The Takeaways, Week 18: Dallas at Washington
January 9, 2023
by Steve Thomas
Washington ended a miserable season in miserable fashion on Sunday, going down to the hated former rival Dallas Cowboys by a score of 38 to 10. The good news, of course, is that Washington was able to secure the second overall pick in the 2024 draft, so that’s a way to claw a victory from the jaws of defeat, I suppose. Washington actually stayed in this game until shortly before halftime, when it all predictably fell apart. I got the feeling from this game that Washington’s players were trying to do the right thing, meaning that they were making an effort to play hard and win, to their credit, but were faced with a vastly superior opponent who needed a victory. Today, as everyone already knew, Washington was totally outclassed, and it showed. Therefore, as a result, big changes are on now here for Washington, which we can all hope will point the franchise in an upward direction thanks to new, non-Dan Snyder ownership. It’s going to be a crazy offseason, folks.
Thanks for the memories, Ron
Ron Rivera’s tenure as the general manager and head coach in Washington came to an end on Monday morning, when, to the surprise of no one, Josh Harris relieved him of his duties. Rivera did not have success in Washington, to be sure: he finished with a record of 26 – 40 – 1, for a .396 winning percentage. That puts him behind Jay Gruden, who had a .418 winning percentage, but ahead of Mike Shanahan, who posted a .375. However, it’s not fair to fully evaluate Rivera’s time in Washington without acknowledging that Rivera faced massive challenges that were almost unprecedented in team history: the COVID season, a personal battle with cancer, a terrible scandal in the front office resulting in an ownership change, an unpopular name change, and more. Through all of that, Rivera kept his dignity intact and mostly kept the players out of the line of fire. He didn’t let the team get torn apart, and for that, he deserves credit. This week 18 game against Dallas went about as expected, but I’ll remember Rivera as an honorable guy who was probably never going to succeed given the situation. Thanks, and best of luck, Ron.
The probable end of the Sam Howell era
Sam Howell began this season on fairly high ground, posted huge raw passing numbers and winning at least a few games. However, some of us, including your humble author, always thought that things weren’t quite as rosy as many fans believed. That proved true as the season went on, culminating in the ridiculous situation in which he was benched in favor of Jacoby Brissett for poor performance, only to have Brissett get injured five minutes later, allowing him to finish the season as the starter. In this game, Howell went 19 for 27, which was a 70% completion percentage, 153 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions, for a 65.8 quarterback rating, which was emblematic of the second half of the season. This should be Howell’s last start, as if Washington’s leadership has at least one brain cell amongst them, they’ll draft their franchise quarterback of the future in this coming draft. I’m glad that Howell got a legitimate shot, but at the end of the day, he’s just not good enough to pick up and offense and carry it, and that’s his biggest knock against him.
Washington finally got Terry McLaurin 54 lousy yards
McLaurin finished this game with 6 receptions for 56 yards, which was enough – barely – to allow him to finish the season with over 1000 receiving yards, and more than 75 receptions for the fourth season in a row. The offense was bad enough that it took him until the second-to-last play of the game to hit the 1000 yard mark, but it got done. It was good to see that the coaching staff took care of McLaurin, who is by far Washington’s best player, by going to him one final time at the very end of the game. Congrats, Terry, for being one of the rare Washington players who actually outgrew his original draft status and became a player recognized for excellence league-wide. We don’t know what the future holds, but Washington would be wise to hang onto him.
The entire offensive line needs to be replaced
One of Ron Rivera’s biggest sins is the fact that he took an offensive line that was above-average when he arrived and turned it into a disaster. They gave up another four sacks in this game, for a total of 65 in the season, and generally looked outclassed by a Cowboys team that wasn’t actually trying very hard by the end of the game. Samuel Cosmi is probably the best of the bunch, so he could possibly stick around, but the rest of this group may very likely be shown the door this offseason. Nothing in this game against Dallas changed that fate.
Is Jartavius Martin more than a bust?
Quan Martin started off this season in horrific fashion, barely even getting on the field except for special teams, but finished the season as a regular in the defensive backfield. He was able to make plays, and while he wasn’t great, he began to look like he belonged. Martin finished strong, with an interception in the first half, which was his second in the season. I never understood what in the world Washington was thinking by drafting two straight secondary players in the 2023 draft, especially bust Emmanuel Forbes in round 1, so it’s good to see that at least one of them might possibly have a future as a regular. We’ll see.
That’s it for The Takeaways for the 2024 season, everyone. I’ll continue with regular weekly analysis columns throughout the offseason, and The Takeaways will return in week 1 of the 2024 season.