Click here to see all recaps on a single page
| Other Week 18 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAX at PIT | NYG at TB | TEN at SD | WAS at SEA | ||||
Week 18 Game Recap: Washington Redskins 14, Seattle Seahawks 35
What you need to know
| Washington Redskins |
Even though Todd Collins completed 29 of his 50 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns, his performance was more impressive than you'd think. The Seattle pass rush was relentless throughout the game, constantly beating Collins up for standing in the pocket. In addition to that, receivers Santana Moss and Chris Cooley both struggled with dropped passes, often in key situations. The pressure eventually did get to Collins though, throwing two fourth quarter interceptions, both going for touchdowns. On the first one, Santana Moss seemed to give up on the ball, which Marcus Trufant easily intercepted, and returned 78 yards for the score. The second was in a must throw situation with them down 14 late, that Jordan Babineaux took back for a 57 yard touchdown, icing the game.
Clinton Portis had literally no room to work in this game, as the Seahawks defensive line was exploding through the Redskins offensive line on virtually every play. He did get 20 carries, to Ladell Betts' three, and ran for 52 yards while catching four balls for another 28. Portis was mainly ineffective, but stayed in the game on most downs with Betts struggling so badly in pass protection, a few times being run right over by the defender.
Santana Moss certainly improved his numbers under the play of Todd Collins, however he hasn't corrected inconsistency and focus issues that have plagued him throughout the year. One play Moss is bringing in a 30 yard touchdown to help the Redskins take the lead, or jumping high to haul in a 14 yard grab on a crucial third and long. The next he's dropping a pass at an important time, or giving up on his route to allow Marcus Trufant to easily intercept a pass and take it to the house for a touchdown. His play is especially frustrating, given that he's a player with all the ability in the world. He finished with six receptions for 68 yards and a score, but played more poorly than the numbers would indicate.
| Seattle Seahawks |
Matt Hasselbeck didn't have the strongest of games, throwing two interceptions, both at the hands of Redskins safety LaRon Landry. However, he made it count at the right time, when the Seahawks were reeling from 14 straight Washington points to find themselves trailing mid way through the fourth quarter. Hasselbeck led a drive that culminated in a 20 yard touchdown to DJ Hackett that would give the Seahawks the lead for good. He finished with 229 yards, with the single score, while completing 20 of his 32 attempts. It wasn't the strongest of games given that he wasn't pressured all that heavily, and he had some poor decisions, notably checking down on third and longs with no chance of getting first downs. He got the job done, though much or even most of that credit should go to the Seahawks front seven.
Even though the Seahawks carried the ball as a team 21 times, fullback Leonard Weaver made more of an impact with his single carry than any other Seattle running back did with theirs; a scenario which epitomizes the current state of the Seahawks running game. Shaun Alexander got most of the early down work, accounting for 15 carries and an underwhelming 46 yards, a few longer gains coming on draw plays against an unsuspecting Redskins defense. Maurice Morris did not fare much better, only getting four carries for 13 yards. However, Weaver, their starting fullback showed why he's their most versatile and potentially best player in their backfield. A tweener fullback/halfback, Weaver is a good lead blocker, and an exceptional receiver out of the backfield, scoring on his only carry from 18 yards out. When he does get the ball, he runs with power and explosiveness, something his teammates Alexander and Morris have showed all too little of this season. With the loss of Mack Strong to retirement, Weaver is forced to play in fullback formations as the lead blocker, but you'll also frequently find him on the field in obvious passing situations as the halfback.
Even with the absence of injured starter Deion Branch, the Seattle receivers played a solid game All three of Bobby Engram, DJ Hackett, and Nate Burleson started in a three receiver set. Engram is the dependable option over the middle, caught four passes for 57 yards out of the slot, while sliding over to flanker position on the outside in two receiver formations. Burleson playing outside at flanker in three receiver formations hauled in six receptions for 64 yards. Hackett, playing split end for the entire game, made the most impact catching six passes for 101 yards, his final catch a 20 yard touchdown to put the Seahawks ahead for good. Hackett, an impending free agent, is choosing the best time of year to show that when healthy can be an impact player in the league.
