The numbers and statistics from the Redskins 27-10 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday were gobsmacking. Sometimes you can’t get a feel for a game just by looking at the numbers. Sometimes, you can tell everything you could possibly hope to know.
472 – Total yards of offense for the Redskins. You won’t lose many games in the NFL where you hang almost 500 yards on your opponents. It was also 344 yards more than the Raiders managed. Staggering. Pure domination.
365 – Yards passing for Kirk Cousins on a 25 for 30 day. Three touchdowns, 0 interceptions, does it get much better than that? It was the quarterback’s best game of the season, and the fact that he only took 1 sack from a very highly recognized defensive unit, might actually be his most impressive stat of the game. There were times he made throws under pressure that seemed impossible. He played tough.
188 – All purpose yards for Redskins running back Chris Thompson. What a day. He caught 6 balls out of the backfield for a staggering 150 yards, with his longest being the 74 yard scamper on an RB screen.
128 – Total yards for the much heralded Raiders offense. As impressively low as the Redskins defense kept this, even it doesn’t tell the whole story. 33 of those yards came when the game was over and the Redskins sat in a prevent for a few plays as the final whistle neared. Had the Redskins offense been able to get one more first down and keep the Raiders offense off the field, the Redskins defense would have held them to less than 100 yards. It would have been the first time since 1991.
118 – Yards passing for Derek Carr. He was 19 for 31, had 2 INT’s and a QB rating of 52.9. Presumably you can interpret those numbers in the appropriate manner, and come to the conclusion that the Redskins defense shut him down completely.
116 – Yards rushing for the Redskins. While it’s not the biggest number, it’s impressive by virtue of the fact that it was done by committee in the absence of starter Rob Kelley. Samaje Perine had 49 yards yards on 19 carries to lead the way, while Thompson had 38 on 8 carries, and Mack Brown had 27 yards on 6 carries. Cousins also had a 2 yard run.
58 – Yards receiving for Vernon Davis on 5 catches. If that isn’t impressive enough for you, then you aren’t taking into account that coupled with a few great blocks, he did as good a job stepping in for the (often) injured Jordan Reed as you could possibly hope for.
52 – Yard reception for Josh Doctson. For a touchdown. Both firsts for the young man out of TCU. What a way to start your NFL Career stats. Congratulations. Keep it up.
38 – Minutes of possession, to the Raiders 22 minutes. Roll that over in your head for a second until you realize that it’s more than an entire quarter of possession difference. While obviously the spectacular play of the defense contributed largely to that, the offensive line was equally responsible. Spencer Long played his best game ever as a Redskin, and the best for a Redskins center for years. Morgan Moses looked so different from the guy that played in week one that it’s hard to believe they’re the same guy. He drew Khalil Mack, and did a stalwart job. The whole line dominated the player across from them, and subsequently the point of attack. Cousins was razor sharp, but there were times he had enough time to go to the sidelines and get a drink while he waited for a receiver to get open. Not to mention that for a lot of Thompson’s 150 yards receiving, he had a convoy of leading linemen in front of him. Hog like performance from the offensive line.
18 – Yards on 6 carries for Marshawn Lynch. Staggering. You can bet that he’s had NFL runs of 18 yards with 6 guys on his back.
11 – Third downs for the Raiders. Why is that relevant? Because they converted NONE of them.
10 – Tackles for Zach Brown, 5 solo, to lead all Redskins. He was fantastic again, and it was even more valuable given that Mason Foster was inactive due to injury.
9 – Tackles from Martrell Spaight in relief of Foster. Great performance.
7 – Yards receiving for Raiders’ loudmouth Michael Crabtree. See next bullet. he also got absolutely smacked by rookie Montae Nicholson. See the bullet after next.
6 – Yards receiving for Raiders Amari Cooper. After shooting their mouths off before the game and boasting that they would hang 200 yards on Josh Norman – they managed 13 between them.
1 – Interception for Montae Nicholson. The rookie was terrific. Not only did he have the pick, but he ranged over to smack the lights out of Crabtree and dislodged the ball before he could possess it. They don’t have a particular stat for it, but it was a special play and worthy of note.
And of linkage:
Lots of people commented on this great play by @MontaeNicholson, but my eye went straight to @JungleBoi_Swagg barking at Crabtree.
Savage. pic.twitter.com/JAq081LXoj
— Chad Ryan (@ChadwikoTWW) September 25, 2017