A look at the stats and snap counts for every defensive and special teams player on the Redskins in the team’s Week 7 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys
Snaps- Greg Manusky utilized 18 of his 25 defenders over the course of Washington’s 66 defensive snaps in Sunday’s game against the arch-rival Dallas Cowboys.
Of the seven defenders who did not get any playing time on defense, two were inactive (Quinton Dunbar and Troy Apke) and five played solely on special teams (Caleb Brantley, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Zach Vigil, Adonis Alexander and Kenny Ladler).
QB Pressure- The Redskins’ defense sacked Dak Prescott four times and hit him on four additional dropbacks.
Prescott was pressured on 23 of his 44 dropbacks, which equates to an excellent 52% pressure rate. This was a new season high for the Skins’ D, that had not topped a 40% pressure rate yet this year.
3rd and 4th Down- The defense allowed the Cowboys to convert on 5-of-14 third-down attempts in the game. This marked the third time this season, and the second time in as many weeks, that the Redskins held their opponent below a 36% success rate on the money down.
The Dallas offense was 4 or more yards away from the line to gain on nine of those plays and converted on one of them. Four of their five conversions came with 3 or fewer yards to go.
The Skins’ D did, however, allow the Cowboys to move the sticks on one of their two fourth-down tries. Surprisingly, it was the 4th-and-13, and not the 4th-and-1 that Dallas converted on.
Red Zone- Dallas’ only trip to the red zone did not come until there was exactly two minutes left in the game. On the 4 snaps the Redskins’ defense faced in the red area, they committed a holding penalty and allowed Dak Prescott to rush for a touchdown on third down.
On the bright side, this is the fewest number of red-zone possessions against Washington since Week 12 of last season.
Field Position & Yards- The Cowboys only ran one play on the Redskins’ side of the field in the first 48 minutes of Sunday’s contest. That play went for a 49-yard touchdown pass to Michael Gallup.
Of the 332 yards allowed by Washington’s defense, 157 or 47% of them were given up in the final 12 minutes and 35 seconds of the game.
Points- The Redskins have allowed the following point totals in their four wins in 2018: 6, 17, 17 and 17. They also surrendered up just 20 points in their loss to the Colts. They’ve allowed an average of 20.2 points per game, which ranks seventh in the NFL. Only the Ravens, Cowboys, Titans, Rams, Seahawks and Eagles have fared better in this department.
Takeaways- The defense forced two takeaways and has now caused the last two teams they’ve faced to commit a combined 5 turnovers. This was the tenth consecutive game that Washington has forced at least one turnover in, which is the second longest such streak in the NFL.
Their +6 turnover margin on the year ranks fourth in the NFL. The Browns, Seahawks, Bears and Rams are the other teams with an equal or better margin.
Tight End Defense- Cowboys’ tight ends Geoff Swaim, Blake Jarwin and Dalton Schultz combined to put up 5 receptions, 53 yards and 3 first downs on 7 targets and 44 total routes run. Those numbers wouldn’t be half-bad for the Redskins if they had been put up by a better set of tight ends, but the Cowboys have one of the worst tight end corps in the NFL.
Rushing Defense (vs. Team)- This Redskins’ run defense was outstanding against the Cowboys. Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott and Jourdan Lewis combined to gain just 73 yards on Dallas’ 22 carries in the game (3.32 YPC). The yardage total and average were season lows for the Cowboys, and were their fifth and eighth worst marks in either category since 2014, the year that Zack Martin, the final piece of the Cowboys Pro Bowl OL trio, was drafted.
This is the fourth team that Washington’s defense has held under 100 rushing yards this season, and no opponent has topped 104 rushing yards against them. The Redskins are one of two teams that have not allowed a single 20-yard rush this season (Vikings) and their rushing defense ranks third in yards per game (87.3) and seventh in yards per carry (3.97).
