Tag: Derrius Guice

Change feels inevitable after the Panthers’ latest loss to Redskins

No matter how we try to quantify this, the Panthers’ 29-21 loss was nothing short of shameful.

On Sunday afternoon the New York Jets, riding a three-game win streak, fell victim to the previously 0-11 Cincinnati Bengals. Not too long after, the Philadelphia Eagles, with a chance to move into a first-place tie atop the NFC East, were caught with their pants down against the 2-9 Miami Dolphins. Neither game was the most embarrassing defeat of Week 13, though.

That honor actually belongs to the Carolina Panthers, who spotted themselves a 14-0 lead at home and still lost to a two-win team with an interim head coach, a struggling rookie quarterback and fewer total touchdowns than Christian McCaffrey.

Here are some cold hard facts about the loss:

  • The Washington Redskins came into Bank of America Stadium ranked dead last in points per game (13.1). They scored 29.
  • Washington also came in ranked last in rushing touchdowns, having pieced together only two. They bested that 11-game sum with three on the day.
  • Again, they came in ranked last in another offensive category, total yards at 253.4. Today, they gained 248 on rushing alone.

No matter how we try to quantify this, the Panthers’ 29-21 loss was nothing short of shameful, particularly for a head coach and a quarterback both looking for some sort of job security in 2020.

We’ll start with the latter – Kyle Allen – who appeared to have carried over what was an impressive effort in New Orleans early on. Allen and the offense started out hot, taking their first eight plays for 75 yards into the end zone. The swift four-minute drive was capped off on a four-yard touchdown catch for Curtis Samuel, his fifth on the season.

Allen promptly followed that up with another touchdown throw, this time one that found the hands of DJ Moore for his fourth (and easiest) score of 2019. That possession took even less time for the Panthers to assert their dominance, finishing off the 55-yard drive in six plays and just over three minutes.

However, in a performance that eerily mirrored how Allen’s campaign has gone, they hit a steep decline after that. The unit ended up averaging 3.8 yards per play, totaled 65 rushing yards, allowed seven sacks and converted only five third downs in 16 tries.

They also lost the turnover battle thanks in part to an interception and another lost fumble by Allen, who once again didn’t manage the pocket well. He fell far too much in love with the dump-off pass and failed to fully diagnose his options in a handful of frantic moments, particularly on the loss-clinching snap where he missed a wide-open Jarius Wright in the end zone.

As for Ron Rivera, this loss may be that proverbial final nail in the coffin.

Rivera is supposed to be a defensive guru, but time and time again this unit has come up short in the critical the stop-the-run and takeaway departments. That theme was no different in this contest, with the Panthers forcing zero turnovers and Washington’s backfield duo of Derrius Guice and Adrian Peterson combining for 228 yards (9.9 per carry) and three scores.

Rivera, who had so often led his Panther teams to considerable success in the season’s final two months over his previous eight years at the helm, now heads a ship that has lost four straight and is completely sunk in the playoff race.

Change is coming.

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Derrius Guice’s monster day puts him in the NFL record books

Guice averaged 12.9 yards per rush, and he is just the fourth RB in NFL history to have 125+ yards and 2 touchdowns on 10 carries or less.

Derrius Guice had a monster performance for the Washington Redskins on Sunday, and he is one of the main reasons for the team’s second-straight victory, a 29-21 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Guice finished the game with 129 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns on just 10 carries, giving him an average of 12.9 yards per carry. He is just the fourth RB in NFL history to run for more than 125 yards with two TDs on 10 or fewer carries since 1948.

The keys haven’t been handed off to Guice completely as of yet, as veteran RB Adrian Peterson is still finding great success in the backfield as well — AP ran for 99 yards in the victory — but this type of game is one that will go a long way for coaches.

Don’t be surprised to see Guice named as the starting RB in Washington from here-on out.

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Four takeaways from the Redskins’ 29-21 victory over the Carolina Panthers

The Redskins have now won two-straight victories, and this time they did it with their defense and a solid rushing attack.

That one got way too close for comfort.

The scoreboard will read 29-21, but this game was not as close as that would make it seem. Until the Carolina Panthers secured a late touchdown to make it a one-score game, followed by a successful onside kick and a nice attempt to tie the game, the Washington Redskins were blowing the doors off of them, doing whatever they wanted on offense, and stopping everything the Panthers threw at them on defense.

After a tough start to the game, they had an uphill road to travel, but rookie QB Dwayne Haskins and second-year RB running back Derrius Guice forged ahead and were able to put some point on the board. Of course, none of that would be possible without the Washington defense, who held the Panthers scoreless until garbage time after giving up touchdowns on the first two drives of the game. In the end, there will be another celebration in Washington. Here are our biggest takeaways from the game.

