Redskins Breakdown: Consistency is the difference in close loss

Chris Thompson, the Redskins’ leading yardage gainer heading into last night’s ordeal, was anything but against the Chiefs.

The Redskins offense didn’t play badly. Kirk Cousins, as mentioned earlier, had a stellar game. His receivers, for all their drops, made plenty of good catches as well, and Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis helped out at tight end. The offensive line was solid in both run blocking and pass protection.  But one key player was missing from all this action: Chris Thompson.

The Florida State product came into the game with 384 yards from scrimmage, second to only Kareem Hunt’s 538. Now, with that prime time matchup in the rear view mirror, Thompson has 411, and Hunt has 659. Thompson was invisible on Monday night, in game where he could have made a difference.

It’s unclear who’s to blame for Thompson’s down game. Yes, the Redskins did underutilize him, to some extent, but when he was in, the Chiefs locked him down fairly well. In the passing game, Thompson had one catch for four yards, and it came on a third down that he failed to convert. In the running game, Thompson was used exclusively on outside runs meant to change the pace of the game. He broke free on none of them, gaining a mere 23 yards on 6 touches.

Analysis: How Chris Thompson became the most important piece of the Redskins' offense

The Redskins came into Monday’s game with a clear goal in mind. Feed Chris Thompson, and fence off Kareem Hunt. In the end, the opposite happened. Thompson can’t disappear if the Redskins wish to win close games like this. As evidenced through the final three quarters of the game, the Redskins can’t yet rely on their receivers, or their bigger running backs to take the game on their shoulders. Kirk Cousins did all he could, but he can’t do it alone. Next time, Chris Thompson has to show up.