Rushing Defense (vs. Individual)- You can add Ezekiel Elliott to the list of star running backs who were shut down by the Skins’ defensive front. Elliott ran for 33 yards, picked up 2 first downs on the ground, averaged 2.20 yards per carry and his longest run went for just 6 yards.
The only other time he put up worse numbers in any one of those categories was against the Broncos in Week 2 of last season (8 yards, 1 FD, 0.89 YPC, 5-yard long); that’s right, the great Ezekiel Elliott had the second worst game of his 33-game career (including playoffs) against the Redskins this week.
Washington’s run defense has now held Elliott, David Johnson, Marlon Mack, Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey to the following combined rushing line: 48 carries, 148 yards, 3.08 yards per carry, 7 first downs, a 14.6% first-down rate and 1 touchdown.
I’d say the Alabama Wall is definitely getting the job done so far.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
| Defensive Linemen (5 Players) | ||
| Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
| Jonathan Allen * | 54 | 82% |
| Daron Payne * | 54 | 82% |
| Matt Ioannidis | 36 | 55% |
| Tim Settle | 1 | 2% |
| Caleb Brantley | ST Only | 0% |
Jonathan Allen- Jon Allen led all Washington D-linemen with 4 total pressures (3 hurries) and recorded his third sack of the year. The sack set the Dallas offense back 8 yards on a third-down play in the second quarter. On his only other tackle of the game, Allen teamed with Zach Brown to tackle Ezekiel Elliott for a loss of 1 yard.
The founding member of the Alabama Wall also drew a holding penalty against highly regarded rookie Conner Williams. That foul negated what would’ve been a 16-yard third-down conversion by the Cowboys’ offense and it set the Redskins’ defense up to score a touchdown on the following play.
Allen has generated multiple QB pressures in 10 of his 11 career regular season games.
Daron Payne- The Redskins’ 2018 first-round pick played a key role in shutting down the Cowboys’ rushing attack and contributed as a pass rusher, as well.
All four of his tackles (3 assisted) and both of his stops were made on Ezekiel Elliott rushing plays, and Elliott only gained a combined 8 yards on those runs. Payne’s 9.8% run-stop rate ranks 11th among all interior defenders this season.
He also scored a hurry and a hit (2 pressures) as a pass rusher and recorded the first pass defense of his career. The PD and the hit came on the first two plays of the Cowboys’ final drive of the game. Payne has now pressured the opposing quarterback multiple times in each of the last four games.
Matt Ioannidis- For the third consecutive game Ioannidis saw his playing time increase (26% > 47% > 53% > 55%). Unfortunately, the Ion Man had one of his least productive games of the season on Sunday.
He stopped Elliott for a gain of one on a 1st-and-10 run, but that was his lone tackle on the day. The only other time Matty I was unable to record multiple tackles this season was in Week 1 against the Cardinals, but that was a game he registered 4 pressures in, including a sack.
Ioannidis started the season on an absolute tear, by averaging 4 pressures per game and recording a sack in each of the Redskins’ first three contests. In the team’s last three games, he hasn’t gotten to the quarterback once (0 hits and sacks) and has pressured the opposing signal caller on 2 of his 56 pass-rushing snaps (3.6%) in that span, one of which came against Dak Prescott this past Sunday (a hurry).
Tim Settle- Tim Settle played one defensive snap against the Cowboys, a running play where he lined up at left end on. This is something of an improvement for Settle, who didn’t take any snaps with the defense against both the Packers and Panthers.
Caleb Brantley- Thanks to the release of Ziggy Hood, Caleb Brantley was active for the first time this year. However, his only PT came on special teams (4 snaps).
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS
| Outside Linebackers (4 Players) | ||
| Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
| Ryan Kerrigan * | 49 | 74% |
| Preston Smith * | 49 | 74% |
| Pernell McPhee | 18 | 27% |
| Ryan Anderson | 16 | 24% |
Ryan Kerrigan- After finally recording his first sack of the season two games ago and registering a 2018-best 5 pressures last week against the Panthers, Ryan Kerrigan kicked things up another notch in Sunday’s showdown for first place in the NFC East.
