It was a tough week for the Washington Football Team, any way you want to look at it. Not only was the guy expected to be their “franchise quarterback” benched and removed from the active roster, but they also got stomped by the Los Angeles Rams, 30-10, in a game that showed they are extremely far away from being a playoff team, even in the NFC East.
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While QB play was a problem, it definitely wasn’t the problem, and anyone who watched Washington’s game on Sunday could easily see that. Because of this, Washington has recently dropped down to No. 28 on USA TODAY’s later NFL Power Rankings, barely beating out teams who are yet to find a win on the season.
Seeing Alex Smith return to the field after leg injuries that went far beyond gruesome was part inspiring and part trepidatious, especially against a Rams defense that sacked him six times on just 24 dropbacks. If you were wincing every time Aaron Donald took Smith to the turf (which he did four times), you were not alone. But Smith got through it, being tough and smart as he always is. The only problem was, when Smith played quarterback against the Rams, he was kind of Alex Smithy — which was tremendous in a personal sense, but not exactly explosive in a football sense. Per Sports Info Solutions, Smith amassed a grand total of zero air yards on his 17 attempts and nine completions. Getting Smith to the next game is a victory in itself; having offensive coordinator Scott Turner move the needle in the passing game against the Giants on Sunday would be similarly optimal.
It’s hard to ask much of Smith, who was playing his first game in 693 days, but what we saw from the offense as a whole was frustrating. When Kyle Allen was in the game, things seemed to click every now and then, and he was able to lead one successful drive down the field. However, there was still far too much failure mixed in to have any real confidence.
This week, going up against the 0-5 New York Giants, things may turn around a little bit and Washington will have the best chance at victory as they’ve had all season. We’ll see if they can get it done.
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