Vernon Davis catches a touchdown pass in the second quarter. (Photo by John McDonnell / The Washington Post)
The best and worst moments from the Redskins’ 27-10 win over the Raiders at FedEx Field on Sunday night.
Best defense: The Redskins limited the Raiders to 128 total yards of offense and Oakland didn’t eclipse the century mark until its final, meaningless drive. The last time Washington held an opponent to fewer than 100 yards was when they shut out the Eagles on Sept. 30, 1991. Oakland was 0 for 11 on third down, committed three turnovers, managed only seven first downs and averaged a paltry 2.7 yards per play.
Best ‘Finally!’: Washington received the second-half kickoff and drove 75 yards on seven plays to take a 21-0 lead. The final 52 yards came on a pass to 2016 first-round draft pick Josh Doctson, who came down with the ball despite good coverage by ex-Redskin David Amerson for his first career touchdown. “I guarantee you at least one word out of his mouth was, ‘Finally,’ ” analyst Cris Collinsworth said of Daniel Snyder as NBC’s cameras showed the Redskins owner celebrating Doctson’s first catch of the season in his FedEx Field box. The 6-foot-2 Doctson was limited to two games last season with Achilles’ injuries. The only thing that could’ve made the play more poetic was if it had come on a fade pass.
Worst leaving the door ajar: The Redskins were in full control after forcing a three-and-out and forcing a Raiders punt with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, but Jamison Crowder muffed his second punt of the year and Oakland’s James Cowser recovered at the Washington 18-yard line. The Raiders took advantage of the short field, with Jared Cook’s 21-yard touchdown reception two plays later giving Oakland life in a game that had no business being competitive.
Best revelation: Chris Thompson is the Redskins’ best offensive weapon, and it is not particularly close. Washington faced a third and 19 from deep in its own territory on its next possession before Thompson took a short pass from Kirk Cousins and raced 74 yards for a first down. The drive ended with a 23-yard Dustin Hopkins field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, which extended the Redskins’ lead to 24-7. Thompson finished with six catches for 150 yards and a touchdown and added 38 yards on eight carries, which puts him in some pretty elite company.
Chris Thompson just the sixth player with at least 150 receiving yards and 35 rushing yards in the last 25 years.
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) September 25, 2017
Worst way to make what should be a blowout of epic proportions interesting: The Raiders had 71 total yards of offense and still trailed 24-7 when Redskins rookie Samaje Perine, who started in place of the injured Rob Kelley, fumbled at the Washington 12-yard line with 12:16 to play in the fourth quarter. The Raiders recovered, but the Redskins’ defense tightened, and Oakland settled for a field goal after three Derek Carr incompletions.
Best door-slamming drive: The Redskins extended their lead to three scores on their next possession, marching 65 yards on nine plays and burning nearly six minutes off the clock. Mack Brown, who go the call after Perine’s fumble, rushed for 18 yards on the drive, which culminated in another short Hopkins field goal. But seriously, this shouldn’t have been a 17-point game. The Redskins outgained the Raiders by 344 total yards, their largest margin since they outgained the Bears by 385 yards in 1974. Washington won that game 42-0.
Worst decision: Starting Carr in your fantasy league. He threw his second interception of the game early in the second quarter to Kendall Fuller and finished the game 19 of 31 for 118 yards. The Raiders’ dynamic receiving duo of Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper were limited to a combined two catches for 13 yards.
Best QB: Cousins, meanwhile, turned in his best performance of the season. He completed 25 of 30 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Best start: Fifty-six seconds into the game, Redskins rookie safety Montae Nicholson intercepted Raiders quarterback Carr’s deep pass intended for Amari Cooper. Carr’s first interception of the season came on Oakland’s second play from scrimmage and, coupled with Mason Foster’s game-sealing interception against the Rams last week, gave Washington’s defense interceptions on consecutive passes. That’s a recipe for success.
Best capitalizing off a turnover: Eight plays later, Cousins found Thompson wide open in the flat for a 22-yard touchdown, Thompson’s team-leading fourth score of the year. Cousins was 3 for 3 on the drive, including a 26-yard completion to tight end Vernon Davis on third down.
[Redskins players, owner link arms during anthem following Trump’s criticism]
Best pressure: The Raiders’ second possession went better than their first crack at the Redskins’ defense, insomuch as they avoided turning the ball over. Jonathan Allen and Junior Galette combined to sack Carr on second down and Preston Smith registered his third sack in as many games on the next play to force an Oakland punt. Washington sacked Carr four times.
Best points off turnovers: Davis, starting in place of Jordan Reed, caught an 18-yard touchdown pass on the drive following Carr’s second interception to give the Redskins a 14-0 lead. The tight end celebrated with a jump shot over the crossbar, which is is no longer a 15-yard penalty.
Best first-half domination: The Redskins outgained the Raiders 223-47 in the first 30 minutes and took a 14-0 lead into the break. Washington had 11 first downs to Oakland’s two.
Worst playing it safe: Facing fourth and inches from the Oakland 40-yard line with 40 seconds remaining in the first half, the Redskins attempted to draw the Raiders offside before taking a delay of game penalty and punting. Washington knew it would get the ball to start the second half, but with the way the Redskins’ defense was playing, it seemed like a missed, low-risk opportunity to get at least three points before halftime.
Best moves: Davis still has it at age 33. He made Raiders cornerback TJ Carrie look silly with a quick change of direction on a second-quarter reception.
Vernon Davis shook 38 so much he stumbled for 5 yards and tackled his own teammate pic.twitter.com/i3Qp8FF3B9
— Danny (@recordsANDradio) September 25, 2017
Best prime time performers … on Sunday nights since 2016: The Redskins improved to 7-21 in prime time since the end of the 2007 season and 4-6 in Sunday night games during that span. Washington routed the Packers, 42-24, in its only Sunday night game last season.
Best underdogs: The Redskins improved to 13-10-1 straight up as underdogs since 2015, which is the most wins of any underdog.
Best leg workout: Marquette King and Tress Way alternated punts on six consecutive first-half possessions.
Worst sight: Before Sunday, the Raiders were the only NFL team that hadn’t made at least two trips to FedEx Field. Local fans of the Silver and Black were excited to see them, judging by all the Oakland jerseys in the crowd. The Raiders’ only previous visit to Landover was a 16-13 Oakland win on Nov. 20, 2005. The Bengals (0-2), Chiefs (0-3), Falcons (0-2) and Steelers (0-2) are now the only teams Washington hasn’t defeated at least once at its current home.
Not sure this shows it but there are a lot of Raiders fans. A lot. pic.twitter.com/PWyQEaRa2p
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) September 25, 2017
Best Beast Mode: The NFL is better with Marshawn Lynch in it. He only managed 13 yards on five carries in the first half, but he had a classic Beast Mode run on a short gain in the second quarter and avoided a fumble despite Josh Norman’s best effort to punch the ball loose. D.J. Swearinger rocked Lynch on his first carry of the second half. Lynch finished with six carries for 18 yards.
More on the Redskins:
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Trump’s remarks drag NFL owners into political debate
In showings of protest and solidarity, NFL teams respond to Trump’s criticisms
