Washington Football Team: Highs and lows from Week 9 loss to Giants

Week 9 Lows

Another Slow Start

Another week, another slow start for the Washington Football Team. After forcing a turnover on downs on the Giants’ first drive, Washington looked poised to gain some early momentum. The first play of their initial drive looked promising with Kyle Allen hitting Antonio Gibson for a 21-yard gain to get into Giants territory.

The problem was Gibson fumbled the ball at the end of the play and the ball rolled 25 more yards down the field with multiple Washington players having a chance to come away with it. Ultimately, the ball was recovered by Jabrill Peppers at the Giants’ 19-yard line.

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On the next drive, the Washington Football Team quickly went three-and-out. Later in the quarter, Isaiah Wright fumbled the ball when trying to field it on a punt return, with the Giants recovering the ball at the Washington 16-yard line.

The Giants would go on to score on the subsequent drive and just like that, Washington found themselves in a 10-0 hole just 11 minutes into the game. That is not what winning football teams do.

Washington is the only team in the NFL that has not scored on their opening drive thus far this season. Let me repeat, that is not what winning football teams do.

Washington also has six first-quarter turnovers this season, tied with the Cowboys for the most in the league. Again, not what winning football teams do.

The Daniel Jones Effect – Turnover-Free Football

If the Giants played Washington every week of the season, they would be a Super Bowl contender and Daniel Jones would be up for MVP.

All jokes aside, you know there is a problem when the only team in the NFL the Giants have beaten is Washington… twice.

The same goes for Daniel Jones. Jones is 4-0 as a starter against Washington and 1-16 against the rest of the NFL. So much for that Jones vs. Haskins comparison.

Jones finished the game 23-for-34 with 212 yards and a touchdown. By no means is that a fantastic statline, but the biggest success for Jones was the fact that he did not commit a turnover.

Jones had nine interceptions and four fumbles lost coming into Week 9, and Washington was still unable to force a turnover. The Giants had at least one turnover per game this season, but still no takeaways for Washington.

They got five sacks but no takeaways. The sack by Kam Curl close to the end of the game could have been a game-changing play if Jones did not hold on to the ball, but it was all for naught.

Run Defense Woes Continue

You’d think Dalvin Cook was in the backfield against Washington, but alas it was only Wayne Gallman and Alfred Morris. The Giants finished the game with 166 rushing yards, with 109 coming in the first half.

Alfred Morris looked like he stepped right out of 2012, the way he was playing. He had nine rushes for 67 yards, while Gallman added 14 rushes for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Despite it being against Washington, it was nice to see Morris continue to shine, as he was one of the hardest working Washington players during his tenure with the team. People seem to forget that Morris was a big part of RGIII’s magical season with the team.

Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers

When you turn the ball over five times in a game, you don’t deserve to win. The Washington Football Team was lucky that the defense held up and prevented the Giants from taking further advantage of all their takeaways.

The fumble by Gibson led to three points for the Giants. Wright’s fumble led to a Giants touchdown to put the team down 10-0.

Alex Smith’s first interception was due to J.D. McKissic slipping and can be excused, but a veteran should not have thrown those last two interceptions.

The first of Smith’s two fourth-quarter interceptions looked like a play that a rookie would make; forcing a throw across one’s body into coverage is a recipe for disaster. For the second interception, you have to give the Giants credit for confusing Smith with their coverage, where McLaurin looked open, even though he wasn’t.

Losing Kyle Allen

You have to feel for the kid. He was coming off a big win against the Cowboys and looked to be building a nice rapport with the offense prior to his injury. This was his year to prove if he could be Washington’s starter moving forward.

Unfortunately, it looks like Allen will be out for the season, which throws a wrench into Washington’s quarterback of the future discussion. Smith looked good in spurts in Week 9’s game, but do you want to go with him as the starter for the remainder of the year into next season?

Washington didn’t trade Haskins at the deadline, which looks to be a blessing in disguise now. Has he matured to the level Coach Rivera wants? Has his preparation for games and knowledge of the playbook increased?

Hopefully it has, because if the season keeps going the way it did in Week 9, and Washington’s playoff hopes continue to fade away, Haskins will likely be seeing the field sooner rather than later.