Anyone who is an NFL fan that watched the Washington Redskins 43-19 loss to the New Orleans Saints might have thought the result — Washington’s loss — was certainly conceivable, if not probable. The Saints are a good team and they have QB Drew Brees after all. But after the first three games the Burgundy and Gold played, viewers probably would not have thought that the game would have gone as it did. It was more lop-sided and uglier than many thought would have happened after the first games Washington played.
The reasons for the defeat are both easy and tricky to sum up in a few words, but an instant analysis (without watching the film again) indicates that:
1. To begin with, the Saints had more going for them than just being an excellent team. QB Drew Brees was going to break a record and that had not only the team but the entire stadium on fire. The Super Dome is already a hard place to play… even harder when the future Hall-of-Fame QB is going to break Peyton Manning’s all-time passing yardage record.
2. Execution: While the defense had some good play throughout the game, there were also too many blown defensive coverages, too much miscommunication (especially defensively) and a lack of effectiveness along the Redskins usually excellent offensive line. These were all things seen throughout the game. On Brees’ record-breaking pass, the secondary looked like it had no idea where anyone was supposed to be.
3. Discipline: there was a noticeable lack of it. Early on, Washington safety Montae Nicholson made a mind-numbing unnecessary roughness penalty that negated a stellar sack by OLB Ryan Kerrigan on Brees. While there were not that yards lost to penalties, the ones that happened were, frankly, surprising. There were enough third-down defensive infractions that one must question the discipline of the team and, while whether they were all legit is another story, they were called. It’s hard enough to win the NFL… the Redskins need to play a disciplined game.
“To come on Monday Night Football with the whole world watching, coming off a bye week, to give up 43 points as a defense… that’s just bad football,” OLB Ryan Kerrigan so eloquently said after the game. “That’s not going to get it done. Hell, I didn’t even know what their punter looked like until the freaking third quarter. So, it was just not a good day for us.
“It’s hard enough to win in this league when you do things the right way and you don’t make mistakes,” the Boilermaker went on, regarding the infractions. “But when you beat yourself with penalties like that, you don’t give yourself a chance. I mean, you can’t do that in those types of situations. We’ve got to get them off the field and give our offense good field position. We just can’t do that.”
4. Preparedness – the Redskins were coming off a bye week. An early bye week. So, while there were players that needed to heal, it wasn’t as if tons of guys needed surgery or intensive treatment. Most would assume that coaches and players’ time was spent preparing for one of the most prolific and talented quarterbacks in the league; one who had so much for which to play (breaking Peyton Manning’s record). The team did not seem to be sufficiently prepared.
5. One has to wonder now whether those ‘experts’ who questioned the move to let Kirk Cousins go in lieu of Alex Smith have been correct all along in their assessment that it was less a lateral move than a downgrade. Smith was ‘off’ during this contest. Granted, he did make some nice off-schedule and planned runs and other plays, including a touchdown. But he also missed open receivers, he over- and under-threw other receivers; and he seemed more rattled than usual under the pressure.
We won’t know for sure about Smith until a few more games have been played.
6. Whatever player problems were on the field, Washington’s loss ultimately comes down to head coach Jay Gruden. As good as he is in many, many ways, there has been mounting criticism on him over the years regarding his team’s — and his — readiness to play big games. Tonight, the Redskins did not look prepared. Also, play-calling must be a question mark although most pundits agree that Gruden is a master play-designer. The fact that tight end Jordan Reed wasn’t seen however, until after halftime (also not until after he had made the tackle on a Saints interception) is a head-scratcher.
Once Brees broke that passing record in the first half of the game (on a touchdown), it was pretty much over. New Orleans didn’t let up just because this had happened and Washington just didn’t have the answers. In the end, Washington logged 244 yards passing to the Saints 349 but the bigger story was the Redskins paltry 39 yards rushing (to the Saints 98). It’s apparent right now that, if the ground game isn’t working, Smith and his wideouts aren’t up to passing the number of times required to win against a team like the Saints.
Without an effective run game, it came down to passing for Washington and tonight wasn’t a good one for QB Alex Smith. He was under pressure the entire night and the offensive line was man-handled by New Orleans defensive front. Blocks were being shed left and right by New Orleans defensive line and it’s surprising Smith was only sacked three times.
“Nobody showed up,” CB Quinton Dunbar said after the game. “Cornerbacks… safeties, for sure. We didn’t show up. A lot of missed communication. We’ve got to get better.”
Total yards for the Redskins were 283 to the Saints 447. Washington had two turnovers and New Orleans logged one. The time of possession in the end wasn’t terrible, with the Redskins owning the ball for 26:43 and the Saints 33:17.