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Week 6 is in the books and after a 31-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, it is more of the same for the Washington Football Team. More disappointment, more frustration, and seemingly more evidence suggesting that there really is no end in sight for the regression we are seeing in 2021. Problems that we have talked about since Week 1 are persisting for the most part and that sound you hear off in the distance is the 2021 season slowly but surely swirling the drain. Let's take a look at this week's Studs, Duds, and Hat Tips:
Studs: Unfortunately, for the second week in a row, the studs list will be featuring players who didn't play a snap for the Burgundy and Gold on Sunday.
1. Sean Taylor - there is only one stud from this past Sunday, #21. No matter what our thoughts were on the way the man's number retirement was handled, there is no doubting that Sean Taylor was one of the greatest players to wear our colours in recent memory. He played the game the way it was meant to be played - with passion, ferociousness, and electricity. Rest in peace, Sean. It was an honour to watch you play on Sundays.
Duds:
1. William Jackson - Sunday was a very tough day at the office for #23, and this isn't the first time we have mentioned this in 2021 unfortunately. The prized free-agency acquisition who was supposed to easily make up for the lost of Ronald Darby is turning out to be a player that opposing offenses are not very afraid of. Some suggested that Jackson is being used incorrectly by Del Rio and in a manner that doesn't suit his strengths. On Sunday, there were several occasions where he had the opportunity to press receivers and play in one-on-one matchups and was flat out beat. Additionally, in the 4th quarter, there was one particular 3rd down play where he literally stood at the first down marker inviting the receiver to convert, as opposed to attacking and tackling with aggressiveness to get us the ball back. The hunger and desire just doesn't seem to be there, and that seems to be a theme that is plaguing not just Jackson, but the entire defense. William Jackson is unquestionably having a very difficult start to his tenure in Washington.
2. Kendall Fuller - the WFT once again came out extremely flat on their opening defensive series of the game and allowed the Chiefs to march downfield for a 90+ yard TD drive. On that series, Kendall Fuller had an opportunity to create a turnover with a ball that hit him right in the hands, but didn't take advantage of it. As expected, KC made us pay for that missed opportunity and punched it in eventually. More concerning though was Fuller's awful tackling display on Sunday. He whiffed on several occasions and it was very surprisingly to see that he continued to be sent out on the field. At some point, there needs to be some accountability on this defense and guys need to sit down if they aren't performing. To me, Fuller would be one of the first few candidates in the defensive secondary to be considered for such.
3. Montez Sweat - in the first half and for the first few minutes of the third quarter, the defense played arguably their best football of the season. We seemed to be showing signs of having a bit of that swagger we saw from a year ago returning. The defensive line was playing fairly well and generating a decent enough push to make things relatively uncomfortable for Patrick Mahomes, so maybe I am being a bit harsh with this one. However, with the WFT up 13-10 in the third quarter, Montez Sweat was on the wrong side of a crucial mental mistake. Lining up in the neutral zone on an incomplete 3rd down pass by the Chiefs gave them a second chance to convert and they did just that. We all know how the movie ended - we have seen it countless times. The Chiefs took the lead with a subsequent TD and took complete control of the game from that point forward. Any sign of life our defense was showing up until that point quickly disappeared. Sweat must have been thinking about that combined sack record him and Chase Young are pursuing this year in that moment where he lost focus.
4. Special Teams - our coverage units for the first time in a long while struggled today. The Chiefs had some good returns off Tress Way punts and Mecole Hardman averaged 28 yards per punt return on the day (2 returns for 56 yards). While Dustin Hopkins did well early on with nice 50 and 43 yard field goal conversions, when we needed him most, he failed to deliver. Up 13-10 midway through the third quarter, the missed 43 yarder was big. It was another in a series of plays that just seemed to tilt things in the favour of a far more talented Kansas City team and gave them that added bit of momentum we just couldn't afford to give them.
