The Final Countdown
December 14, 2019
by Jay Evans
The playoffs are officially out of reach for the Redskins, but the season is not over. With three games remaining on the schedule, there are three more opportunities for the current team to build some momentum before the long offseason.
After losing to the Packers last Sunday the Redskins were officially eliminated from playoff contention. That would lead someone to believe the playoffs were plausible, but for most, the chance to make the playoffs was never in the realm of reality and fate of the Redskins was sealed after a dastardly 0-5 start to the season.
Putrid play has befallen the entire NFC East division and was the only reason the Redskins weren’t mathematically eliminated in October. Going into the match against the Packers, the Redskins, having won two consecutive games, were actually the hottest team in the division.
Aside from a monumental choke job by the New York Giants on Monday night, the Eagles would have been on a four-game slide and have dropped games this season to Falcons, Lions, and Dolphins, who have a combined record of 10-28-1 or a 26.92 winning percentage.
The Giants have lost nine in a row and currently own the second overall draft slot. The Cowboys have lost three in a row and after opening the season 3-0 have lost seven of their last ten games.
To finish the season, the Redskins will square off against all three division foes. Back in the dominion of possibility, the Redskins can win all three.
When the Eagles play at Landover on Sunday, the stadium will be a home game for the road team. Currently tickets can be had for $39.00 on Ticketmaster, a notable increase from recent weeks.
Given the tough environment, the Redskins will be challenged to overcome the throngs of Eagles fans, but the Eagles aren’t without their own verrucae. The wide receivers have been terrible since DeSean Jackson’s injury and the play of Carson Wentz has been a hot button topic in Philadelphia since favorite son Nick Foles departed in the offseason.
New York is arguably the worst team in the league. Rookie quarterback Daniel Jones is on the mend and have returned to the Mendoza line, with Eli Manning quarterbacking the Giants. The last game the Giants won was against the Redskins in week four and Saquon Barkley has struggled with injuries in his sophomore campaign greatly limiting the star throughout the season.
Dallas currently leads the NFC East, but has only beaten the Dolphins and Lions outside of the division. During the three-game losing streak, the Cowboys have mustered just 48 points, 20 fewer than Washington, the worst offensive team in the league, over the same period.
There is no solace found in finishing last in a truly awful division. At best the NFC East will be won by a 9-7 team and that is imaginable, yet unlikely. As long as the Redskins have games to play against their interdivisional rivals they have the opportunity to finish strong against the poor competition.
Dwayne Haskins has yet to pass for more than 215 yards in a game and is taking sacks at a rate that if it were extrapolated out to a full 16-game season would rank third all-time by a rookie quarterback.
The Redskins rank 32 out of 32 teams on third down conversions with a 27.27% success rate. During interim coach Bill Callahan’s stead, the Redskins have been in third down situations 90 times. 43 of those plays have occurred in situations with seven yards or greater needed to complete a first down.
The young Redskins have to learn how to win games. Haskins, Terry McLaurin, Montez Sweat, Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen, Matt Ioannidis, Cole Holcomb, and Landon Collins are all 25 years old or younger.
The eight starters listed above are the core of a rebuild. Contributions from the rest of the 25 and under class include: Kelvin Harmon, Tim Settle, Steven Sims, Jr., Shaun Dion Hamilton, Fabian Moreau, Jimmy Moreland and Ereck Flowers.
Development of this crew is paramount going forward and live in-game experience is the fastest way to accelerate their growths.
Haskins’ improvement is at the top of the wish list. Progress in Haskins’ game on and off the field is much needed, but the coaching staff has to prioritize opportunities with better chances of success than the third and long the quarterback has routinely found himself.
Flowers was a running punch line in the preseason. The former tenth overall pick was a sieve at tackle, but after moving to the left guard position Flowers has arguably been the most consistent lineman all season.
The young trio of McLaurin, Harmon, and Sims, Jr. all need to continue develop a rapport with the signal caller. McLaurin’s consistency as a rookie has been impressive, but the other two have only produced in brief spurts. Both Philadelphia and New York rank in the bottom half of pass defense and should be focal points of the game plans in the next two games.
Save your breath if you are of the camp that nothing can be achieved in a lost season and winning ruins the draft position. The Redskins could win all three games and a complete overhaul of the front office and coaching staff would still be likely to occur.
Chase Young, Ohio State’s impressive defensive end, was the pot of gold at the end of the tanking rainbow for draft pundits a month ago, but has recently put some doubt into his declaration for the NFL draft.
The NFL draft is an inexact science. Finding a productive player in the first round is slightly better than a coin flip. Brandon Scherff and Flowers were expected to be tackles in the NFL, but have been better suited to inside play on the offensive line.
Whether it be an offensive tackle, cornerback, or pass catcher the Redskins target with their initial pick, they are further than one player away from a championship. The Redskins are a full corporate restructure away. The changes off the field will take care of themselves in the coming months.
For a change, the best thing the team can do is go into the final three games and win “on the field.” At minimum, heed Jonathan Allen’s words: “just get consistently better in what we do.”