Game Preview, Week 11: Washington at Carolina
November 19, 2021
by Steve Thomas
Well, the stars aligned, hell froze over, and the fat lady sang, because Washington somehow got a legitimate, real victory last week over the defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The question for this week is whether the Redskins Washington can build on last week’s success and play well enough to earn back-to-back victories for the first time this season. Unfortunately, this week’s opponent, the Carolina Panthers, also got a strong win against a good team last week, which may mean that they’ll be just as motivated to continue their success. Strangely, Cam Newton is back in Carolina, so it’s probablw that he will end up playing against his old head coach. Let’s hope that Washington keeps going on an upward trajectory and gets the win in Carolina. On with the preview.
Game time & location: Sunday, November 21, 2021, 1:00 p.m. ET, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC; Gates open 11:00 a.m. ET
Television: Fox
Television announcers: Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez
TV broadcast map: click here
DC-area radio: The Team 980
Washington radio network: click here
Panthers radio network: click here
Satellite radio: SiriusXM: 229 (Car. broad.); internet: 831 (Washington broad.)
Redskins roster: click here
Redskins depth chart: click here
Panthers roster: click here
Panthers depth chart: click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Panthers: 9 – 7 (last 10: 3 – 7; streak: 0 – 1)
Last meeting: L, December 27, 2020, 13 – 20
Early odds: Panthers, -3.5
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
What sort of Cam Newton will Washington face?
Obviously, the biggest factor in this game is the presence of Cam Newton. I don’t think it’s very likely that Newton can duplicate his younger MVP days, but he nevertheless brings an element of mobility to the quarterback position that has given Washington fits in the past. Newton was never a particularly accurate passer, in part because in the Panthers offense during his first tenure, Newton tended to look downfield more than many quarterbacks. Whether he can do that now, at the tail end of his career, remains to be seen. Will Washington face the old, washed-up Cam from his Patriot days last year? Or will they face a reasonable facsimile of MVP Cam? Washington will need to prepare for the latter and hope for the former. This means that Washington’s secondary will need to play tight coverage, with the front 7 doing their best to contain Newton in the pocket.
Win the time of possession battle
At least up to this point, i.e., pre-Cam, Carolina has been a running team reliant on long drives – the Panthers are second in the NFL in time of possession. Therefore, a key to the game for Washington is to dominate the clock, continuing what they started last week against Tampa Bay. Carolina’s run game has been good – opponents are averaging 4.2 yards per game – but they’ve also faced a slew of terrible offenses. Washington has a shot at successfully leaning on their running game, winning the time of possession battle, and getting a hard-fought victory.
Let Taylor Heinicke do Taylor Heinicke things
Washington’s offense seems to be at their best when Heinicke is allowed to be himself – be on the move, rolling out, scrambling – kind of a lesser version of Brett Favre. At this point in the season, there’s no sense in trying to make Heinicke be something he’s not. Taylor is not a pocket, quick release quarterback, and Washington’s coaching staff shouldn’t try to do otherwise. Keep Taylor Heinicke free.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Charles Leno vs. Haason Reddick
Reddick leads the Panthers in sacks at 9.5 this season. He’s a serious threat and a highly successful defensive end. Leno, who will be Washington’s most experienced offensive lineman by far if Brandon Scherff can’t play this week, will have his hands full in this game. Keep an eye out on how much success Reddick has in getting pressure on Taylor Heinicke.
Cole Holcomb, Jamin Davis, and Landon Collins vs. Christian McCaffrey
McCaffrey missed five games this season with a hamstring injury and generally hasn’t been his pre-2020 injury self. However, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see McCaffrey get back to normal and have a breakout game against Washington. The job of keeping McCaffrey from going crazy will rest principally on the linebackers, meaning Cole Holcomb and Jamin Davis. Certainly, Landon Collins will also play a major role. Watch out for whether McCaffrey is having an average day or if he’s able to make impact plays both on the ground and as a receiver.