Dwayne Haskins is Growing In Front of Our Eyes
Dec 1, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins (7) looks to pass as Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Shaq Thompson (54) defends in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Bit by bit, step by step, game by game. It’s unfair to measure a rookie quarterback on a limited body of work, but after four career starts, Dwayne Haskins has started to show some real improvement. His poise in the pocket is palpable, and his accuracy downfield is starting to be dialed in. After a wrist injury caused him to be routinely off the mark in last week’s victory over the Detroit Lions, the QB bounced back on Sunday and went 13-for-5 for 147 yards in his second career victory over the Carolina Panthers. There were no touchdowns, but no turnovers as well.

The progression hasn’t been perfect, and there have still been a number of missteps for Haskins over the past couple of games, but at long last, they are being overshadowed by the good things that he’s done. We don’t want to anoint him as the next great franchise quarterback in Washington, but fans can at least feel confident that they have something to work with under center.

Washington’s Defense was Extremely Impressive
Dec 1, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; Washington Redskins cornerback Fabian Moreau (31) reacts after an interception in the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The Redskins defense was hindered from the very beginning after it was announced earlier in the week that All-Pro linebacker Ryan Kerrigan would be held out with a concussion. Later in the game, they also saw Montez Sweat suffer an injury, and Ryan Anderson was disqualified for a helmet-to-helmet hit on TE Greg Olsen.

Regardless of all that, the Washington defense stepped up in a major way against the Panthers, and they managed to bottle up RB Christian McCaffrey, who is a walking highlight-reel at this point in his career.

After coming into this game as the No. 1 overall player in fantasy football, the Redskins held the back to just 102 total yards and 0 touchdowns in the game.  They also were able to bottle up the entire Carolina offense after giving up scores on the first two drives of the game. Here is the Panthers’ drive chart for the game:

  • Touchdown
  • Touchdown
  • Punt
  • Punt
  • Punt
  • Interception
  • Punt
  • Punt
  • Punt
  • Punt
  • Touchdown
  • Fumble

After giving up 14 early points, the defense buckled down and stopped everything that the Panthers tried to do until garbage time. Even without their top-three linebackers — Ryan Kerrigan, Montez Sweat, and Ryan Anderson — the defense flew around and looked like a dominant unit.

Derrius Guice is a Star in the Making
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 01: Derrius Guice #29 of the Washington Redskins reacts after running for a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 01, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Guice was well-hyped going into his rookie year, and he was well-hyped coming into his second season as well. Both times, unfortunate injuries kept him off the field, but now that we’ve been able to see him lay down a body of work in the NFL, we feel comfortable making the following statement:

Derrius Guice is a very good player, and he has a bright future.

Guice had by far the best game of his career on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, finishing with 129 yards and 2 touchdowns on 10 carries. The Panthers have one of the lesser run-defenses in the NFL, but Washington was able to take advantage of that and get Guice out into space. He routinely made defenders miss on the outside, and he even proved his ability to turn his nose downhill get his shoulder pads cracked up the middle.

There is obviously still the looming veteran in Adrian Peterson that is available in the backfield, but over the past couple of weeks, Guice has proved that he is absolutely the lead back in Washington, and they should treat him as such.

Another Draft Opportunity is Missed
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 01: Fabian Moreau #31 of the Washington Redskins celebrates with teammates after making an interception against the Carolina Panthers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 01, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

What’s the cost of victory for the Washington Redskins? It may end up being a highly-valuable draft pick that falls down from near the top spot, and had the Redskins lost again on Sunday against the Panthers, they would have seen their pick rise in the order.

It was another crazy day at the bottom of the barrel in the NFL. The 0-11 Cincinnati Bengals got the first win of their season, and the 2-9 Miami Dolphins found a way to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. Had the Redskins lost on Sunday, they would be in a good spot to regain the second overall pick behind the Bengals, but instead, they picked up their second straight victory.

In the end, you could argue that these two weeks of happiness are worth anything that a future draft pick could bring. Then again, you have to consider that Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen can point towards this stretch as a reason to avoid a managerial shakeup this offseason as well…

Redskins vs. Lions in Week 12: Odds, how to watch, stream on Sunday

The Redskins take on the Lions this Sunday, and it might be their last best chance at getting another check in the win column this season.

The Washington Redskins will play host to the Detroit Lions on Sunday at FedEx Field, and if they want to try and win another game before the end of the 2019 season, this might be their best chance.

