Instant takeaways from the Commanders loss to the NY Giants
2. Ron Rivera and Co. thoroughly out-coached
Brian Robinson totaled 12 carries tonight. Twelve. He averaged 7.4 yards per carry too (89 yards). Why was he not given the ball more in the biggest game of the season? Ride the horse that got you to be 7-5-1.
The most confounding lack of Robinson in the game came late in the fourth quarter. After a fifteen-yard run from Robinson put Washington at New York’s fifteen, he never saw the field again. Instead, Curtis Samuel would get a handoff for two yards, a short completion to Antonio Gibson would follow, and then the Taylor Heinicke fumble on third-and-four in the four-down territory would follow.
In the most critical moment of the game, with a chance to take the lead, Robinson got the ball zero times. In fact, the only other handoff he got the rest of the way was the touchdown run that was waved off. That is frankly inexcusable. Robinson has been one of the team’s best players. The horse that has unlocked Washington’s secret formula to gutting out low-scoring wins.
One thing I haven't understood with Washington: They seem to get away from Brian Robinson as soon as he gets going. He'll pop a run or two, comes off, and you don't see him again until the next series. Bad coaching. Give your best players the ball.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) December 19, 2022
And Washington would completely abandon giving the ball to former Alabama running back. Add that to Rivera punting the ball instead of kicking the fifty-one-yard field goal (one that Slye would connect later on in the game), chasing points in the third quarter, Del Rio’s unit getting repeatedly gashed by Saquon Barkley in the crucial moments of the game all amount to a thorough embarrassment by this coaching staff.
Ultimately, Washington has some soul-searching to do. With the freight train that is the San Francisco 49ers on deck, they have to be better. Especially on the offensive side of the ball. From the execution to Scott Turner calling a better game they will have to be on point to even have a shot on Saturday.
Only scoring one offensive touchdown, and refusing to help your defense that allowed only 13 points all night, just doesn’t sit well. There is a chance an elite defense is being wasted.