Jonathan Allen vs. Cam Newton
Washington needs to keep Newton from going crazy on ground. Given Newton’s running style, Jonathan Allen being able to exert pressure up the middle will be a major key to the game. Allen, who is Washington’s best and most successful defensive lineman – whether or not Chase Young is on the field – so Washington will need to rely on Allen to continue his dominance. Newton vs. Jon Allen will be one of the most high-profile matchups on the field.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only) (starters in bold)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful NL – not listed
| Washington | Panthers |
| T S. Charles, illness; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | DE M. Haynes, foot; Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| CB K. Fuller, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | LB F. Luvu, shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| WR C. Samuel, groin; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP; game: Q | CB R. Melvin, hand; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| TE R. Seals-Jones, hip; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | CB S. Thomas-Oliver, toe; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| CB B. St-Juste, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP; game; Q | DE Y. Gross-Matos, ankle; Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: FP |
| T S. Cosmi, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | |
| RB A. Gibson, shin; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | |
| WR T. McLaurin, shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| TE S. Reyes, hip; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| G B. Scherff, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | |
| CB D. Johnson, wrist; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP: Fri: FP | |
| DE S. Toney, concussion; Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: DNP; game: O |
TEAM STATISTICS
Washington:
Washington’s offensive numbers took a big uptick this week, at least by their standards. Washington is 22nd in points scored, 21st in total yards, 24th in passing yards, 16th in rushing yards, and 15th in rushing yards per attempt. The rise in rushing yards per attempt is largely due to Taylor Heinicke, as Antonio Gibson’s yards per attempt has fallen to 3.7 yards per attempt. Washington is still terrible in the red zone – they’ve converted touchdowns on just 46.15% of attempts, which is ranked 31st.
Many of Washington’s defensive numbers also rose as a result of the victory over Tampa Bay. Washington has surrendered 246 points, which is ranked 27th, 22nd in total yards, 27th in passing yards, 5th in rushing yards, and 8th in rushing yards per attempt. It is a testament to the team’s epic-level of awful on third downs that they had a very good game against Tampa Bay but are still the worst team in the NFL by that metric.
Record: 3 – 6 (4th) (Away: 1 – 3; NFC: 3 – 2)
All-time franchise record: 613 – 618 – 28
Offense
| Offensive rankings | 22 (points) / 21 (total yards) / 18 (yards per game) / 21 (yards per play) / 24 (passing yards) / 23 (passing yards per att.) / 16 (rushing yards) / 15 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 185 |
| Yards per game | 345.4 |
| Passing
|
312 att (24th); 204 comp; 65.4% comp per. (18th); 7.0 Y/A; 2070 net yds; 12 TD; 9 Int |
| Passing leader | Heinicke (306 att (17th), 2184 yds (18th), 65.7% comp perc (20th), 12 TDs / 9 Int, 87.4 QB rating (25th) |
| Receiving leader | McLaurin (632 yds (16th), 84 tgts (11th), 49 rec (21st), 4 TDs, 12.9 YPC (47th)) |
| Rushing | 241 att (18th); 1039 yds; 4.3 Y/A; 115.4 Y/G (15th); 7 TDs |
| Rushing leader | Gibson (135 att (8th), 506 yds (19th), 5 TDs (17th), 3.7 Y/A (38th), long 27) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 20 / 19 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 30:15 / 15 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 38.46% / 19 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 46.15% / 31 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 27 (points) / 22 (total yards) / 27 (yards per game surrendered) / 27 (yards per play) / 27 (passing yards) / 24 (passing yards per att.) / 5 (rushing yards) / 8 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 246 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 376.4 |
| Opponent’s passing | 337 att (20th); 227 comp; 67.4% comp perc. (24th); 7.7 Y/A; 2514 net yds; 22 TDs; QB Rating 104.8 (29th) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 218 att (7th); 874 yds; 4.0 Y/A; 7 TDs; 97.1 Y/G (6th) |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 19 / 24 / Allen (6.0) |
| Tackles leader | Holcomb (78) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 6 / 21 / Jackson, McCain (2) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 55.20% / 32 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 58.82% / 15 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 25.4 Y/R (4th), 23 returns, long 101 yards (2nd), 1 TD |
| Punt returns | 10.0 Y/R (9th), 6 returns, long 14 yards (32nd), 0 TDs |
| Kick return defense | 23.0 Y/R (23rd), 11 returns (6th), 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 9.8 Y/R (24th), 16 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punting | 49.9 Y/P (3rd) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank): 14 / 11 / -3 / 23
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 50 / 5
Panthers:
To this point – the presence of Cam Newton notwithstanding – Carolina’s offense is a much more productive rushing team than they are in the air, although they aren’t necessarily effective on the ground.. They are 20th in points scored, 20th in total yards, 26th in passing yards, 9th in rushing yards, and 26th in rushing yards per attempt. Their two leading rushers, Chuba Hubbard and Christian McCaffrey, are averaging 3.9 and 4.4 yards per attempt, respectively.