RyKer recorded a season-high 5 total tackles, defended his first pass of the year and generated a new 2018-best 6 pressures (4 hurries). Two of those pressures were sacks (-15 yards), which is tied for the most sacks in a game by a Redskins player this season (Jonathan Allen vs. Packers).
This was Kerrigan’s 14th career multi-sack game, which moves him past Charles Mann (13 games) and into sole possession of second place all-time for multi-sack games by a Redskins player.
On his second sack against the Cowboys, Kerrigan stripped the ball from Dak Prescott and set fellow starting outside backer Preston Smith up for the easy recovery and defensive touchdown. This was the first forced fumble of 2018 for Kerrigan. He has now forced a whopping 23 fumbles in his career, a number which ranks second to Von Miller’s 26 FFs since both players entered the league in 2011.
The Redskins’ best pass rusher earned a team and career-high 91.6 PFF grade for his efforts in Sunday’s game. Aaron Donald (95.4), Whitney Mercilus (93.1) and Jadeveon Clowney (92.1) were the only other front-seven defenders in the league who posted a higher mark in Week 7.
Preston Smith- Kerrigan may be the Redskins’ best pass rusher, but it was Preston Smith’s career-high tying 7 pressures (6 hurries and 1 hit) that led the team. Smith disrupted multiple Prescott passing attempts and drew a holding penalty against “elite” left tackle Tyron Smith that negated a Cowboys’ third-down conversion.
The icing on the cake for Smith was his fumble recovery touchdown with just under five minutes left in the game. The play gave Smith both the first recovery and touchdown of his career. It was also the Redskins’ first defensive touchdown since Bashaud Breeland returned an interception 96 yards for a score in Week 14 of last season. The last time a Redskin returned a fumble for a touchdown was in Week 16 of 2015, when De’Angelo Hall returned an Eagles’ fumble 17 yards for a TD.
Smith’s 78.6 PFF rating for the game was the highest grade he’s earned since Week 10 of 2016 (vs. Vikings).
Ryan Anderson- It was a career day for Ryan Anderson. The second-year linebacker played on his highest snap rate since Week 1 (24.2%), set a new personal record with a 79.0 PFF grade, scored his first QB hit of the season, recorded his second sack as a pro and notched a career-high 5 pressures, which is one more pressure than he generated all of last season.
The most impressive aspect of Anderson’s performance was that he put up all those numbers on just 16 snaps and 11 pass rushes.
Kerrigan, Smith and Anderson combined for 18 pressures on Dak Prescott’s 44 dropbacks in the game.
Pernell McPhee- McPhee did not record a single stat or register any pressures on his 18 snaps. Well, he did hit Prescott once, but the play was negated by a defensive holding penalty. This is the second time in the last three weeks that McPhee has failed to crack the stat sheet and generate any pressures.
His one saving grace in this game was that he forced Cowboys’ right tackle La’el Collins to commit a holding penalty, which negated a 15-yard run by Dak Prescott.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS
| Inside Linebackers (5 Players) | ||
| Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
| Mason Foster * | 66 | 100% |
| Zach Brown * | 35 | 53% |
| Josh Harvey-Clemons | 31 | 47% |
| Shaun Dion Hamilton | ST Only | 0% |
| Zach Vigil | ST Only | 0% |
Zach Brown- Zach Brown played on 35 snaps and saw a 53% snap rate on Sunday, which are easily his lowest such figures in either category since the 2015 season. The decreased PT was, however, not enough to stop Brown from having his best game of the season.
He led the team in solo tackles (8), total tackles (9), TFLs (1) and stops (4), all of which either set or tied season highs for the veteran inside backer. Seven of his nine tackles were made on Zeke Elliott, who only gained 11 yards and moved the chains once on those plays.
The one mark against him in this game was that he allowed 3 receptions for 36 yards and 2 first downs on just 3 targets and 15 coverage snaps.
