The Takeaways, Week 15: Redskins at Jaguars
December 18, 2018
by Steve Thomas
It feels good for the Redskins to get a win, doesn’t it? I have no use whatsoever for all of you “they ruined their draft pick order” folks. I’m just glad that the Redskins finally pulled out a victory and kept their playoff chances on life support in the process. I’ll start thinking about draft order when the season ends. Yes, it was an ugly game – we told you it would be ugly on our game preview show – but a win by any measure still counts the same in the standings. Before the season began, this was a game that almost everyone predicted would be an easy Jacksonville victory given how good that franchise was last season, but as the year progressed, it became apparent that week 15 needed to be a win if Washington had playoff aspirations. The Redskins most definitely didn’t look great on Sunday, but they did enough to earn a victory and were a vast improvement on defense over the prior few weeks. So: congratulations, Redskins, on a much-deserved victory. I’m very happy to have the opportunity to write a more positive edition of The Takeaways than the barrels of negativity this column has featured over the past few weeks.
Josh Johnson gets his first win
Johnson got his first career victory as a starter, and it couldn’t have come at a more important moment for the Redskins. This was a tough situation considering he’d only been in the building for 10 days and hadn’t played at all in 2 years. Johnson certainly had some problems – he held the ball too long on multiple occasions, sailed a few passes, and made some poor decisions with the ball – but he also didn’t make any huge mistakes or throw any interceptions, and came through late in the game with a touchdown drive and the game-winning field goal drive when it mattered most late in the game. Most impressively, the Jaguars seemed to be ready for Johnson’s ability to scramble, but he didn’t let that derail his game. He only finished with 151 passing yards, but had a 64% completion percentage and a pretty darn good quarterback rating of 93.9. Throw in his 49 yards rushing on 9 carries, and you have a positive outing for a guy making his first start in seven years for a team that has suffered a Mt. Everest-level number of injuries. Johnson has a quiet, mature type of confidence about him that seems to resonant with his teammates. He’s a likeable, humble guy, and it’s impossible not to root for him. Johnson definitely proved that he deserves to start for the rest of the season.
It’s easy to say now, in hindsight, that Johnson should’ve been signed ahead of Mark Sanchez in the first place, but to be fair, signing a guy who hadn’t started in 7 years over someone who had at least been a recent backup and passable journeyman didn’t seem wise at the time. It sure does now, though.
The defense redeemed itself
Honestly, the defense looked to be dead on arrival after last week, done with the season, ready to quit and begin their annual six month vacation. To their great credit, the defensive starters played with a sense of urgency on Sunday, particularly along the front 7. That group repeatedly penetrated the pocket, harassed Cody Kessler, got 6 sacks, and limited the Jacksonville running backs to 84 yards on 19 carries. The rushing total isn’t great, and that expands to 172 yards once Kessler’s scrambles and receiver Dede Westbrook’s one carry is thrown in, but the principal point is that the Redskins did not allow the Jaguars, who lean heavily on their run game, to dominate the game on the ground, and they didn’t give up any disaster plays. Granted, the Jaguars offense as a whole is bad, not very capable, and without weapons; that having been said, the Redskins defense finally showed a little heart and took care of business. For that, I applaud them.
Ryan Kerrigan abused his opponent
Ryan Kerrigan sometimes gets too little credit amongst Redskins fans, but this man has been Mr. Consistency throughout his career. He never misses games, and all he’s done is to become the second-leading sacker in franchise history. Sometimes Kerrigan’s play style isn’t sexy enough for fans’ taste, sealing the edge against the run can sometimes be a weak point, and he has on occasion gone stretches without significant impact on games, but he produces lots of sacks, every year. On Sunday, Kerrigan repeatedly beat his opponent, who was the Jaguar’s backup right tackle, and finished with two sacks and got close several more times. He had a direct impact on the ability of the Jacksonville offense to move the ball. In some ways, the Redskins have wasted his career, given that his production is on a par with or greater than anyone who played on during the golden era of the 1980s and early 90s. If Kerrigan had played on the Redskins’ Super Bowl teams, his status in the view of the fans would be dramatically different.
Tress Way continues to amaze
What more can be said about Tress Way? Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t make the Pro Bowl, because most voting fans aren’t going to take the time to research punters on mediocre teams when they submit their votes, but Way has played as big a role as is possible for a punter during the Redskins’ 2018 season. The fact that he has yet to have a touchback all year is simply incredible – Way has the uncanny ability to make the ball die inside the 10 yard line on what seems like every punt. All I can say is vote, folks. It’s up to you to give this guy the credit he deserves. To the Associated Press All Pro voters: do your job, because he deserves a first team selection.
Jay Gruden called a better game this week
Jay Gruden takes a large ration of ill will from all corners of the media, including The Hog Sty, when things go badly, so I also want to give him credit when it’s due. Jay made some quality play calls on Sunday, trying to make use of Johnson’s skillset with run-pass options, and adjusting when it didn’t go as well as he hoped. Jay also called the final few drives to perfection, mixing in runs and passes at the right times to keep the defense off balance while properly using clock time. Jay had a good game this week; kudos to the coach. The Redskins remain in playoff contention for one more game, and as an added bonus, he might have very well kept his job for another year with this victory.
Things are so much more pleasant when the Redskins actually win a game, and today was no exception. In fact, I’d call it a huge relief and a monkey off the back of a team that seemed to be falling apart just a couple of days ago. Certainly, too much shouldn’t be made of squeaking by the likes of the Jaguars and their anemic offense, but as I said above, they all count for one. The Redskins did what they needed to do today, finally, and for that they should be applauded. The season is on the line again next week as Washington travels to Nashville for a contest against the playoff-hopeful Titans. I’ll be back with another edition next week.