What you ought to know
| QB Todd Collins, Pass: 29 - 50 - 266 - 2 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 2 - 0 |
Todd Collins went 29 of 50 for 266 passes, while throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions. The numbers don't look bad, but considering the Seattle pass rush was in his face all day, combined with how his receivers were dropping passes all over the field means he probably deserved a better result. Collins was composed in the pocket, but did not have a lot of time to work for much of the game. In the fourth quarter he came alive; first finding Antwaan Randle El over the middle for a seven yard score, then a drive later hitting Santana Moss down the field for a 30 yard touchdown. Two late interceptions for touchdowns sealed Collins fate. He ran twice for two yards.
| RB Clinton Portis, Rush: 20 - 52 - 0, Rec: 4 - 28 - 0 (5 targets) |
Clinton Portis carried the ball 20 times for 52 yards, while catching four of his five targets for another 28 yards. Portis played the bulk of the game even though he was ineffective on the ground. Backup Ladell Betts did get some playing time on third downs, and may have spelled Portis more, but he was an obvious liability in pass protection.
| RB Ladell Betts, Rush: 3 - 15 - 0, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (2 targets) |
Ladell Betts only carried the ball three times for 15 yards, all of which came late in the second quarter with the Redskins essentially letting the clock run out to head into the locker room for halftime. Betts did play on the occasional third down, collecting both of his receptions for 19 yards, however his pass protection was notably poor, being run over on a few occasions by the pass rush.
| WR Antwaan Randle El, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 10 - 94 - 1 (11 targets) |
Randle El caught an amazing ten of his 11 targets, for 94 yards and a touchdown. With his main targets Chris Cooley and Santana Moss dropping passes throughout the game, Todd Collins found comfort in Randle El, mostly on routes over the middle. He took an end around for two yards. The only target he did not catch was a ball intercepted by Jordan Babineaux and taken for a 57 yard touchdown, to break the Redskins backs.
| WR Santana Moss, Rec: 6 - 68 - 1 (13 targets) |
Santana Moss caught six passes for 68 yards on 13 total targets. With the Redskins storming back in the fourth quarter, Moss caught a ball down the field in double coverage for a 30 yard touchdown, giving them the lead with 12 minutes left in the game. Moss also had a great leaping grab on third and eight that extended a Redskins drive a little later Unfortunately, Moss had two key drops, and was targeted on one of Todd Collins' interceptions where it looked as though he gave up on the ball. Marcus Trufant intercepted it and took it back for a 78 yard touchdown, putting the Seahawks up by 14 with five minutes to play.
| WR Reche Caldwell, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (4 targets) |
Caldwell played in three receiver sets, however only caught one pass for seven yards on his four targets. He did appear to be on the field more frequently than Keenan McCardell though.
| WR Keenan McCardell |
Though active for this game, McCardell failed to garner a single target. He lost playing time to Reche Caldwell.
| TE Chris Cooley, Rec: 5 - 46 - 0 (9 targets) |
Chris Cooley caught five of his nine targets for 46 yards, with no touchdowns. Cooley started the game off slow only having two receptions for six yards through the first half, but got things going in the second half with a beautiful one handed grab for 20 yards. Overall it was still a disappointing game for the talented tight end, with two key drops.
| PK Shaun Suisham 0 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
Suisham missed his only attempt of the day, a 30 yarder that went wide left. It would have put the Redskins up 17-13 mid way through the fourth quarter. He was successful on both of his PAT converts.
| WAS Rush Defense |
It's difficult to gauge how successful the Redskins rush defense was, simply because the Seahawks have struggled to run the ball this season. They allowed 77 yards on 21 carries for an average of 3.7 yards per carry. The longest play they allowed was to fullback Leonard Weaver, who took the ball in for 17 yards on his only carry of the game. They appeared to have little trouble with Shaun Alexander though, who carried most of the load.
| WAS Pass Defense |
Matt Hasselbeck completed 63 percent of his passes for 229 yards and a touchdown, while throwing two interceptions both caught by rookie safety LaRon Landry. They only sacked Hasselbeck once, and the pass rush was only adequate throughout, despite the Seahawks not mounting much of an attack on the ground. D.J. Hackett caught a 20 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Seahawks the lead for good. Hackett got behind backup Redskins safety Pierson Prioleau for the score.
| QB Matt Hasselbeck, Pass: 20 - 32 - 229 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0 |
Matt Hasselbeck completed 20 of 32 passes for 229 yards with one touchdown, and two interceptions. Hasselbeck had sufficient time to run the offense that started in a three receiver set, however seemed to be under the microscope for some inaccuracy issues, and questionable decisions on third and longs where he dumped the ball off. He threw an interception in the second quarter where Redskins safety LaRon Landry jumped a D.J. Hackett route in man coverage. Later in the fourth quarter, Hasselbeck again found the wrong team, as Landry picked him on a ball that sailed over Bobby Engram's head for an easy pick. He would later make up for that, in finding Hackett for a 20 yard touchdown to put the Seahawks up for good. Hasselbeck fumbled the ball once, but it was recovered by Seattle. He ran once for one yard, on a play where he took a huge hit to the thigh that had him eventually flipping through the air. He stayed in the game.