Finally, on a mere 4 pass-rushing snaps, ZB set another season-high with 2 pressures, which included his first QB hit of the year.
Mason Foster- Foster played on 100% of the snaps for the fourth consecutive week. He tied Zach Brown for the most combined tackles (9) and defensive stops on the team (4).
Three of his tackles came on the receptions he allowed. The Cowboys gained 17 yards on those plays, but were unable to move the chains on any of them.
He was used as a pass rusher on a season-high 12 snaps, but failed to generate any pressure on those plays.
Mase’s 85.2 PFF grade for the game ranked third on the team this week.
Josh Harvey-Clemons- Josh Harvey-Clemons split time with Zach Brown and set new career highs in defensive snaps played (37) and snap percentage (47%).
JHC was targeted twice on his 24 coverage snaps, didn’t give up a catch on either target and recorded a pass defense in the end zone against Ezekiel Elliott on one of those plays. He ranks fifth among all off-ball linebackers in yards allowed per coverage snap (0.39).
His only tackle of the game came on a 3rd-and-3 run by Dak Prescott that went for a 3-yard first down.
By no means was Harvey-Clemons perfect in this game, though. He missed a tackle and committed a holding penalty that negated an incompletion and gave the Cowboys a new set of downs inside the Washington 10-yard line; Dak Prescott ran it in for a touchdown three plays later.
Zach Vigil- Vigil worked exclusively on special teams for the fourth consecutive game.
Shaun Dion Hamilton- Shaun Dion Hamilton has played in every game this season, but all of his snaps have come on special teams (101 snaps).
CORNERBACKS
| Cornerbacks (6 Players) | ||
| Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
| Josh Norman * | 66 | 100% |
| Fabian Moreau * | 58 | 88% |
| Greg Stroman * | 54 | 82% |
| Danny Johnson | 3 | 5% |
| Adonis Alexander | ST Only | 0% |
| Quinton Dunbar | Inactive | N/A |
Josh Norman- Josh Norman was thrown at six times on his 44 coverage snaps and gave up a season-high 5 receptions for 63 yards and 2 first downs. Four of his tackles were made following those catches.
He led all Washington defensive backs with 5 solo and total tackles in the game. J-No forced a fumble on one of his tackles, but the ball bounced right back to Allen Hurns, who made the easy recovery.
This was the second straight game in which Norman has forced a fumble. He has now forced multiple fumbles in each of the last four seasons. No defensive back has forced more fumbles this year and since 2014, 2015 and 2017.
He was flagged for holding on a fourth-down play on the Cowboys’ penultimate drive of the game, but the penalty was declined because the Cowboys gained 16 yards on a completed pass to Blake Jarwin.
Norman earned a 74.2 PFF grade for his showing against the Cowboys, which represented a new season high for the veteran corner.
Fabian Moreau- The second-year player out of UCLA made his fourth start of the year and set new career highs in defensive snaps played (58) and snap percentage (87.9%).
Moreau was targeted on 5-of-40 coverage snaps and gave up 3 receptions for 2 first downs and a 2018-worst 45 receiving yards on those throws. Two of his four tackles were made after allowing those receptions. In all, he recorded 4 tackles and 2 stops against the Cowboys.
He sprained his ankle on the final drive of the game and his status is in doubt for next week’s game against the Giants. The Redskins were already going to have their hands full with Odell Beckham and Sterling Shepard, but things could get ugly if Josh Norman and our next few players are the only healthy corners left on the roster for the game.
Greg Stroman- The 2018 seventh-rounder made the first start of his career and played on a career-high 54 snaps against the Cowboys.
Stroman allowed 4 receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown on his 7 targets and 38 coverage snaps in the game; the target and receiving yardage totals were both game highs.
The touchdown thrown against him came on a 49-yard pass to Michael Gallup. This was the second time in the last three games that Stroman has allowed a TD of 35 or more yards.
