The Takeaways, Week 10: Washington at Seattle
November 14, 2023
by Steve Thomas
That was a pretty exciting game, wasn’t it? I mean, right up to game-winning field goal on the last play of the game, at least. Washington probably didn’t have any business still being in the game that late in the fourth quarter, especially in Seattle, but to their credit, with a little help with some poor play by Seattle, they pulled out a late touchdown almost got them into overtime. It was a decent overall effort, even though it resulted in a loss. Now, at 4 – 6 and with several tough games coming up, it’s going to be difficult for Washington to make the playoffs. However, for this game, it was a hard fought, tough loss that the team will hopefully learn from. The Takeaways are below.
Brian Robinson’s career day
Robinson only had 8 carries for 38 yards, for an average of 4.8 yards per carry, which isn’t particularly noteworthy, albeit not surprising given that offensive coordinator absolutely refuses to run the ball. However, Robinson also had 6 receptions for 119 yards, including a 51 yard touchdown on Washington’s first drive of the game. He’s only averaged 3.9 yards per carry so far in his NFL career, which simply isn’t good enough even despite playing behind a weak offensive line. For this one game, though, he was the principal difference maker, especially early on. It was nice to see Robinson have a direct positive impact on the game.
Eric Bieniemy still hates running backs
I realize that I said in our game preview materials that Washington probably needed to feature a pass-heavy offense this week giving Seattle’s success against the run this year, but 47 called pass plays, including 44 pass attempts and 3 sacks, compared to just 12 called running plays to the running backs, isn’t what I meant. Combined, Robinson and Antonio Gibson had 51 yards, which was 4.25 yards per carry. That’s not great, but it also isn’t terrible, either. Bieniemy has gotten better in his pass calling by using more screens and slants, but in my view, his offense isn’t as effective as it could be. That’s on Bieniemy. Yo no comprendo.
Bad clock and game management
I don’t understand how Washington’s coaches can be so bad at clock management. Most prominently, head coach Ron Rivera called timeouts at bizarre times in the second half for no reason that ended up costing Washington valuable time. Rivera has been around the NFL as both a player and a coach for more than 40 years, and it’s incredible to think that he continues to make bad decisions. This game might have been the worst example, but this is by no means the first time he’s made strange, bad moves that have hurt the team on the field.
Defensive line can’t get pressure anymore
Washington didn’t get much serious pressure on Seattle quarterback Geno Smith this week, just like last week against Mac Jones and the Patriots a week ago. The elephant in the room is that they miss the combination of Montez Sweat and Chase Young, particularly Sweat, and their replacements, James Smith-Williams and Casey Toohill haven’t taken advantage of their opportunity, yet. However, this week, it wasn’t just the edge rushers – Smith was continually able to step up on the pocket to avoid the meager edge rushing that Washington was able to produce. This could have been avoided had Washington’s highly paid defensive tackles, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, but able to step up and make the impact that the team has a right to expect. The departure of Sweat and Young shouldn’t have caused Washington’s pass rusher to completely fall off the cliff. They need to figure something out in the second half of the season.
This was your reminder that Washington still needs better linebackers
We saw multiple plays in this game in which the fact that Washington’s linebackers are substandard ended up costing big plays and points. David Mayo, in particular, isn’t athletic enough to probably cover athletic tight ends and receivers, and we saw the results a few times this week. Jamin Davis is faster and better than Mayo, but neither one of them were good enough to make a difference, particularly given the lack of a pass rush. Linebackers and offensive line need to be the team’s focus in next year’s draft.
That’s it for this week. Next up are the struggling New York Giants at home in Raljon, in a game Washington really should win. I’ll see you next week.