Preseason Game 1 Preview: Washington at New England
August 12, 2021
by Steve Thomas
Welcome back to legitimate football! It’s been a long offseason that’s not truly over just yet, but this is the very first Redskins WFT The Team some other stupid and pointlessly politically correct name with which the team is trying too hard to satisfy every possible interest group except the original fans Washington game of the new season, so given the alternative, I’ll take it. Like all preseason games, the point here really isn’t to win; it’s to (1) not get anyone hurt, (2) evaluate players for placement on the depth chart and cuts, amd (3) get a little bit of in-game experience for the starters, in that order. Therefore, you shouldn’t expect too much tonight, so just sit back and enjoy the game and watch for the inevitable vault into prominence by a back of the roster player or two. The good news is that NFL Network is carrying it live, so all team fans across the country will be able to catch it live. Football, I’m glad you’re back. We’re going to do a very limited game preview here, without our usual regular season stats package since they aren’t relevant in the preseason.
Game time & location: Thursday, August 12, 7:30 p.m. ET, Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA; parking lots open 3:30 p.m.; gates to club seats, suites, and Optum Field Lounge open 4:30 p.m.; all other gates open 5:30 p.m.
Television: NBC4/NBC Sports Washington; NFL Network
Television announcers: Bram Weinstein, DeAngelo Hall, Julie Donaldson (Washington); Bob Socci, Scott Zolak, Rob Ninkovich (Patriots)
DC-area radio: The Team 980 and WMAL 105.9/630 AM
Washington radio network: click here
Patriots radio network: click here
Satellite radio: Nat’l broad: 88 on all platforms; Sirius: 137 (Washington broad); XM: 380 (Washington broad); internet: 831 (Washington broad.)
Redskins roster: click here
Redskins depth chart: click here
Patriots roster: click here
Patriots depth chart: click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Patriots: 6 – 5 (last 5: 1 – 4; streak: 0 – 4)
Last regular season meeting: L, October 6, 2019, 7 – 33
Early odds: Washington, -2
What to Watch For
First team playing time
Will the first stringers on either side of the ball get significant playing time? Ron Rivera indicated earlier this week that the starters would play, although he didn’t specifically say how much time they would get. In prior years, starters probably wouldn’t have gotten much playing time in the first preseason game, but with the change to just 3 games this year, it wouldn’t surprise me if they get at least a quarter or so of action. Considering that Washington is still a developing team, they could certainly use the experience, particularly the offense. Keep an eye out on how much Ron Rivera decides to play his starters and at what point he turns the game over to the backups.
Wide receiver depth chart battle
Washington has a whole bunch of wide receivers all battling for either 5 or 6 regular season roster spots. Terry McLaurin is a roster lock, by virtue of his overall awesomeness, as is Curtis Samuel, because of the size of his contractual guarantee, and as is Dyami Brown, since he was a third round draft pick. Beyond that, it’s a total crap shoot, with Antonio Gandy-Golden having a possible leg up as a result of him being a 4th round pick last year. You should keep an eye out on which of the team’s army of receivers stands out from the rest, because with 9 players competing for 2 or 3 remaining active roster slots, and the team not seriously financially committed to any of them, this is going to be one of the best competitions of the preseason.
Who are the starters in the secondary?
Beyond William Jackson III being the #1 corner, we don’t have a clear idea of where the depth chart for the secondary is going to end up when week 1 arrives. The contracts of Kendall Fuller and Landon Collins dictate that they both get playing time, but it will be interesting to see how the coaching staff divides the playing time against the Patriots. If the team’s unofficial depth chart issued by the PR staff last week is correct, right now the starters are Jackson and Fuller at corner and Collins and Kamren Curl at safety. Whether that stands or not is a mystery. This game may go a long way towards showing who’s in the good graces of the coaching staff and who isn’t. Beyond the receiver group, this might be the most interesting position group to watch Thursday night on the team.
Jamin Davis’ first game action
We all want to see Washington’s first round pick hit a professional field for the first time. The real question is whether he’s going to be the starting middle linebacker immediately or whether he plays on the outside. The team’s unofficial depth chart has Davis in the middle. All fans should be interested in this question, because Davis as the middle linebacker means Bostic moves to the strong side, and probably some combination of Cole Holcomb and someone else who’s better in coverage will man the weak side. More importantly, though, it’s just going to be fun to watch Davis play for the first time, so enjoy it.
Right tackle competition
Sam Cosmi or Cornelius Lucas? Or maybe even Saahdiq Charles? This is likely a tryout situation for Cosmi, so keep an eye on how the coaching staff divvies up the playing time on the right side. Ultimately, Cosmi’s draft status probably dictates that he will be the starter, but whether that happens immediately is another open question. Our first real inkling of the answer to this question will come tonight against New England, so try to keep watch on the right side of Washington’s offensive line.
Enjoy the game, and we’ll be back afterwards with a wrap up. For our comment section, we probably will not do a separate gametime chat room tonight unless this post gets bogged down, but we will do them for the regular season.