5. Scot Turner - In the first half, I was quietly thinking to myself that Scot Turner calls a better game when the score is not getting away from us and we are keeping it within striking distance. That changed in the third quarter though. We opened the 2nd half getting a really good stop on KC's opening possession. An awful 19 yard punt by the Chiefs gifts us the ball at our own 44. Up 13-10, at that point, you need your best drive of the season and must make them pay by converting for 7. It was looking good early. We move down to the Chiefs' 28 yard line and are knocking on the door. On 1st down, Heinicke dumps it off to Gibson for 4 yards. On 2nd down, Gibson goes over right guard for another 4 yards. You've got 3rd and 2 from the KC 20 yard line and Turner decides to get cute and throw a screen pass to Humphries for -4 yards. Hopkins misses the subsequent field goal and the rest was history. It's 3rd and freakin' 2! Chris Jones is out of the lineup. Right there, you establish the line of scrimmage and pound it right at them. Even if it takes you two plays. Again, Chris Jones, the Chiefs' All-Pro DT is out of the lineup! The big boys on the offensive line have been arguably one of the quiet bright spots this season. In a situation like that, reward them by allowing them the opportunity to do what offensive linemen enjoy doing most - moving people.
6. Dan Snyder - I watched the halftime honouring Sean Taylor. I found it to be underwhelming and it reaffirmed what many of us believed - that this really was a last second attempt at diverting attention from everything else swirling around this organization. Simply put, he was a player that deserved so much better.
Hat Tips:
1. Cole Holcomb - #55 seems to be one of the very few players on the defensive side of the football that seems to be getting better and improving as the season goes on. He put together a nice first half of football. He showed some good coverage skills hanging with Kelce on one particular play, contributed a sack, and forced a fumble tracking Hardman across the field. Hopefully there are more big plays to come from Holcomb as the season wears on. We desperately need that from our LB group.
2. JD McKissic - the running back accumulated 110 of our 276 total offensive yards vs. Kansas City. On a day where the offensive struggled as a whole, it could have looked a lot worse had it not been for some of the quality reps that McKissic offered on Sunday. He showed some nice burst on several of his carries today. His 45 yards on 8 carries was an impressive stat line and proved once again that he definitely should have a steady role in this offense.
3. Ricky Seals-Jones - RSJ had a nice day with 4 catches, 58 yards, and a 39 yard TD that was our only offensive highlight of the day. He was put in a tough spot being asked to pick up the slack for an injured Logan Thomas, and seems to be doing a fairly adequate job so far. It would be really nice if some of our complementary receivers could also chip in a bit more consistently.
That's it for this week. What are your thoughts? Who did we miss?
Studs: Unfortunately, for the second week in a row, the studs list will be featuring players who didn't play a snap for the Burgundy and Gold on Sunday.
1. Sean Taylor - there is only one stud from this past Sunday, #21. No matter what our thoughts were on the way the man's number retirement was handled, there is no doubting that Sean Taylor was one of the greatest players to wear our colours in recent memory. He played the game the way it was meant to be played - with passion, ferociousness, and electricity. Rest in peace, Sean. It was an honour to watch you play on Sundays.
Duds:
1. William Jackson - Sunday was a very tough day at the office for #23, and this isn't the first time we have mentioned this in 2021 unfortunately. The prized free-agency acquisition who was supposed to easily make up for the lost of Ronald Darby is turning out to be a player that opposing offenses are not very afraid of. Some suggested that Jackson is being used incorrectly by Del Rio and in a manner that doesn't suit his strengths. On Sunday, there were several occasions where he had the opportunity to press receivers and play in one-on-one matchups and was flat out beat. Additionally, in the 4th quarter, there was one particular 3rd down play where he literally stood at the first down marker inviting the receiver to convert, as opposed to attacking and tackling with aggressiveness to get us the ball back. The hunger and desire just doesn't seem to be there, and that seems to be a theme that is plaguing not just Jackson, but the entire defense. William Jackson is unquestionably having a very difficult start to his tenure in Washington.
2. Kendall Fuller - the WFT once again came out extremely flat on their opening defensive series of the game and allowed the Chiefs to march downfield for a 90+ yard TD drive. On that series, Kendall Fuller had an opportunity to create a turnover with a ball that hit him right in the hands, but didn't take advantage of it. As expected, KC made us pay for that missed opportunity and punched it in eventually. More concerning though was Fuller's awful tackling display on Sunday. He whiffed on several occasions and it was very surprisingly to see that he continued to be sent out on the field. At some point, there needs to be some accountability on this defense and guys need to sit down if they aren't performing. To me, Fuller would be one of the first few candidates in the defensive secondary to be considered for such.