The Lions will be without starting QB Matthew Stafford, who is dealing with a back injury, and they will face QB Jeff Driskel instead. Though he is a backup, Driskel proved last weekend against the Dallas Cowboys that he is still supremely capable of picking apart an opposing defense, let alone the Redskins’ unit.

As for Washington, the return of Derrius Guice was extremely welcomed last week as he scored his first career touchdown, and rookie QB Dwayne Haskins’ ability to find some success late — though it was in garbage time — gave the young play-caller some confidence to build on at the very least.

How to watch, stream

Line (Via Bet MGM)

  • Redskins: +3.5
  • Over/Under: 40.5

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Derrius Guice is tired of the negativity surrounding the Redskins

Guice knows that there’s a lot of negativity in Washington, but he still thinks there are things that the players should celebrate.

[jwplayer CyWAa1YN-ThvAeFxT]

Nobody is going to tell fans of the Washington Redskins that they need to be happy with everything that goes on with their team each week — there often is a lot to be upset with.

At the same time, nobody should tell players for the Redskins that they shouldn’t be excited when they do something well. Anymore, it happens so rarely that I believe players should take a second to rejoice whenever success shows itself; this mantra of ‘act like you’ve been there before’ is rarely applicable to a team that hasn’t been there.

Derrius Guice, the second-year running back for the Redskins, is speaking out on this issue a week after scoring his first career touchdown in a game that was 90 percent downside for Washington. He understands fans’ tendency to trend negative, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t see the positive situations.

“It just sucks when I score, or someone else scores, and our team posts a picture to Instagram or Twitter and everything under it is just, ‘Fire this, fire that, we suck,” Guice said to NBC Sports Washington. “That doesn’t help anything.”

That’s understandable, coming from a young player who has a bright future ahead of him, and who has battled back from several injuries that derailed his career early on. For Guice to find success is a great comeback story that is worthy of celebration.

“I’m new here,” Guice said. “I understand some of these fans have been here 20-30 years, but like, there’s a lot of guys on this team that are new. Y’all can’t bring all that negativity to us like we’ve been here 20 years. I don’t think that’s fair to us players.”

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Fantasy sleepers for Week 12 of the NFL season

Touchdown Wire’s Pat Yasinskas examines nine under-the-radar players who could give your team a jolt down the stretch.

With injuries and byes, there’s a good chance you’re looking for fantasy sleepers this week. With that in mind, Touchdown Wire presents nine fantasy football sleepers for Week 12 of the NFL season:

9. Bo Scarbrough, RB, Detroit Lions

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Scarbrough was brought up from the practice squad before Sunday’s game with Dallas. He ended up getting the bulk of the carries ahead of J.D. McKissic and Ty Johnson. He rushed 14 times for 55 yards. That should earn him more carries going forward, and he’s got a favorable matchup Sunday against Washington.

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Three takeaways from the Redskins embarrassing loss to the NY Jets

Another Sunday, and another chance for the Redskins to find new paths to rock bottom.

The Washington Redskins were able to do a couple of positive things late by scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but the damage had already been done. A 34-17 loss to the New York Jets stings, especially when you consider that the Redskins were coming off of a bye and had two weeks to prepare. After falling behind 34-3, a couple of young players scored their first career touchdowns, but it doesn’t do enough to take the stink away from this game. Here are our three takeaways.

The Streak is Finally Over

16-straight quarters without a touchdown was a perfect example of the ineptitude that has been brewing in Washington this season. For over a month, the Redskins were held out of the endzone, but at long last, that streak has come to an end.

Early in the 4th quarter, Haskins and Guice connected for a 45-yard touchdown that allowed the young RB to put his skill on display and show just exactly what he can do after the catch. It wasn’t all that impressive on Haskins’ part, but that doesn’t matter. What’s important is that both Haskins and Guice notched their first career touchdowns, which was hopefully the spark they needed to get the offense going in Washington.

It’s unlikely, but it could happen.

A New Rock Bottom

Don’t let the two late touchdowns cloud your memory of the first half. This was an absolutely poor performance from the Redskins for the first three quarters.

Somehow, someway, the Redskins continue to find new ways to hit rock bottom. After a much-needed bye week, Washington fans weren’t subjected to misery last Sunday and could sit back and enjoy a nice slate of NFL games.

The same couldn’t be said about this Sunday, as Washington returned to action and put up an all-time stinker against the Jets. In the first half alone, Washington totaled seven penalties, and they finished the game with 11 for 66 yards. At one point in the second quarter, the Redskins got the ball on the New York 16 and 27-yard lines, and they came away with just three points and six total yards.

