10 quick thoughts from Week 13 as Brian Johnson’s late FG helps Washington sink Raiders
By Jerry Trotta
Antonio Gibson is running angry: It feels like ages ago that we were campaigning for Washington to put Gibson on IR. The stress fracture in his shin was affecting his mobility and overall ability to make defenders miss. Maybe all he needed was a week of rest, because he’s looked like a player reborn since the bye.
There’s no need to regurgitate his stat line. With running backs, all it takes is the eye test to determine if they’re playing well. When it comes to Gibson, he’s running like one of the best backs in the league of late.
Washington’s DL depth is legit: Remember after Chase Young tore his ACL and his sky was falling? No Young or Montez Sweat? How could Washington’s defensive line possibly cope without its two stars? Just fine, actually.
James Smith-Williams is establishing himself as a quality rotation player and it felt like Daniel Wise was around the ball on every play. Casey Toohill and Shaka Toney have also shown flashes in their increased roles.
The importance of DL depth in today’s NFL cannot be understated and Washington currently has an embarrassment of riches in that department, even though it’s not translating to huge sack numbers.
How did Washington cope without Collins?: You know the NFL doesn’t make sense when Landon Collins’ absence makes you worrisome. It sounds insane given how his season started, but Collins has feasted in his new Buffalo nickel role.
So, how did Washington cope? As expected, they threw a variety of looks at the Raiders, our favorite being Deshazor Everett and Bobby McCain as the deep safeties and Kam Curl, the most sound tackler in the secondary, in the BN role.
Anther quick note: Can Everett get more snaps at safety? We know the seventh-year pro is a menace on special teams, but he brings a physical edge to the safety position that is otherwise lacking when he’s not on the field.
Rough day for Jamin Davis: Anybody have a final count of how many missed tackles Davis finished with today? We counted at least three in the first half alone. To make matters worse, the No. 19 overall pick was exploited on underneath routes all game. It’s better than giving up a big play, but those yards adds up.
Did anyone else notice that Carr looked more fleet of foot than Davis on his scramble near the end of the first half? Maybe he was gassed since the Raiders were in hurry-up mode? Who knows, but he needs to be better. There’s a stark difference between learning on the job and being a complete liability.
Unfortunately, Davis personified the latter on Sunday.