Carolina’s defense is ranked 9th in points surrendered, 2nd in total yards, 2nd in passing yards, 12th in rushing yards, and 15th in rushing yards per attempt. They are terrible in the red zone, surrendering touchdowns at a rate of almost 74%, which is ranked 31st.
Record: 4 – 5 (4th); Home: 2 – 3; NFC: 3 – 4)
All-time franchise record: 205 – 220 – 1
Offense
| Offensive rankings
|
20 (points) / 20 (total yards) / 27 (yards per game) / 31 (yards per play) / 26 (passing yards) / 31 (passing yards per att.) / 9 (rushing yards) / 26 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 205 |
| Yards per game | 320.9 |
| Passing | 354 att (7th); 210 comp; 59.3% comp per. (31st); 6.2 Y/A; 2049 net yds; 8 TDs; 12 Int |
| Passing leader | Darnold (306 att (17th), 1986 yds (24th), 59.5% comp per. (30th), 7 TDs / 11 Int, 71.3 QB rating (32nd)) |
| Reception leader | Moore (701 yds (13th), 95 targets (4th), 57 rec (9th), 3 TDs (67th), 12.3 Y/C (57th) |
| Rushing | 294 att (3rd); 1160 yds; 3.9 Y/A; 116.0 Y/G (14th); 11 TDs |
| Rushing leader | Hubbard (120 att (16th), 421 yds (25th), 3 TDs (40th), 3.5 Y/A (44th), long 26 yds (54th)) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 25 / 23 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 32:41 / 2 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 36.23% / 25 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 54.84% / 22 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 9 (points) / 2 (total yards) / 2 (yards per game surrendered) / 2 (yards per play) / 2 (passing yards) / 4 (passing yards per att.) / 12 (rushing yards) / 15 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 193 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 280.7 |
| Opponent’s passing | 302 att (7th); 192 comp; 63.6% comp per. (10th); 6.4 Y/A; 1737 net yds; 13 TDs; QB rating 85.2 (6th) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 253 att (20th); 1070 yds; 4.2 Y/A; 107.0 Y/G (12th), 8 TDs |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 27 / 4 / Reddick (9.5) |
| Tackles leader | Chinn (58) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 12 / 17 / Gilmore, Jackson, Thompson (2) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 33.06% / 4 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 73.91% / 30 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 20.3 Y/R (23rd), 12 returns, long 39 yards (20th), 0 TDs |
| Punt returns | 8.3 Y/R (17th), 20 returns, long 22 yards (16th), 0 TDs |
| Kick return defense | 27.3 Y/R (31st), 18 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 7.3Y/R (12th), 19 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punting | 42.5 Y/P (32nd) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank): 17 / 12 / -5 / 28
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 74 / 32
* Statistics courtesy of www.pro-football-reference.com, www.nflpenalties.com, www.nfl.com, www.teamrankings.com, www.espn.com, www.sportingcharts.com