In a season from hell, it seems like there are few things that Washington can do to compound the many mistakes that have gotten them here, but each and every week, they continue to succeed in that regard. Yay for all of us watching.

Haskins Stock Stays the Same

Once again, Dwayne Haskins did nothing too much to impress on Sunday, but he wasn’t awful either. By being mediocre once again, it technically could be called a failure of an outing for the rookie quarterback. The word out of practice for the last couple of weeks has been that Haskins is growing more comfortable and developing nicely, but there has been absolutely no proof of that so far. He ended Sunday with 19 for 35 with 214 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.

There a few bright spots, to Haskins credit. In the first half, Haskins uncorked a 55-yard bomb to Terry McLaurin, finding his college teammate in stride for a big gain, but, of course, the play was called back because of a hold. Later in the fourth quarter, Haskins threw his first career touchdown pass to Guice and later orchestrated a drive down the field that ended in another TD to Jeremy Sprinkle.

The Redskins have done the right thing by naming Haskins the starting QB for the rest of the season, but now it’s on the rookie to start taking advantage of that opportunity. At some point in the next month, Haskins needs to show that he is making legitimate improvements and starting to really grasp the moment, and it has to be noticeable before the fourth quarter rolls around. That did not happen on Sunday.

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Dwayne Haskins and Derrius Guice score first career TDs and end 16-quarter streak

The Redskins finally ended their touchdown-less streak after Guice took a screen pass to the house.

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THE STREAK IS DEAD. THE STREAK IS DEAD. THANK YOU DERRIUS GUICE, THE STREAK IS DEAD.

With the game completely out of hand early in the fourth quarter, second-year running back Derrius Guice scored his first career touchdown — and the Washington Redskins first touchdown in 16 quarters — with a nice screen pass from Dwayne Haskins that went to the house.

The touchdown was also the first of Haskins’ career as well.

It was a brutal day for the Redskins, as usual, but at least fans can walk away knowing that they have something in Guice if he is able to stay healthy. Going forward, he needs to be the No. 1 back on the offense.

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Predicting Dwayne Haskins stats for Sunday’s game against the Jets

Haskins has a chance to show a lot of improvement on Sunday in his second career start, so we took a shot at predicting his final stats.

At this point in the season for the Washington Redskins, it’s tough to judge success simply by wins and losses. What’s more important is that young players show growth.

With that being said, the most important thing for the Redskins to see during Sunday’s game against the New York Jets is that rookie QB Dwayne Haskins finds some success in the offense, and shows that he feels more comfortable on the field.

That leaves a lot of grey area by which we can judge his performance on Sunday. The Jets rank 17th in the NFL when it comes to yards allowed per game, and they have the second-ranked run defense in the NFL, so a lot of the offense will look to Haskins to move the ball. With second-year running back Derrius Guice returning for the first time since Week 1, it will help take some of the pressure off of Haskins by having a reliable check-down option. Looking ahead to the game, let’s set a stat line that paints the floor for a successful outing from the rookie.

Pass Attempts: 25

Completions: 17

Touchdowns: 2

Interceptions: 1

Sacks: 1

Rushing Yards: 20 yards

Third Down Conversions: 3

Those may seem like lofty expectations, considering that in his career thus far, Haskins has thrown zero touchdowns and four interceptions, but he has now had several weeks to prepare for his second start, and it’s imperative that he shows growth in the offense.

It will be interesting to see how many times Bill Callahan and Kevin O’Connell choose to let him air it out — he had only 22 attempts in his first start against the Buffalo Bills — but no matter what the final number is, a completion percentage around 68-72 percent would be great.

If Haskins can put up a stat line similar to this one, the Redskins will have a great chance at winning on Sunday.

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Pressuring Dwayne Haskins among Jets’ keys to defense vs. Washington

The Jets face another rookie quarterback in the Redskins’ Dwayne Haskins and need to make him beat the defense.

The Jets get their second chance to build a winning streak this week when they head to Washington to take on the Redskins. On the heels of their second win of the year over the Giants, the Jets will now take on one of the worst offensive teams in the league. Washington averages a league-low 12 points per game and ranks 30th in yards.

It looks like an easy matchup on paper, but the Jets are seriously thin at important positions on defense, including linebacker and cornerback. Just this past week, the Jets gave up 281 total yards and four passing touchdowns to the Giants, so they of all teams cannot overlook the lowly Redskins. 

Here are four keys for the Jets defense in Week 11.

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