The Takeaways, Week 17: Washington at Philadelphia
January 5, 2021
by Steve Thomas
Congratulations to the 2020-21 NFC East Division Champs! I can’t say that this game exactly went according to plan, but the only thing that matters is that the Redskins WFT The Team Washington got the win and propelled themselves into a very unexpected playoff appearance. The Eagles head coach seemed to do Washington a solid by treating this game as a preseason game, to the ire of many fans and media members alike. I’ll take it. If fact, many strange things happened in this game, which fortunately leaves quite a bit of good stuff to talk about in this week’s edition of The Takeaways, which is my weekly attempt to provide you with the big picture, “around the watercooler” talking points about Washington’s most recent battle. Let’s get into it.
Ron Rivera deserves a ton of credit for this playoff appearance
No, a 7 – 9 record isn’t anything to write home about, and Washington frankly got a bit lucky against the Eagles, but the fact that the team actually got this far is a testament to Ron Rivera’s leadership and strength of character. A million things happened to this franchise that could have easily derailed the season, but this team somehow kept it together enough to earn a division crown and playoff appearance out of the admittedly terrible NFC East. This franchise is in the midst of an ugly ownership fight, they had to rebrand the team, Rivera was diagnosed with cancer, and there was big-time quarterback drama, just to name the big things. The fact that Rivera kept his players focused enough to win the division despite the absolute chaos around them is nothing short of a miracle. I am very impressed by the character of both Rivera and his players. Over the course of this season, they went from a franchise with basically no fanbase left at all to a group of players and coaches who are likeable and easy to root for, even if ownership is not. In my view, Washington is playing with house money, so to speak, for however far they go in the post-season.
Alex Smith gets it done on one leg, barely
Smith looked hobbled throughout most of this game, but once again was able to lead his team to victory. It’s still a fairly small sample size, but Smith has been the only quarterback in the Dan Snyder era to win on a consistent basis. I don’t place too much blame on him for his two interceptions, as one was just a crazy-good play by the Eagles defensive back, and the other was only due to the fact that Logan Thomas fell down as the ball was in the air. No, Smith wasn’t at his best, but the bottom line is that he got the job done and was clearly the right guy to be in the game. To me, there’s no question that Smith should start against Tampa Bay next week if he’s cleared to play by the medical staff. There’s no way an inexperienced player like Taylor Heinicke should’ve been in such a critical game unless it was absolutely necessary.
Scott Turner’s playcalling needs to improve
My criticism of Scott Turner diminished in the second half of the season, mainly because Washington started winning games, but I don’t believe he did a very good job at playcalling this year, and this contest typified the problem. In this particular game, he abandoned the run until finally getting back to it late in the fourth quarter. No, the running backs did not have a good day, but they barely had a chance until late. This team isn’t going to win many playoff games without at least an attempt to keep opposing defense honest. Washington had only 10 running plays at halftime against the Eagles. Antonio Gibson might have gotten going earlier in the game if Turner has given him a chance by calling his number more often. Gibson had all of 7 carries at halftime. Washington won the game, obviously, and at the end of the day that’s all that matters, but I don’t believe that Turner’s playcalling makes the offense as effective as it could be. The playbook is fine; the offensive playcalling leaves something to be desired. This is particularly true on a day in which the quarterback was clearly hobbled and the Eagles’ run defense had been worse than it’s pass defense all season.
Kamren Curl continues to prove himself
Curl has looked like an experienced vet all season. Washington really fell into a true talent very late in the draft. In this particular game, Curl set the tone early on with his interception in the Eagles’ second possession on a great play against Zach Ertz. Washington is going to have the good problem of figuring out what to do with the highly-paid Landon Collins next year, because Curl isn’t going back to the bench. He’s been a stalwart in the secondary since he entered the starting ranks, and this game was no exception. His journey from seventh round afterthought to plus-level starter in his first season is statistically very, very rare. Whoever scouted him for Washington deserves a raise.
Eagles coach Doug Pederson humiliated himself and his team and should be fired
I don’t normally include Takeaways from the opposing team in this column, but Doug Pederson deserves mention. Pederson treated this contest like a preseason game from the start, which was an insult to his players and the team’s fans (although those folks deserve more than a few insults). Philadelphia sat 10 starters in the first place, purportedly due to injury, and then he pulled the starting quarterback to start the fourth quarter for the inexperienced and immobile Nate Sudfeld. I have nothing against Sudfeld, really, but he clearly wasn’t the best choice for the Eagles in that moment. Pederson then had the unmitigated gall to claim in his postgame press conference that he was trying to win the game, which was a lie. I’d be the house that if the Eagles had had something to play for, most of those injured players would have been active and Hurts certainly wouldn’t have been taken out of the game. As a Washington fan, I’ll take it, but if I were in management on the Eagles franchise, Peterson wouldn’t be my coach this morning.
Bonus Takeaway: Dustin Hopkins tracker
Dustin Hopkins went 2 for 2 in field goal attempts, hitting two 42 yard kicks, plus 2 extra points. Hopkins finished the regular season at 27 of 34 in field goals, which is a 79.4% make rate. He was 30 for 32 in extra points this season.
That’s it for this week. I’ll be back for another edition after Washington’s Wild Card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Fed Ex Field next Saturday evening.