The Takeaways, Week 14: Washington at San Francisco
December 15, 2020
by Steve Thomas
It’s time to celebrate, people! Against all odds and vestiges of logic, Washington has taken over sole possession of first place. This contest against the Sanzona 49ers was one of those games that didn’t go particularly well in some respects but worked out in the end since they managed to score more points than the other guys. A win is a win, and first place is first place no matter how you get there. I have no doubt that Ron Rivera and company will take it, although they certainly have some significant improvements to make with this team if they are going to continue to win and march to the division title. As a result, we have lots to talk about here, both good and bad, in this week’s edition of The Takeaways, which is our attempt to give you the big-picture, around the watercooler talking points from the Redskins’ Washington’s game that week. Let’s dive right in.
The defensive line won this game
Washington’s defensive front line was the biggest reason why the team was able to come away with a victory on Sunday. As a whole, this group was relentless, making Sanzona quarterback Nick Mullens more and more uncomfortable as the game went on. The defensive line didn’t have a spectacular game against the run, surrendering 108 yards on 27 carries for 4.0 yards per attempt. This isn’t terrible and was certainly better than it could have been, but Raheem Mostert averaged 4.6 yards per carry. The point is, though, that Washington got quality performances from every member of the defensive line, and by the end of the game they were absolutely terrorizing Mullens, who looked shellshocked and like he’d rather be somewhere else. This position group is really rounding into form from where they were at the beginning of the season, and most impressively they are doing it against good offensive lines. This is undeniably the strength of the team.
The offense as a whole was pathetic
This game was probably Washington’s worst offensive performance since the beginning of the season. Collectively, the quarterback group had all of 95 net passing yards in the game (Washington has sadly had 20 games with 100 or fewer passing yards since 1990). Alex Smith produced what was probably his worst performance as a Redskin with Washington, at first without obvious cause. He made inaccurate, off-target passes and generally didn’t look like himself. We found out towards the end of the second quarter that Smith had a right calf injury, which explains which his passes were so off-target. Dwayne Haskins did not look good in relief, and the play calling made me think that the coaching staff still doesn’t trust him. On multiple occasions, the team either ran running plays in passing situations or had him check down. He did not look downfield much in this game. Today’s effort gave me no cause to believe that Haskins will be back next season. Aside from the quarterbacking, the run game was mostly unsuccessful without the injured Antonio Gibson. The offense only scored 9 points, and six of those point came courtesy of field goals after very short drives. Washington only had one significant drive in the entire game. The 2 defensive touchdowns saved the game, which could’ve easily been a 49ers victory. The passing and running game will need to dramatically improve, injuries or not, in order to beat the Seattle Seahawks next week.
Kamren Curl is the future starter at strong safety
Curl got his first pick 6 touchdown of his career on Sunday, with a 76 yard interception return into the end zone. Beyond that, he played a solid game against Sanzona, with no noticeable blown coverages or missed tackles. Curl has far exceeded all reasonable expectations for a seventh round pick. He doesn’t blow his zone coverage assignments, rarely misses tackles, and in general seems to have a good sense for the game. Curl was credited with 7 solo tackles, 2 pass defenses, and 1 quarterback hit in this game. My view is that he needs to be the 2021 starter regardless of the health of Landon Collins. Curl has a strong NFL future and can be a key part of this young and developing team. He was a great find late in the draft.
Washington needs to deal with being the frontrunner
Washington is now in sole possession of first place in the admittedly terrible NFC East. This is not a franchise that is historically used to being the frontrunner, and I’m not entirely sure how this group of players will handle it. The good news is that they have a strong head coach in Ron Rivera (I’ll let slide his bungling of the playcalling in Washington’s attempt to run out the clock in their final possession at the end of the game aside). Good teams don’t let up when they reach first place, and Washington will have to learn that lesson. I’m concerned about what might happen next week, particularly with one of the best team in the NFC coming to town. So, as good as this win was for everyone – because, again, all that counts is the “W”, not how it happens – the real key is whether they can continue winning against top competition. Washington has gotten victories over two quality teams in a row . . . can they continue? We’ll see.
Bonus takeaway: Dustin Hopkins tracker
Hopkins went three for four in field goals this week, missing his first kick of 53 yards, but making kicks of 51, 31, and 21 yards, plus 2 extra points. Hopkins is now 22 for 29 on the year, which is 75.9%.
That’s it for The Takeaways for this week. Next up are the 9 – 4 Seattle Seahawks at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium in Raljon.