Recap: Houston over Washington 23-21, Alex Smith Breaks, Defense Bends

We all know that NFL stands for “Not For Long”, but it’s still shocking when an injury occurs quickly, in the SNAP of a finger, creating instant FRACTURES on the roster, BREAKING a potential win streak, SPLITTING #1 snaps between starter and backup. Let’s be honest; the Redskins’ 2018 offense already had a tendency to hang limply off to the side, like a lower-leg that no longer wished to stay connected, and it seemed likely to continue that way with perennial backup Colt McCoy trotting out to relieve an injured Smith in the third quarter. I can’t fib u(la), this could have been ugly.

But it wasn’t. Isn’t that so perfectly Redskins? In fact, the Redskins showed a side of themselves yesterday they haven’t yet debuted this year. They fought back. They gained the lead. They electrified the stadium. Much of this is due to Colt McCoy – the one variable the changed yesterday in the Redskins’ transition from pre to post-Smith productivity.

Here’s a good criteria for grading a quarterback: if you are older than your starter’s QBR, he is likely not doing a very good job. Smith earned a 29.1 QB rating yesterday before the injury. That involved two interceptions (one of them a brutal pick-6 that ultimately decided the game), 0 TDs, and a sub-50% completion percentage. He completed a pair of nice passes on an early scoring drive, but on that same drive threw two ugly incompletions, took a sack, and fumbled the ball (recovered by WAS). That’s what Alex Smith has been to Washington in 2018; hot-and-cold, with a clear cold tendency.

Enter Colt McCoy. He completed 6 of 12 passes for 50 yards and took two sacks. But unlike Smith, the stats don’t tell the full story here. Consider the fact that, after Preston Smith snagged an INT deep in Houston’s territory, McCoy turned right around and – with excellent touch and accuracy – zipped a red-zone touchdown pass to Reed. Several things happened of note there: A) Jordan Reed scored his first touchdown since Arizona, B), the Redskins capitalized on a turnover, and C) they did it off a red zone pass in the second half. These things matter. They show a command of the team and utilization of talent that Alex Smith has not.

Consider that, after getting the ball back with less than a minute to go, the Redskins began to march down the field. Colt McCoy orchestrated two first downs and assembled players quickly at the line to spike the ball and stop the clock (by the way, you can effectively strike two “incompletions” from Colt’s stat line for this). Yes, the field goal fell about 5 yards short, but by that time it seemed clear that the team was imbued with a different sort of personality. I think most people turned the game off yesterday with a bitter smile on their face. For a brief time in yesterday’s defeat, the team looked like it was being led.

One last obvious disclaimer about Colt McCoy: we know who he is. He’s a career #2 with great accuracy and poor power. He’s not the healthiest guy out there. He’s not a guy to hang any sort of long-term hopes on. He may have benefited yesterday from Houston’s lack of preparation. All I can say is, the Alex Smith experiment is over for now and it has not worked to this point. Trying something else isn’t the worst thing. Just look at what other longtime backups like Ryan Fitzpatrick can do. Look at what the Eagles did when they lost their starting QB (who was playing far, far better than Alex Smith) last year.

Houston’s offense generated 16 points yesterday. Washington’s defense bent at times but never broke, which is more than you can say for…nevermind. Again, it was really Justin Reid’s 102 yard INT/TD that cost this one and I can’t quite fault the defense for that. Unsurprisingly, Josh Norman showed some good and some bad, particularly on an early play where he seemed to chase the wrong receiver and left DeAndre Hopkins (of all people) open for the score.

Clinton-Dix impressed yesterday, leading the team in solo and total tackles before leaving with a potential concussion. I don’t know what it says about the team when guys like Adrian Peterson and Clinton-Dix manage to make themselves staples without participating in the offseason program, but I won’t complain. Other than him, Mason Foster was quite active and Ryan Kerrigan and DJ Swearinger both got sacks. Preston Smith did too, in addition to the aforementioned turnover.

So, it’s Houston over Washington 23-21 in a game the Redskins could have won had Dustin Hopkins ate a little more Wheaties. Now we enter the Colt McCoy era officially, because for the first time in as long as I can remember there is no spectre of Robert Griffin or Kirk Cousins hanging over him. There’s no other choice, so let’s see what he can do.

Are you scared? Excited? How much does this affect the team’s chances? Let us know in the comments.