Outside of getting burned on that score, he actually played quite well. He surrendered just 3 receptions for 20 yards and no first downs on the other 6 targets thrown into his coverage. Three of his career-high four tackles (all solo) were made following those catches.
Nevertheless, Stroman graded out as the second worst player on the team (46.9) in this game.
Danny Johnson- After playing on 102 special teams snaps in the first six weeks of the season, Johnson finally took his first snaps with the defense. He was only in for 4 snaps, with most of those plays coming after Fabian Moreau hurt his ankle on the Cowboys’ final drive.
Johnson gave up a 6-yard first down reception to Cole Beasley on one of his 2 coverage snaps in the game and made his first career tackle to end the play.
Johnson’s 44.3 PFF grade ranked last on the team.
Adonis Alexander- Dunbar’s injury allowed Alexander to finally get off of the inactive list and to make his NFL debut on Sunday. The rookie supplemental draft pick was only used on special teams (10 snaps).
Quinton Dunbar- Quinton Dunbar injured his shin two days before the game and was inactive against the Cowboys, as a result. Dunbar has never played 16 games in his four-year career.
SAFETIES
| Safeties (5 Players) | ||
| Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % |
| Montae Nicholson * | 66 | 100% |
| D.J. Swearinger * | 66 | 100% |
| Deshazor Everett | 4 | 6% |
| Kenny Ladler | ST Only | 0% |
| Troy Apke | Inactive | N/A |
D.J. Swearinger- The league’s swaggiest safety played every defensive snap for the 16th consecutive game on Sunday (1,088 snaps).
He gave up a reception on the lone target thrown his way, but that third-down catch only gained 4 yards before Swearinger made the stop a yard shy of the first-down marker.
On a 4th-and-1 play at the Redskins’ own 36-yard line, Swearinger stopped a Dak Prescott QB sneak for no gain, forced a fumble on the play and recovered the ball to give the Redskins their first takeaway of the game. This was the second straight game he forced a fumble in and it was the first time he’s recovered a fumble in since the 2015 season.
Swearinger has now either intercepted a pass, forced a fumble or recovered a fumble five times this season, which is a number that is tied for the most among all defensive backs (Tre Boston, Bradley McDougald and Kareem Jackson).
He also assisted on a tackle that stopped Ezekiel Elliott a yard behind the line of scrimmage. He finished the game with 3 solo and 4 total tackles.
D.J. Swearinger earned the second highest PFF grade on the team for his performance against the Cowboys (90.6) and is now the site’s highest graded safety in the entire NFL this season (90.0). He will likely make his first trip to the Pro Bowl if he can keep this up.
Montae Nicholson- Nicholson, who played on 100% of the snaps just once in 2017, was out there for every defensive play for the fifth time this season.
He was targeted twice on his 44 coverage snaps, but allowed Cowboys’ tight ends Blake Jarwin and Geoff Swaim to catch those passes for first downs that gained 16 and 17 yards (33 total yards allowed). Both plays occurred on Dallas’ late-fourth quarter touchdown-drive. Jarwin’s first-down grab came on a 4th-and-13 play; it was his only catch of the game and the second reception of his entire career.
Nicholson’s season-low 2 tackles (both solo) were made following the catches he allowed. The only other time he made fewer than 2 tackles and didn’t pick off a pass was in his first career game (Week 1 of 2017 against the Eagles); Nicholson took a mere 3 snaps with the defense in that contest.
His 47.5 PFF grade for the year ranks 57th out of 59 qualifying safeties (250-snap minimum). Clearly, the play of Nicholson and Swearinger are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, at least as far as Pro Football Focus is concerned.
Deshazor Everett- After not stepping foot on the field with the defense last week, Deshazor Everett played 4 defensive snaps against the Cowboys in Week 7. Everett played in the box as a third safety on all four of his snaps in the game. The only other time he got more PT this season was in the Week 5 blowout loss to the Saints (12 snaps).
Everett still hasn’t recorded an official stat yet in 2018, but he was targeted for the first time all year. The target came on a deep pass to Rico Gathers in the fourth quarter that fell incomplete.
