5 negatives for Washington Football Team vs Chiefs

The Washington Football Team took another major step in the wrong direction on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs in a battle at FedEx Field.  The visitors from the Heartland won a mistake-filled slugfest and left the home team to deal with plenty of soul searching.

Was it a must win game?  The Washington Football Team had hopes of keeping their playoff dreams and a second straight NFC East title alive.  Those dreams are all but dead and there are major concerns for the remainder of the 2021 season.  With a very tough stretch of games ahead, the reality of a lost season is quickly coming to fruition.  Washington is now 2-4 on the season and it could be much worse.  A bone-headed penalty saved them against the Giants.  Last minute heroics saved them against the Falcons.  In reality, the Burgundy and Gold could be 0-6 right now.

The Chiefs and the Saints (the prior game) exposed Washington as an undisciplined, unprincipled, uninspiring, and unprepared team on many levels.  Is Washington a playoff team?  It’s not a division title team at this moment, but it is an over-hyped team that lacks several tangibles to be a consistent winner.  Is the Burgundy and Gold a dumpster fire that continues to spread to the forest with no end in sight?  Is it time to push the panic button and realize that the Washington Football Team employs good players that lack focus and the will to win?

Welcome to this week’s analysis of the latest disaster that unfolded on Sunday.  Yours truly missed the analysis of the Saints game due to medical challenges, but we are back this week with an analysis of the Chiefs game and a few mentions of the Saints game.  The examination this week will be succinct, but honest and fiercely detailed.  This is not done in anger or frustration, but most fans are certainly feeling these emotions and understandably so.

The five negatives this week could be easily multiplied by ten and that is only scratching the surface.  We’ll keep it centered on what occurred on Sunday and do so in an abstract and constructive manner.  The grades and evaluations will be somewhat harsh, but fair.  For better or worse, let’s get to the sordid details.  Do you have a strong stomach?

5 negatives for Washington vs Chiefs

1. Taylor Heinicke is not an NFL starter

It had to happen at some point, but Taylor Heinicke difficulties against the Chiefs and Saints were on display.  He has looked very pedestrian for the last two weeks.  The former ODU standout resembles, well, an undrafted free agent rookie and is simply in over his head as a starter in the league.  He has been an inspiration to fans since late in the 2020 season and analysts loved his feel good story.  Does it end here?  That could be somewhat premature and only time will tell, but the overall assessment is not encouraging.

The most troubling aspect of Heinicke’s play the last two weeks were the easy misses to wide open receivers and several passes that were severely underthrown.  He turned in a 47.6 rating against the Saints and was mostly ineffective against the Chiefs – a team that is the 32nd ranked defense in the league.

The Washington Football Team has been plagued with poor quarterback play for nearly three decades now and Heinicke could be the latest in a long line of disappointments.  Is more time needed to see if he is that guy?  No.  Heinicke is a decent backup, but he is gaining some experience this season and that could help Washington in future seasons if an injury occurs to the starter.  Unfortunately, number 4 is the first negative for this week.

2. Careless mistakes

Careless mistakes doomed the Washington Football Team on Sunday and most of them occurred at the worst possible time.  Kendall Fuller had a golden opportunity with an easy interception early in the first quarter, but guess what happened?  Yes, that is a rhetorical question.

The interception would’ve given Washington a first down deep in Chiefs territory.  That is a potential 14 point turnaround.  Let’s talk about putting Jamin Davis in coverage on Tyreek Hill in the first half.  That is coaching malpractice.  Need more examples?

How many times did the Washington Football Team defense jump offsides?  We know that Montez Sweat lined up offsides on what would’ve been a play that resulted in a 4th and 10 – the result was a touchdown a few plays later.  This is basic, 101 football and the pupils are still playing like it is in the local community league.

If these simple corrections are not made soon, the Burgundy and Gold could see their season spiral out of control.  Silly mistakes are the second negative for this week.

3. What are we doing on special teams?

The special teams unit is the third negative, but there were some encouraging moments.  On Tress Way’s early second quarter booming 58-yard punt, the defense was not good at all.  Kansas City returned the football 29 yards and gave back half the yardage.  Good punt, bad coverage.

Dustin Hopkins drilled field goals of 50 and 44 yards, but he missed wide left on a 42 yard attempt.  Instead of building a lead to 16-10, Kansas City marched to the opposite end zone and the momentum shifter hurt Washington’s chances.  They never recovered.  Solid kicking, but an untimely miss.

Yes, Tress Way was called for a very questionable block below the waist, but too many mistakes on special teams contributed to the loss on Sunday.  Hopkins is a good kicker and the statistics prove it, but one bad kick changed the complexion of Sunday’s game.

