Hold On – Week 16
December 29, 2020
By Noonefromtampa
This was a horrible game offensively for the Washington Football Team and Dwayne Haskins. The Giants lost to the Ravens and the Cowboys beat the Eagles, but Washington retained first place in the NFC East because of the head-to-head tiebreaker over Dallas.
The officiating was questionable at times during the game. I have never seen a fumble called where the ball went about 8 yards upfield from the quarterback’s hand, instead of being ruled an incomplete forward pass. Marquis Haynes scooped up the ball and returned 19 yards before the offense realized the play had not been blown dead due to a incomplete pass attempt. Teddy Bridgewater had a similar play but Kamren Curl caught the ball in the air. Initially, the scorer list that as a fumble with a strip sack by Chase Young, but then it was changed to an interception. There was an apparent fumble (with a potential scoop and score by Jeremy Reaves) that was blown dead by a quick whistle, because the officials judged forward momentum was stopped and they were concerned for player safety, even though it looked like Mike Davis was still fighting for extra yards.
Another thing I don’t recall seeing before in a game is where all the penalties except for one were called on the defensive side of the ball. That lone offensive penalty was very costly for Washington, negating a touchdown throw to Logan Thomas. Washington was then unable to convert on 4th down and came away with zero points. That holding call itself was no worse than ones that were not called earlier in the game against both teams, in my opinion. It looked like more of a good “sell” acting job by the Carolina defensive tackle than an egregious hold by Wes Schweitzer.
The penalties in this game were as follows:
| Team | Called | Accepted | Offset | Yards | First Downs |
| Washington | 6 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 2 |
| Opponent | 4 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 1 |
Game breakdown of accepted calls were as follows:
| Penalty | Opponent | Washington | Grand Total |
| Defensive Holding | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Defensive Offside | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Illegal Use of Hands | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Neutral Zone Infraction | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Offensive Holding | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Roughing the Passer | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Too Many Men on Field | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unnecessary Roughness | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Grand Total | 3 | 5 | 8 |
Overall, the Washington Football Team ranks 16th overall for the season in accepted penalty calls. The season breakdowns through week 16.
| Washington | Opponent | |||||
| Week | Accepted | Declined | Offset | Accepted | Declined | Offset |
| 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
WFT holds a 27 yard edge over their opponents in total penalty yards:
| Week | Washington | Opponent | Total Yards |
| 1 | 55 | 20 | 75 |
| 2 | 42 | 97 | 139 |
| 3 | 40 | 50 | 90 |
| 4 | 20 | 30 | 50 |
| 5 | 40 | 60 | 100 |
| 6 | 50 | 30 | 80 |
| 7 | 30 | 50 | 80 |
| 9 | 45 | 40 | 85 |
| 10 | 58 | 55 | 113 |
| 11 | 49 | 31 | 80 |
| 12 | 53 | 45 | 98 |
| 13 | 62 | 45 | 107 |
| 14 | 30 | 35 | 65 |
| 15 | 41 | 45 | 86 |
| 16 | 26 | 35 | 61 |
| Total Yards | 641 | 668 | 1,309 |
Next, the following chart shows the breakdown of the accepted penalties by unit:
| Washington | Opponent | |||||
| Week | Defense | Offense | Spec Tms | Defense | Offense | Spec Tms |
| 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 15 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 41 | 31 | 11 | 36 | 37 | 6 |
The top penalties committed by Washington this year are offensive holding calls, false starts, delay of game, neutral zone infractions and defensive offsides:
| Penalty | Accepted | Declined | Offset | Grand Total |
| Clipping | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Defensive Holding | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Defensive Offside | 9 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Defensive Pass Interference | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| Delay of Game | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Disqualification | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Encroachment | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Facemask | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| False Start | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Horse Collar Tackle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Block Above the Waist | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Illegal Double-Team Block | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Formation | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Illegal Motion | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Touch Kick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Use of Hands | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Ineligible Downfield Pass | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Lowering the Head to Initiate Contact | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Neutral Zone Infraction | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Offensive Holding | 11 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Offensive Offside | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Offensive Pass Interference | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Roughing the Passer | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Taunting | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Too Many Men on Field | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unnecessary Roughness | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
The penalties committed by player are as follows:
| Player | Accepted | Declined | Offset | Grand Total |
| B. Scherff | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| C. Lucas | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| C. Roullier | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| C. Sims | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| C. Young | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| D. Everett | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| D. Inman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| D. Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| D. Payne | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| D. Sharpe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Defense | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| G. Christian | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Allen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Bostic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. McKissic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Moreland | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| J. Smith-Williams | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| J. Sprinkle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| K. Allen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| K. Curl | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| K. Fuller | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| K. Hudson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| K. Pierre-Louis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| L. Collins | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| L. Thomas | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| M. Ioannidis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| M. Moses | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| M. Sweat | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Offense | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| R. Anderson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| R. Darby | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| R. Kerrigan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| T. Apke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| T. Hemingway | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| T. McLaurin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| T. Settle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| W. Martin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| W. Schweitzer | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Grand Total | 83 | 10 | 1 | 94 |
Through week 16, the top three most penalized players are: Montez Sweat, with 10 penalty calls, all accepted; the offense with 7 calls (delay of game), all accepted; and Jimmy Moreland with 5 calls, all accepted and Morgan Moses with 5 calls and 4 accepted.
As always, you can tweet penalty questions you would like see answered to me @noonefromtampa.
Statistics source: nflpenalties.com, nfl.com