Kenny Ladler- Ladler played exclusively on special teams for the fifth straight game.
He played in Canada with the Edmonton Eskimos last year. His 86 tackles on defense ranked seventh overall in the CFL.
Troy Apke- Troy Apke has not played since injuring his hamstring in Week 1 against the Cardinals. He played on 16 special teams snaps in that game.
ALL DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
| Defense (25 Players) | ||||||
| Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | Player (* - starter) | Snaps | Snap % | |
| Mason Foster * | 66 | 100% | Pernell McPhee | 18 | 27% | |
| Montae Nicholson * | 66 | 100% | Ryan Anderson | 16 | 24% | |
| Josh Norman * | 66 | 100% | Deshazor Everett | 4 | 6% | |
| D.J. Swearinger * | 66 | 100% | Danny Johnson | 3 | 5% | |
| Fabian Moreau * | 58 | 88% | Tim Settle | 1 | 2% | |
| Jonathan Allen * | 54 | 82% | Adonis Alexander | ST Only | 0% | |
| Daron Payne * | 54 | 82% | Caleb Brantley | ST Only | 0% | |
| Greg Stroman * | 54 | 82% | Quinton Dunbar | Inactive | N/A | |
| Ryan Kerrigan * | 49 | 74% | Shaun Dion Hamilton | ST Only | 0% | |
| Preston Smith * | 49 | 74% | Kenny Ladler | ST Only | 0% | |
| Matt Ioannidis | 36 | 55% | Zach Vigil | ST Only | 0% | |
| Zach Brown * | 35 | 53% | Troy Apke | Inactive | N/A | |
| Josh Harvey-Clemons | 31 | 47% | ||||
SPECIAL TEAMS
| Special Teams (31 Players) | ||||||
| Player | Snaps | Snap % | Player | Snaps | Snap % | |
| Jehu Chesson | 24 | 86% | Matt Ioannidis | 5 | 18% | |
| Deshazor Everett | 24 | 86% | Danny Johnson | 5 | 18% | |
| Zach Vigil | 24 | 86% | Jonathan Allen | 4 | 14% | |
| Ryan Anderson | 20 | 71% | Tony Bergstrom | 4 | 14% | |
| Kenny Ladler | 20 | 71% | Caleb Brantley | 4 | 14% | |
| Shaun Dion Hamilton | 19 | 68% | Ryan Kerrigan | 4 | 14% | |
| Josh Harvey Clemons | 19 | 68% | Morgan Moses | 4 | 14% | |
| Jeremy Sprinkle | 17 | 61% | Ty Nsekhe | 4 | 14% | |
| Greg Stroman | 15 | 54% | Daron Payne | 4 | 14% | |
| Adonis Alexander | 10 | 36% | Brian Quick | 4 | 14% | |
| Semaje Perine | 10 | 36% | Chase Roullier | 4 | 14% | |
| Nick Sundberg | 10 | 36% | Brandon Scherff | 4 | 14% | |
| Tress Way | 10 | 36% | Kapri Bibbs | 3 | 11% | |
| Dustin Hopkins | 9 | 32% | Maurice Harris | 3 | 11% | |
| Montae Nicholson | 9 | 32% | Fabian Moreau | 1 | 4% | |
| Tim Settle | 8 | 29% | ||||
Snaps- The Redskins used 31 players over the course of their 28 special teams snaps. Ben Kotwica’s unit was comprised of 17 defenders, 11 offensive players and 3 specialists.
Once again, Deshazor Everett led this unit in snaps (24). Zach Vigil and Jehu Chesson also played on a team-high 24 specials snaps. Vigil has tied Everett for the most ST snaps played in all but one game this season (vs. Colts).
Dustin Hopkins- Dustin Hopkins was perfect as a field goal kicker for the fourth time in as many games. He hit on a pair of field goals from 21 and 25 yards out and connected on both of his extra points.
