The Takeaways, Week 15: Seattle at Washington
December 22, 2020
by Steve Thomas
Washington fought hard, at least in the second half, and made a legitimate game of it, but in the end the Seahawks were too good to get beaten by an opponent that isn’t playing its best football for the entire 60 minutes. Washington looked awful for about 2 and a half quarters or so, and much better for the remaining quarter and a half, and that just wasn’t going to cut it. The end result is that Washington’s big chance to take command of the NFC East has gone by the wayside and they also have now guaranteed themselves a non-winning season. All is not lost, though, and most of us expected this result, but there’s no doubt that Washington missed a great opportunity in this game. Fortunately, it leaves plenty of material for this week’s edition of The Takeaways, which is our attempt to provide you with the big picture, “around the watercooler” talking points for the most recent Redskins WFT Washington Football Team pleasestop Washington game. So without further ado, let’s get on with it.
More of the same from Dwayne Haskins
Haskins looked about the same last Sunday as he did in the beginning of the season. Someone who didn’t watch the game might think that Haskins’ stats weren’t too bad aside from his two big mistakes – on the day, he was 38/55 for 295 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. However, Haskins looked hesitant and unsure for the entire first half, and the interceptions were principally caused by his poor decision making. He has been streaky since he arrived here in DC, and Sunday was more of same. He didn’t, and hasn’t yet, put together a complete four quarter game of outstanding quarterbacking, although to be fair, Kyle Allen and 2020 Alex Smith really haven’t done so either. Haskins’ rally in the fourth quarter ended up being too little, too late. Haskins gives me the impression that he still isn’t entirely comfortable with the speed of the NFL game as compared to college, which in my opinion is the cause of many his poor reads. Sometimes, though, like this Seahawks game, he can “warm up”, for lack of a better term, as the game goes along and put together a decent run. Haskins might eventually “get it” and become a decent starting quarterback, but nothing about Haskins’ performance this past Sunday made me believe that he will change Ron Rivera’s mind and become Washington’s future.
Washington has zero run game whatsoever right now
The running back group – meaning J.D. McKissic and Peyton Barber, because Lamar Miller was inactive and Michael Warren didn’t get a carry – collectively had 17 attempts for 54 yards, which equals 3.2 yards per attempt. This team apparently just can’t effectively sustain a ground game, period, without Antonio Gibson. Washington’s passing attack most likely would’ve been much more productive if they’d been able to establish a rushing attack early in the game. Haskins may have been able to work his way into form a bit easier if the running backs had been able to produce. As it was, their collective failure caused multiple three and outs right out of the gate. This problem most likely isn’t going to fix itself this season unless Gibson’s turf toe gets better quickly.
Washington’s pass rush failed to get to Russell Wilson all day
One of our keys to the game we mentioned in The Hog Sty’s preview show was that the defensive front 7 had to not only get to Russell Wilson and put him on the ground, but also to keep him in the pocket as much as possible. Neither of those things happened. Wilson was basically untouched all day with the exception of the interception play late in the game, as Washington got no sacks and only 3 quarterback hits. Wilson did not look to be under serious stress at any point in this game. You can’t expect to beat the Seahawks if Wilson is allowed to throw and run with abandon. This definitely was the defensive front’s worst game in several weeks. My initial impression watching this game live is that the defensive line quite simply got beat by a combination of a mobile quarterback and a solid offensive line.
Run defense’s awful performance was due to multiple factors
Seattle ran for 181 yards on 26 attempts for an average of 7.0 yards per attempt, and one touchdown. The running backs themselves – meaning, Chris Carson, Carlos Hyde, and Rashaad Penny, produced 124 yards in 19 carries, for an average of 6.5 yards per carry, and one touchdown. Wilson contributed another 52 yards, including an epic 38 yard scramble. Many of those big carries came straight up the middle against the strength of Washington’s defense, which is the interior defensive line. This game was a bit of a return to earlier in the season where the defensive line was getting beat on a regular basis in one on one battles. It also should not be lost on anyone that the linebacker group was severely depleted by injuries, to the point that rookie linebacker Khaleke Hudson had to play most of the game. Either way, Washington can’t afford to have another game like this in the final two weeks of the season. Let’s hope that this game is merely one speedbump against a very good team rather than a true regression in performance.
Secondary mostly succeeded against D.K. Metcalf
Probably the biggest key to this game was to limit Metcalf’s ability to make big plays and take over the game, because he had averaged more than 17 yards per reception heading into week 17. Washington’s secondary did an outstanding job on Sunday even understanding that Seattle’s game plan was to rely heavily on their run game. At no time was Metcalf allowed to run free, and that success kept this game at least within striking distance – 20 points allowed means a win for many teams with competent offenses. Ronald Darby, Kendall Fuller, Kamren Curl, Jeremy Reaves all had good days and most did their jobs. Curl led the team with 8 combined tackles and 6 solo tackles.
Bonus Takeaway: Dustin Hopkins tracker:
Dustin Hopkins went 1 for 1 in field goal attempts this week, making a 48 yarder, but then missing an extra point. He is now 23 for 30 in field goals this year, which is a 76.7% make rate, and is now 27 for 29 in extra points in the 2020 season. He is 166 for 175 in extra points in his career, including 3 misses in 2016. He has missed at least 1 extra point in each season of his career, so 2020 is no different in that respect.
That’s it for The Takeaways for this week. Washington will try and stay in the fight for the NFC East title next week when the Carolina Panthers come to town.