The Takeaways, Week 7: 49ers at Redskins
October 22, 2019
by Steve Thomas
I wasn’t surprised that the Redskins were shut out on Sunday, and I’m sure none of you were surprised either. At least you shouldn’t have been. San Francisco’s defense is legit – truly a top 3 defense, at least. Nobody should have predicted a high scoring game from Washington, particularly given the offense’s overall pathetic nature for most of the season so far. All the same, though, this was a poor effort even given the circumstances. I’m not sure this fanbase can get more frustrated than they already are, but in case there’s still room for growth in that area, this game should contribute. It was a poor performance by the offense now matter how you look at it. There was nothing redeeming about what Case Keenum and company did on Sunday. It was probably their worst effort of the year, and that’s really saying something. Here are The Takeaways for this week.
The offensive game plan was poor and too conservative
I’ve been a consistent advocate for quite a while for the Redskins to start leaning on their rushing attack more than former head coach Jay Gruden usually did, and Bill Callahan has certainly done that. All the same, though, the Redskins really went overboard against the 49ers. The team’s gameplan did not make any effort whatsoever at any point to get their passing game rolling. The value of consistently leaning on the run is that it should make defenses vulnerable to the pass at key moments. The Redskins failed to do that, even calling a pitch to wide receiver Steven Sims on third and 8 that was doomed to fail from the first moment. The 49ers were stuffing the box with 8 defenders, so the Redskins should’ve made more of an effort to get the ball downfield. That’s why the Peterson-led run game slowed down mid-way through the first half. Calling 26 rushing plays to 14 real passing plays (12 pass attempts and 3 sacks, minus the interior pitch to Sims that was technically a pass) is just as bad as Jay doing the opposite. Callahan also made an error on fourth and one, giving the ball to Adrian Peterson deep in the backfield instead of going with the obvious quarterback sneak. And I don’t want to hear about the weather, because Jimmy Garoppolo managed to sling the ball around a little bit at key times when he had to, which ended up being a benefit to the 49ers.
The Case Keenum Experience needs to end
I was on board with the “let Dwayne Haskins sit and learn this year” plan all the way up to when he played in the Giants game. I was sort of okay with letting Keenum start against the Dolphins, even though I wouldn’t have made the same decision. But I’m officially tired of Case Keenum. He was bad again on Sunday – his passes were sloppy, he held the ball too long again, and he let the weather affect him in a way that Garoppolo didn’t. Case isn’t helping the Redskins offense become more effective and efficient, and not only is he not winning games, but his unit wasn’t even competitive against the 49ers and put up just 17 points against a truly horrific Dolphins defense. I realize that Haskins might not be ready to lead an NFL offense – I’ve said it on the air, and people who are much smarter about quarterback play than me (not that that’s a high bar) have been saying the same thing – but regardless, Keenum didn’t help the Redskins this week. In fact, with the exception of a good effort against the Eagles and a mediocre game against Dallas, he’s been more of a negative than a positive this season. You aren’t going to convince me that Haskins can’t hand the ball off 26 times and complete 9 of 12 passes for 77 yards. Stop being stubborn, Redskins. It’s time to let the man play.
The front 7 had a good day and did enough to win
The really sad thing about this game is that Washington’s defense did enough to earn a win. We told you in our preview show and in the written preview that the keys to the game were to slow down Matt Breida on the ground and keep tight end George Kittle in check. They did both. The front 7 actually did a pretty darn remarkable job against one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks, certainly the most frequent rushing team. The Redskins held the 49ers to just 9 points, with an assist from the weather, which was more than enough for most NFL teams to win. All football teams, especially one that is theoretically an NFL team like the Redskins claim to be, need to win 100% of games in which the defense gives up just 3 field goals. Congrats to the front 7 for a job well done. The offense needs to apologize to you guys for blowing it.
The weather was a factor, but not as much as you might think
Yes, the weather conditions were terrible. That much was obvious even for me watching on television from Texas. It definitely had an effect on the game, and I’m not trying to pretend otherwise. All the same, though, the 49ers run more than any team in the league, and they did so again on Sunday, but San Francisco also managed to pass for more than twice as many yards as did the Redskins. Bill Callahan can claim as much as he wants that the weather affected the playcalling, but the fact of the matter is that the 49ers opened up their passing game when it mattered most. Jimmy Garoppolo managed to go downfield just enough to extend some drives and get the winning field goals in spite of the weather. The truth is that I don’t think the result of this game would’ve been much different if it had been 60 degrees and sunny. The Redskins may have called a few more pass plays, but in my view, the Redskins offense played scared. The Washington coaching staff seemed to be intimidated by the fearsome reputation of the San Francisco defense and called about as conservative of a game plan as you’ll ever see in an NFL game. The weather probably had something to do with it – Callahan said as much in his postgame comments – but I don’t think the gameplan would’ve changed much. The Redskins were afraid, and rain, or the lack thereof, wasn’t going to make a huge difference.
The NFL needs to do something about the poor officiating
I’m not going to suggest that the refs cost the Redskins a win in this game – they didn’t; the Redskins played poorly and lost to a better team. All the same, though, I’m sick and tired of huge officiating mistakes. This week, a key 49ers fumble recovered by Washington late in the game got erased because at least one official wasn’t in place at the start of the play, causing the play to have to be replayed. That garbage is inexcusable and it had a substantial impact on the game. The officials have blown countless calls this year, have missed countless others, and have called a whole truckload of ridiculous, ticky-tacky penalties that should never have been assessed. For whatever reason, the officiating in the NFL has really gone downhill in the past couple of seasons, highlighted by the officials sending the wrong team to the Super Bowl last season. The NFL’s officials are incompetent in many respects and are making the quality of the on-field product worse. NFL management has a real problem on their hands that they need to fix. Don’t hold your breath, because I have precisely zero faith that anything’s going to change.
That’s it for this week’s edition, folks. I’d love to say that things are going to get better soon, but I don’t think that’s very likely. The Redskins next face the Vikings on Thursday Night Football. I’m sure that’ll go well.