Hop is one of nine kickers who have attempted ten or more field goals and hit on over 90% of those kicks. The others are Stephen Gostkowski, Harrison Butker, Stephen Hauschka, Brandon McManus, Aldrick Rosas, Will Lutz, Jason Myers and Robbie Gould.
Hopkins kicked the ball off a total of five times in Sunday’s game. Four of his five kicks went for touchbacks, while the other one was returned for 26 yards out to the Dallas 26-yard line.
Tress Way-Way’s six punts on Sunday went for a total of 227 total yards, which gave him a 37.8-yard average, the sixth lowest mark in his 70 pro games. These are the kind of numbers that have contributed to him averaging career lows in punting average (40.9) and net average (37.7), the former of which ranks dead last in the NFL.
Here’s the thing, though: Tress Way cares about pinning opposing offenses deep in their own territory, and not punting averages. Way set a new career high by pinning the Cowboys’ inside their own 20-yard line five times. He had only put more than three punts inside the 20 once coming into the game (4 such punts in Week 17 of 2017).
The Cowboys began their drives following a punt on the 15, 16, 17, 11, 15 and 36-yard lines, which gave them an average starting field position just past the 18. Cole Beasley, who was operating as Dallas’ punt return man with Tavon Austin out, gained just 11 yards on his 3 returns (3.67 average).
Way’s 14 punts inside the 20 and his 52.9% inside-the-20 rate rank seventh and sixth in the league on the year. What’s even most amazing about all of this is that he has still not had one of his punts go for a touchback yet this season.
The only other punters who have yet to record a toucback are Colby Waldman and Donnie Jones, who have combined to punt the ball just two more times than Tress Way (29 to 27) and pinned their opponents inside the 20-yard line one fewer time than Way has (14 to 13). Bengals punter Kevin Huber is the only other player with more than ten inside-the-20 punts who has also not kicked multiple touchbacks (1 touchback).
Kick Coverage- Deshazor Everett was there to take down Deonte Thompson on Dallas’ only kickoff return of the game. Thompson fielded that return at the goal line and returned it 26 yards before being tackled. Everett is tied for the team lead in solo ST tackles (3) this year.
Kenny Ladler led the team in specials tackles with two (both assists). He teamed up with Ryan Anderson to end a 5-yard punt return and with Josh Harvey-Clemons to stop another return that only gained a yard. Ladler’s 6 total tackles on special teams (5 assists) are two more than any other Redskins player has made this season. He is tied for the tenth most total teams tackles in the NFL.
Zach Vigil also made a tackle on special teams, when he ended a 5-yard punt return at the Dallas 16-yard line.
Also, for the second week in a row, Samaje Perine downed a punt inside the 20.
Kickoff Returns- All four of the Cowboys’ kickoffs went for touchbacks, so for the first time since Week 11 of last year (at Saints), the Redskins did not return a single kickoff.
Even though none of them actually returned a kick, it’s worth noting that the Redskins used several different primary returners in the game. Maurice Harris was the only one back deep on the first two kickoffs, while Greg Stroman and Jehu Chesson were sent out to return the third and fourth kickoffs, respectively.
Punt Returns- The Cowboys punted five times, and four of those punts should’ve been returned; yet, for some reason, Greg Stroman returned the ball on just one of those plays.
Stroman correctly chose to let one punt bounce inside the 5-yard line and out of the back of the end zone, but passed up on three good opportunities for return yardage. He fair caught a pair of punts at the Washington 28 and 48-yard lines when there was no defender within 5 yards of him at the time he fielded the ball.
He also chose not to return a punt that he had some room to maneuver on, and instead, watched as Jeff Heath downed the ball at the 34.
Stroman gained 3 yards on his only return before being tackled a yard shy of midfield. He has returned 4 punts for 28 yards so far this year.
*All statistics are courtesy of ESPN, NBC Sports, NFL.com, NFL Gamebooks, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, Redskins.com and The Washington Post*
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