4. Third down woes continue

The Washington Football Team has a bad case of third-down-itis.  It’s a disease that simply won’t go away and it weakens the immune systems of both the offense and defense.  Thus far, there is no known cure for Washington.

The offense started the game with a quick three and out.  From there, Kansas City put together an impressive drive and jumped to an early 7-0 lead.  The last thing Washington wanted to do is hand the ball over to one of the most lethal offenses in the NFL.  When you gift-wrap opportunities to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, they will take full advantage of the generosity.

The defense allowed the Chiefs to convert 11 of 17 third-down chances and that is simply unacceptable.  It was really 11-16 as the visitors were simply running out the clock at the end.

The offense was better at 7-14 in third-down conversions, but most of that came in the second quarter and most of the third quarter.  After the missed field goal from Hopkins, Washington was able to convert only one third-down play.  This is why Kansas City won the game by a wide margin.  Third-down difficulties in the fourth negative for this week.

5. William Jackson not living up to contract

When the NFL came into existence in 1920, many players have come gone with varying degrees of success.  Some players are rather vocal and do their best to back up the tough-talking attitude.  Others are simply full of empty words and promises.  William Jackson talks a good bit, but he has been unable to make good on his guarantees.

He is simply not living up to the hype that came with him and the former Bengal is starting to look like a free agent bust.  Is Jackson afraid to tackle?  Does he fear elite receivers?  Does number 22 shy away from intense play?  Jackson is not living up to the standards that made him one of the highest paid cornerbacks in the league.  He is our fifth negative from Sunday’s game.

Grades and Prediction

We’ve come to the dreaded part our analysis of Sunday’s game, but the Washington Football Team must be placed under the Riggo’s Rag microscope.  As we mentioned earlier, the grades will be harsh, but fair.  It’s not an easy task, but we can’t hide from it either.  Let’s take a look at the grades for this week.

• Quarterbacks – The shiny new toy from late last season is now a dull and lackluster relic. Grade: D
• Running Backs – Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic can only do so much.  Grade: C+
• Tight Ends – Ricky Seals-Jones is quietly having a good season.  Grade: B
• Wide Receivers – Someone needs to get them involved in the offense, but they must catch the passes that hit their hands.  Grade: C-
• Offensive Line – The line had a solid day, but the signal caller is not taking advantage of the good blocking schemes.  Grade: B
• Defensive Line – For forty minutes, the defensive had a solid outing, but they were running on empty for the last twenty minutes.  Grade: C
• Linebackers – This unit had their best game of the season on Sunday, but the Kansas City offense was on a different level over the last 20 minutes.  Grade: C+
• Cornerbacks – The Chiefs gifted this unit several opportunities, but the corners didn’t take full advantage of the generous offerings.  Grade: D-
• Safeties – The safeties played to the level of the cornerbacks.  Grade: D-
• Special Teams – The theme was two steps forward, but one step in reverse.  Grade: C
• Coaches – The Washington Football Team was not prepared once again and simple mistakes were commonplace.  The defense tried, but they ran out of gas.  The lack of quality play from the quarterback position continues to keep the offense in neutral.  Grade: D

The Washington Football Team schedule is brutal

Prediction vs Packers

The Washington Football Team travels to the far north on Sunday to take on another high-powered offense.  The Green Bay Packers look as if they are positioned to make another run at an NFC North championship this season.  Washington stands in the way this Sunday, but the Packers hope to strengthen their grip on the division.

The Packers are very unaccommodating and quickly jump to a 17-0 first quarter lead.  By halftime, it is 31-3 and the Packers are cruising.  Late in the third quarter, Kyle Allen makes his first appearance of the season and he leads the Burgundy and Gold to a touchdown.  It’s simply not enough as the Packers demolish the visitors from Ashburn.

Packers 45  Washington 10

Final Thoughts

Being angry and frustrated with a sports team is to be expected when an organization is constantly losing and underperforming.  The Washington Football Team continues to give fans a lot of reasons for distrust and heartache.  Making such a prediction for the Green Bay game is based on what yours truly is thinking about the quarterback play this coming Sunday.  Three interceptions and several three-and-out series are not out of the question.

A rebuild is never fun, but there are some positive moments on occasion.  However, it is difficult to see too many positives in the coming weeks.  The schedule is punishingly brutal, but it can be of benefit to Washington for future seasons.  The players and coaches shouldn’t give up on this season, even if they are 2-14 with one game remaining.  Hard work in the face of adversity will pay dividends in future seasons.

After the game this Sunday at Lambeau Field, the Washington Football Team will travel to Denver the following week for a spooky Halloween encounter with the Broncos.  The next home game comes on November 14th against Tampa Bay.  Again, it is a difficult slate of games, but on any given Sunday…

Again, apologies for missing the negatives, grades, and prediction last week.  Stay healthy and keep moving forward.  On to Green Bay!