Redskins vs. Texans: The Good & The Bad

Submitted by Brandon on Mon, 09/20/2010 - 9:01pm

Well, it looks like the Redskins still know how to blow a lead like the best of them. That said, even though I’m still feeling the hangover of disappointment after this one, Sunday’s game could have been worse. I mean, they could have been blown out. Here’s a breakdown of what went right and what went wrong.

The Good:

The passing offense. How wrong was I about my prediction that this wouldn’t be a shootout? Apart from a couple of miscues, Donovan McNabb and his receivers could do no wrong on Sunday. The questions that loomed over the team going into this game—could McNabb be an accurate quarterback? Could anyone besides Santana Moss and Chris Cooley catch a pass? Could the offensive line protect McNabb?—were all answered in the affirmative against the Texans. Though he was sacked three times, the Redskins’ new signal-caller generally had plenty of time to make his throws. And how’s this stat line for you? McNabb completed 28 of 38 passes for 426 yards (only his third career 400-yard game) and a touchdown. He distributed his passes between eight different receivers (including a picture-perfect deep ball to Joey “Old Man” Galloway, who apparently can still beat a secondary), and he didn’t turn the ball over or waste any timeouts because players were out of position. Sure, McNabb just missed Galloway on a second deep ball, and he did miss a wide open Santana Moss in the end zone with a stinker of a low throw, but in the aggregate, the Redskins’ passing offense was nothing short of stellar against the Texans.
The pass rush. Jim Haslett’s new 3-4 scheme logged five sacks this weekend. Add to that the number of times Matt Schaub was flushed out of the pocket and hurried and that’s excellent penetration on the part of the Burgundy and Gold. Even more impressive is the fact that three of the five sacks were by guys who don’t play on the defensive line and were rushing out of the defensive backfield. Haslett’s 3-4 has its issues, but a creative pass rush is not one of them.
Graham Gano. Much of the talk surrounding this kid has to do with the 52-yard field goal that he missed after being iced in overtime. But I want to talk about the fact that just seconds before the miss, he absolutely pounded the ball through the uprights for what would have been the winning field goal had Texans coach Gary Kubiak not called a timeout before the ball was snapped. That first attempt was one of the best looking long field goals that I’ve seen from a Redskins kicker in a long time. This team finally has a kicker with some range. So cut the guy some slack because next time the he lines up for a long field goal, there’s a good chance Gano can sink it.

The Bad:

The secondary. Despite the improved tackling (for the most part) and the Carlos Rogers interception (there’s an oxymoron), this group had some glaring communication problems. More than once, someone forgot to cover their man and the Texans took advantage. The worst offenders were Reed Doughty, who really struggled when he had to cover and Rogers, who let the Houston receivers get entirely too much separation. If Haslett’s going to keep his blitzing creative, he’s going to need his secondary to play much better in coverage. There should be plenty of teachable moments on the game film for this week.
Trent Williams’s knee. I nearly flat-lined when I saw the rookie left tackle grimacing after he was bull-rushed by Mario Williams. Up until then, he’d had a solid game in pass protection. Word is that his MRI showed no damage and that he passed a test for a torn ACL, so that’s encouraging news. If the Redskins have to play without Williams on the line, the offense could face some struggles.
Fred Davis’s field goal coverage. This is my cheap shot for Week 2. Seriously, man, at least try to throw a block on what could be the victory-sealing field goal. Really, do anything except let him run by you.

As with all come-from-ahead losses, there’s a lot of debate over which play signified the turning point in this game. If you ask me, it was Andre Johnson’s jump-ball touchdown on fourth down that tied the game. It was simultaneously a fluky, inconceivable catch and the greatest play of the weekend. The fact that the Redskins’ defense had just come up with a much-needed third down stop…yeah, this play really let the air out of their tires.

But here’s the thing: I don’t think the Redskins could have defended it any better. Sure they could have doubled or tripled Johnson. But that would have meant more men in coverage and less guys rushing Matt Schaub, making it easier for the Texans to gain a first down on a short-yardage play. Plus, Schaub had struggled for much of the game when facing the Redskins’ blitz, so Haslett likely felt that putting him under pressure would force him to make a risky play. Who knew that the Texans’ quarterback—who, let me remind you, was in the process of being hit as he threw the pass—would put the ball up for grabs in the end zone? The way I see it Haslett made the right call, and it took an incredible leaping effort by Johnson to come down with a touchdown catch that nine times out of ten would be an incomplete pass. I have no problem with how the Redskins defended that play.