Kirk Cousins is getting most of the praise for last Sunday’s victory versus the Eagles, but 3rd string running back Chris Thompson deserves more credit than he is currently receiving. In this game he led the Redskins in total yards with 77 yards broken down into 53 rushing yards on 6 attempts and two receptions for 24 yards. Thompson was a great change-of-pace back for the Redskins who helped them defeat one of their division opponents. Let’s take a look at a few of his plays.
The Redskins, on their first drive, get backed up to their own 11 yard line after two penalties on the team. It’s 3rd and 19, and a running back draw is called.
When your offense is in a 3rd and long situation near your own goalline your main hope is to give your punter more room to punt and HOPE that a major defensive breakdown occurs for you to capitalize on. The latter is what happened here.
After the snap, the Eagles shift into their Cover 4 prevent defense shell with four underneath zones while only rushing three on the line of scrimmage. Jordan Reed releases from the line of scrimmage to set a downfield block while the center, Kory Lichtensteiger cut blocks linebacker Connor Baldwin taking him out of the play.
Thompson explodes up the field as escaping from a tackle by safety #26 Walter Thurmond who crashes too hard toward the line of scrimmage and is out of position to make a play on the speedy ball carrier. Thompson eventually gets dragged down from behind after a 42 yard gain on the play. A combination of good downfield blocking by Lichtensteiger and Reed, poor tackling by the Eagles’ second level defenders, and Thompson’s speed is what makes the play here.
It must be pointed out that two wide receivers on the right side of the field who were not involved in the play #80 Jameison Crowder and #14 Ryan Grant should have been looking downfield to block out more men. They start playwatching and this leads to Eagles cornerback #31 Byron Maxwell tackling Thompson who might have broken free for the score. Hopefully they both have this pointed out to him as this could have been 6 points for the Redskins.
Another third down and the Redskins bring in Chris Thompson as the lone back in the backfield. It’s 3rd and 3 on the Philadelphia 40 with 11:59 left in the first quarter. The Redskins call for a very well designed running back screen pass to Thompson in the left flat.
After the snap, the two guards #61 Spencer Long and #75 Brandon Scherff release to the left sideline to downfield block for Chris Thompson. This is also why the motioning of Ryan Grant occurred pre-snap. It was to help Kirk Cousins identify if the the Eagles were playing man-to-man coverage as well as move one of the defenders away from the playside call.
The play pulls the defense out of position and allows the Redskins to gain 19 yards on the play on 3rd down to keep the chains moving. Another great use of the speedy Chris Thompson.
The Redskins line up in Empty-Set shotgun with trips left slot right. Chris Thompson is split out on the far right side of the formation. This pass by Cousins doesn’t go to Thompson as it is completed to Pierre Garcon over the middle of the field, but I want you to pay close attention to Thompson at the bottom of your screen.
Thompson runs an outside-release “go”-route to the endzone against a linebacker near the sideline. Immediately after the snap, Thompson accelerates forward attacking the inside shoulder of the defender. Once he’s within range, Thompson cuts to the outside and up the field bursting past the defender in space. This is beautiful route-running and would have been a touchdown if Cousins looked his way.
Based on the alignment of the defense in Cover 1 Man, I am not surprised that Cousins attacked the trips left part of the formation as the underneath route gives the Redskins the highest rate of success overall, but this play shows you the versatility that Thompson brings to the team in his final contract year.
There was only one play I didn’t particularly like from Chris Thompson’s performance. This last play is a power toss sweep to the left from singleback formation on 2nd down and 8 yards to gain with 3:22 left in the second quarter.
After the snap the entire offensive line starts moving left. Tight end #86 Jordan Reed down blocks defensive end #91 Fletcher Cox, while left tackle #71 Trent Williams and left guard #61 Spencer Long pull to lead block in front Thompson. Chris Thompson reads his blockers and starts following them outside.
This is the point where Thompson shows little patience and gets in front of his blockers allowing him to be tackled by the defense. I might be nitpicking, because there wasn’t THAT much here in terms of a positive gain, but if Thompson waiting for his blocks to set at least with Trent Williams leading the way Thompson might have been able to scrounge an additional 2-3 yards out of this play. Not much but still better than a one yard loss.
Chris Thompson played a total of 34 snaps out of the Redskins’ 86 total plays on offense. This is a very high number of plays considering that the Redskins’ starting running back #46 Alfred Morris only was in the game for two more snaps (36). The vast majority of the time the Redskins used Chris Thompson as the checkdown receiver for Kirk Cousins, while pass blocking occasionally.
Overall, I was very pleased with the variety of playmakers Jay Gruden used in his offense. These variations helped keep the Redskins’ offense from becoming too predictable. Additionally, no member of the Redskins’ offense was too relied upon to make plays. Hopefully, Chris Thompson will continue to be used as an intriguing 3rd down option as an addition to their main two running backs in Alfred Morris and rookie Matt Jones.
Follow Samuel Gold on Twitter: @SamuelRGold.
