Washington Redskins vs. New York Giants: Full Report Card Grades for Washington
With their 24-13 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday, the Washington Redskins closed their road schedule with a 1-7 record. But hey, at least they scored this week.
While Washington had 372 total yards to New York's 287, it was ultimately undone by a touchdown-turned-turnover at the end of the first half.
It's the team's sixth straight loss; which position group bears the brunt of the blame?
Let's find out. Here are the full report card grades for Washington in Week 15.
Quarterback
1 of 10
With Colt McCoy sidelined by a neck injury early on, Robert Griffin III picked up the quarterback reins.
He completed 18 of 27 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown. Additionally, he rushed the ball five times for 46 yards.
While those are quality numbers on the surface, the wheels really came off at the end of the first half. Diving for what appeared to be a rushing touchdown—one that would have given the Redskins a 16-7 lead—Griffin fumbled the football prior to crossing the goal line, and the score was called back.
In the half that followed, Griffin threw for 96 yards, was sacked five times and led his team to just three points. While he had glimpses in which he passed ably from the pocket, namely his 61-yard completion to Andre Roberts, Griffin too often went with his checkdowns in lieu of open receivers downfield.
Griffin made clear progress in this contest, but he still has a ways to go before making the honor roll.
Grade: C+
Running Back
2 of 10
Coming off a 27-yard outing the previous week, the Redskins tallied 144 yards on the ground in Week 15. Led by Alfred Morris' 49 yards rushing, seven different players carried the ball on an array of rushes.
Seeing the most extensive action of their brief careers, Silas Redd and Chris Thompson made Roy Helu's absence an afterthought.
The duo combined for 97 total yards, six receptions and a touchdown (from Thompson). Much like the passing game, though, this unit's production waned in the second half. Outside of Griffin's improvisational runs, the team's running game was non-existent.
Morris, for one, ran for two yards on five second-half carries. As a team, the total was 46 yards after intermission.
It was an improvement from last week, but the Skins' running game didn't meet expectations, going against the NFL's 30th-ranked rushing defense.
Grade: C
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Partially due to Griffin overlooking them downfield, the Redskins pass-catchers made little impact in this game.
Of the team's 275 receiving yards, only 189 can be attributed to receivers or tight ends. Looking at the stat sheet, you wouldn't have known that DeSean Jackson returned to the lineup.
Despite being targeted eight times, Jackson finished the day with three catches for 15 yards. The team's other chief wideout, Pierre Garcon, didn't fare much better. On seven targets, he had four receptions for 36 yards.
A disappointment for much of his first year in Washington, Andre Roberts led the team with 81 yards receiving. Factoring in Jordan Reed's disappearing act (13 receiving yards), it's clear that Washington's receivers underachieved in this contest.
Grade: C
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Offensive Line
4 of 10
Washington's offensive line was bad already. Take away its best lineman in Trent Williams, and, well, you get this week's showing.
Featuring Tyler Polumbus and Tom Compton at the tackle spots, after Williams' exit, this unit allowed not only seven sacks but 12 quarterback hits. As porous as these numbers are, they were actually aided by Griffin's mobility.
An underachiever for most of the season, Jason Pierre-Paul proved to be unblockable on the afternoon. Despite the Skins' attempt to chip and double-team him, he finished the game with 2.5 sacks.
This is something you've heard repeatedly and will continue to hear for at least another two weeks: This unit is terrible and by far the team's biggest need going into the offseason.
With recent draft picks Morgan Moses and Spencer Long either injured or unable to crack the starting lineup, the team should be open to finding upgrades at every position through the draft and free agency.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
5 of 10
This unit was down its top player, Jason Hatcher, but you wouldn't have known watching this contest. From the outset, Washington's defensive line dominated the line of scrimmage.
Getting little-to-no push from its offensive line, New York only managed to run for 49 yards. On 22 carries, it managed a meager 2.2 yards per rush.
Not that it was taken advantage of, but by virtue of making the Giants one-dimensional, the Redskins defensive line set up the pass rush to get after the quarterback.
Living up to its end of the bargain, the defensive line deserves a positive grade.
Grade: B+
Linebacker
6 of 10
This position group may need to be separated into two categories: Ryan Kerrigan and the other guys.
Continuing his stellar season, Kerrigan had one sack and two quarterback hits. This was his fourth consecutive game with a sack, and his 12.5 on the season are a career high.
As for the rest of Washington's middling pass-rushers, they were once again a no-show. Despite facing an offensive line that had allowed 28 sacks entering the game, the Skins' remaining pass-rushers managed only three hits on the quarterback.
On a positive note, this group did hold up in coverage. Led by Perry Riley and his two passes defended, this unit held tight ends Larry Donnell, he of the three touchdowns in Week 4, and Daniel Fells to 27 yards receiving.
All told, with its inability to pressure Eli Manning, the team's pass rush ultimately set up the secondary to fail in this one.
Grade: D+
Secondary
7 of 10
What is it about rookie receivers that gives Washington's secondary so much trouble?
Victimized by rookie Mike Evans earlier this season, the Redskins were scorched by Odell Beckham Jr. this time around.
He had 12 receptions, 143 yards and three touchdowns. While blown assignments were the root cause of the team's struggles defending the pass in recent weeks, this outcome was merely a result of Beckham being better than the players covering him.
For most of the day, that was Bashaud Breeland. While Beckham's output doesn't reflect a positive picture, the biggest wart for Breeland was committing penalties. He was flagged four times for 70 yards.
Factoring in that no other receiver eclipsed 30 yards, in addition to an absent pass rush, the Redskins secondary, for once, is off of academic probation.
Grade: C+
Special Teams
8 of 10
The coach is different. The players are different. But in reality, there's no distinguishable difference between the 2013 and 2014 Washington special teams.
On the heels of being burned by Tavon Austin, this unit allowed New York to record its longest return of the season, a 45-yard kick return by Preston Parker.
Then there's how the second half started. With the kickoff moved up because of a penalty, the Giants attempted and recovered an onside kick in Washington territory.
Bearing a lot of responsibility for the first 10 points the Giants scored, the play of the Redskins' special teams warrants a negative grade.
Grade: D+
Coaching
9 of 10
With McCoy injured, head coach Jay Gruden needed to and did cater the offense to fit Griffin's strengths...in the first half, that is.
After leaning on rollouts and play-action passes to much success in the first half, Gruden reverted back to calling plays that asked Griffin to play from the pocket.
As you would expect, this decision didn't end well. Lacking any sort of rhythm, the offense scored just three points in the second half.
Shifting to the defense, where was the pressure? Where were the disguised coverages? With Manning having all day to throw—to only one receiver—one would expect to see these types of things from defensive coordinator Jim Haslett.
While he did eventually dial up some blitzes in the second half, they came much too late. From the questionable play calls to the team being penalized 135 yards, once again, the coaches' report card isn't a glowing one.
Grade: D+
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | C+ |
| RB | C |
| WR/TE | C |
| OL | F |
| DL | B+ |
| LB | D+ |
| Secondary | C+ |
| Special Teams | D+ |
| Coaching | D+ |
| Cumulative Grade | C- |
When you can call an 11-point loss progress, it goes without saying that your team isn't where it wants to be.
Still, with the focus slanted toward the 2015 season, that's all the Redskins are looking for at this point. With two games left in the 2014 campaign, from Gruden to Griffin, significant strides have to be made if anybody is to feel safe in his job security entering the offseason.
All stats courtesy of ESPN.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