| RB Shaun Alexander, Rush: 15 - 46 - 0, Rec: 2 - -1 - 0 (2 targets) |
Alexander carried the ball 15 times for 46 yards, while catching two passes for negative one yard on two targets. Alexander did not break many tackles, and picked up most of his yards on draw plays where the defense may not have been expecting the run. Even though he showed a lack of power and burst, Alexander carried the load for the Seahawks, though they're more of a pass first team at this point.
| RB Maurice Morris, Rush: 4 - 13 - 0 (1 targets) |
Maurice Morris carried the ball four times for 13 yards, and did not have any receptions on one target. With Alexander still getting a majority of the carries, and fullback Leonard Weaver playing a majority of the passing downs at halfback, it would appear Maurice Morris is without a role while either is healthy. Many have expected he'd split carries with Alexander, and given the former MVP's lack luster performance to this point in the year, he could see an increased workload as the Seahawks progress in the playoffs.
| RB Leonard Weaver, Rush: 1 - 17 - 1, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (3 targets) |
Leonard Weaver only carried the ball once, but he made it count, taking it to the house for a 17 yard touchdown. With fullback Mack Strong's career over, Weaver has started at fullback for the Seahawks, and provides the team with a dynamic option given his running and receiving ability. He caught two passes for eight yards on three targets.
| WR D.J. Hackett, Rec: 6 - 101 - 1 (8 targets) |
Hackett caught six passes for 101 yards, while scoring a touchdown in his eight targets on the day. Hackett started the game slowly only having 30 of his yards in the first half, including an offensive pass interference call in the second quarter. In the second half though Hackett opened things up by hauling in a 35 yard pass down the right sideline. With the Seahawks down 14-13 mid way through the fourth quarter, Matt Hasselbeck found Hackett behind Redskins safety Pierson Prioleau for a 20 yard touchdown that would put the Seahawks up for good.
| WR Nate Burleson, Rec: 6 - 64 - 0 (7 targets) |
Nate Burleson started in the three receiver set, and caught six passes for 64 yards. Burleson's biggest play came on a ball thrown down the right sideline that he hauled in for a 25 yard grab. Normally the fourth receiver, Burleson provided Matt Hasselbeck with a reliable target in the absence of Deion Branch. Burleson also looked dangerous in the return game, with a 14 yard punt return average.
| WR Bobby Engram, Rec: 4 - 57 - 0 (7 targets) |
Bobby Engram caught four passes for 57 yards, not surprisingly all over the middle. Though he played in two receiver sets, when Nate Burleson came in on three receiver formations, Engram would slide over to the slot. He did have a drop, but played a steady game, accounting for four of the Seahawks' 11 first downs through the air.
| WR Deion Branch |
Branch was inactive for this game with a calf injury, but has reported that he's likely to play in next weeks divisional round.
| TE Marcus Pollard (2 targets) |
Marcus Pollard dropped both of his targets, and when he was on the field generally stayed in to block for Matt Hasselbeck.
| PK Josh Brown 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points |
Josh Brown connected on field goals of 50 and 33, while converting all three of his extra point attempts.
| SEA Rush Defense |
The Washington Redskins carried the ball 29 times for 75 yards, an average of 2.6 yards per carry. The Seahawks defensive line absolutely dominated the Redskins offensive line in this game, and that was essentially the biggest difference. Clinton Portis didn't have any room to work, often being met in the backfield. His longest gain was of 14, but had seven carries of zero or negative gains. It was an outstanding effort by this unit.
| SEA Pass Defense |
Again, the Seahawks defensive line man handled the Redskins offensive line in this game, and that lead to constant and unrelenting pressure on Todd Collins throughout. Patrick Kerney, though never actually accounting for a sack, seemed to be in the backfield just as much as Clinton Portis, constantly knocking Collins down and pressuring him. Kerney was easily the best player in this game. Leading 13-0 the defensive approach changed in the second half going to a deep zone. This didn't work, as Collins was able to lead the Redskins back to take the lead at 14-13 early in the fourth quarter. Going back to their scheme of sending pressure at Collins in the late part of the game did the trick, as Collins was intercepted twice, both going for touchdowns. First by Marcus Trufant for 78 yards where Santana Moss gave up on the ball, and the second by Jordan Babineaux on an under thrown ball to Bobby Engram that the Seattle safety took back for 57 yards. Given the outstanding play of the line, the fact that Collins was able to muster 266 yards and two touchdowns is the one potential negative to the performance of this unit, though had they stayed with the same attacking scheme throughout that likely would have been different. They ended up getting to Collins four times, hitting him 12 times, knocking him down ten times, and batting two of his pass attempts down at the line.