3. Montez Sweat - in the first half and for the first few minutes of the third quarter, the defense played arguably their best football of the season. We seemed to be showing signs of having a bit of that swagger we saw from a year ago returning. The defensive line was playing fairly well and generating a decent enough push to make things relatively uncomfortable for Patrick Mahomes, so maybe I am being a bit harsh with this one. However, with the WFT up 13-10 in the third quarter, Montez Sweat was on the wrong side of a crucial mental mistake. Lining up in the neutral zone on an incomplete 3rd down pass by the Chiefs gave them a second chance to convert and they did just that. We all know how the movie ended - we have seen it countless times. The Chiefs took the lead with a subsequent TD and took complete control of the game from that point forward. Any sign of life our defense was showing up until that point quickly disappeared. Sweat must have been thinking about that combined sack record him and Chase Young are pursuing this year in that moment where he lost focus.
4. Special Teams - our coverage units for the first time in a long while struggled today. The Chiefs had some good returns off Tress Way punts and Mecole Hardman averaged 28 yards per punt return on the day (2 returns for 56 yards). While Dustin Hopkins did well early on with nice 50 and 43 yard field goal conversions, when we needed him most, he failed to deliver. Up 13-10 midway through the third quarter, the missed 43 yarder was big. It was another in a series of plays that just seemed to tilt things in the favour of a far more talented Kansas City team and gave them that added bit of momentum we just couldn't afford to give them.
5. Scot Turner - In the first half, I was quietly thinking to myself that Scot Turner calls a better game when the score is not getting away from us and we are keeping it within striking distance. That changed in the third quarter though. We opened the 2nd half getting a really good stop on KC's opening possession. An awful 19 yard punt by the Chiefs gifts us the ball at our own 44. Up 13-10, at that point, you need your best drive of the season and must make them pay by converting for 7. It was looking good early. We move down to the Chiefs' 28 yard line and are knocking on the door. On 1st down, Heinicke dumps it off to Gibson for 4 yards. On 2nd down, Gibson goes over right guard for another 4 yards. You've got 3rd and 2 from the KC 20 yard line and Turner decides to get cute and throw a screen pass to Humphries for -4 yards. Hopkins misses the subsequent field goal and the rest was history. It's 3rd and freakin' 2! Chris Jones is out of the lineup. Right there, you establish the line of scrimmage and pound it right at them. Even if it takes you two plays. Again, Chris Jones, the Chiefs' All-Pro DT is out of the lineup! The big boys on the offensive line have been arguably one of the quiet bright spots this season. In a situation like that, reward them by allowing them the opportunity to do what offensive linemen enjoy doing most - moving people.
6. Dan Snyder - I watched the halftime honouring Sean Taylor. I found it to be underwhelming and it reaffirmed what many of us believed - that this really was a last second attempt at diverting attention from everything else swirling around this organization. Simply put, he was a player that deserved so much better.
Hat Tips:
1. Cole Holcomb - #55 seems to be one of the very few players on the defensive side of the football that seems to be getting better and improving as the season goes on. He put together a nice first half of football. He showed some good coverage skills hanging with Kelce on one particular play, contributed a sack, and forced a fumble tracking Hardman across the field. Hopefully there are more big plays to come from Holcomb as the season wears on. We desperately need that from our LB group.
2. JD McKissic - the running back accumulated 110 of our 276 total offensive yards vs. Kansas City. On a day where the offensive struggled as a whole, it could have looked a lot worse had it not been for some of the quality reps that McKissic offered on Sunday. He showed some nice burst on several of his carries today. His 45 yards on 8 carries was an impressive stat line and proved once again that he definitely should have a steady role in this offense.
3. Ricky Seals-Jones - RSJ had a nice day with 4 catches, 58 yards, and a 39 yard TD that was our only offensive highlight of the day. He was put in a tough spot being asked to pick up the slack for an injured Logan Thomas, and seems to be doing a fairly adequate job so far. It would be really nice if some of our complementary receivers could also chip in a bit more consistently.
That's it for this week. What are your thoughts? Who did we miss?
