Film Breakdown: Kirk Cousins vs Patriots

While the entire Redskins’ team struggled as a whole versus the Patriots last Sunday, Kirk Cousins was one of the few players that should not be blamed for the loss. A poor running game, dropped passes by Cousins’ wide receivers, and a porous secondary spelled disaster for the Redskins. First, let’s take a look at my favorite throw by Cousins and then the touchdown to Jordan Reed to continue Cousins’ streak of seven games in a row with a passing touchdown.

This first play happened on 3rd and 9 in the opening drive of the second half. The Redskins ran a three-level concept (pictured above) that resulted in a 36 yard completion to Pierre Garcon up the right sideline.

Cousins takes a five-step drop after the snap from shotgun twins left. He reads the deep Cover 1 safety and uses excellent eye discipline to not give away the intended target too early. Cousins releases the ball, standing behind a clean pocket, deep and to the right. The pass is slightly behind his target as Garcon has to adjust mid-air to make the falling reception.

In the final touchdown of the game, the Redskins run a slant-flat rub-concept to tight end Jordan Reed. The main difference between this and the final play of the last Super Bowl is that the rub forces the play outside instead of inside. Additionally, running back Chris Thompson is able to use his speed off of the line of scrimmage to prevent getting pressed by the linebacker allowing Jordan Reed to squeeze underneath for the score.

Cousins certainly was not perfect in this game. He underthrew a few passes like this pass near the end of the 1st quarter that could have resulted in a big play for the Redskins’ offense.

The Redskins are in singleback slot-right formation with Alfred Morris in the backfield. Cousins takes the snap and fakes the handoff to his running back. He then finds the safety first and then sees Jackson running across the field on his crossing-route between the linebackers and the deep Cover 3 defenders.

With how much open space Cousins has between the linebackers and the deep coverage, this should have been a sign for Cousins to place this ball deeper up the field. DeSeaon Jackson is one of the best wide receivers in the game at tracking the ball in the air, so he easily could have led him up the field and away from the defenders. Predictably, the underthrown ball gets deflected causing the incompletion and another stalled drive.

Turnovers are usually Cousins’ achilles heel. Against the Patriots, however, Cousins’ lone turnover was not even his fault.

This play came on 1st and 10 with 6:38 left in the first quarter. The Redskins run a slant-flat concept to the right side of the Redskins 1×2 set. DeSean Jackson runs a quick-out underneath the Patriots Cover 3 zone defense while Pierre Garcon runs a slant up into the center of the field. Cousins places the ball perfectly into Garcon’s hands, but for some reason he can’t hang onto the ball. This sends it straight up into the air for Logan Ryan to intercept.

Including the interception above, the Redskins dropped seven passes that hit the receiver’s hands. This does not even include the botched kickoff return by Andre Roberts, a mishandled onside kick by Ryan Grant, and a fumble by rookie running back Matt Jones. Here are a few examples of some of the more heinous drops:

The first is a pass to tight end Derek Carrier running a drag-wheel up the left sideline. Cousins places the ball perfectly past the defender into Carrier’s outstretched arms just for him to botch the catch. This play could have easily gone for thirty-plus yards, but a drop here and a drop by Jordan Reed on the very next play by the sideline force the Redskins to punt.

Not only were large plays ruined by drops, the Redskins receivers could not even catch the easiest passes on checkdowns and crossing patterns. Here are two examples by Jamison Crowder and Matt Jones, respectively. Just awful.

The Redskins and the Patriots are very much alike in their offensive systems. They both rely heavily on the short, West Coast passing game to absorb time off of the clock while tiring their opponents’ defense out. Comparing the two teams the Patriots were obviously more successful at sustaining drives. But by how much?

The Redskins were only able to sustain two drives of eight or more plays. The Patriots sustained five of their nine drives of more than eight plays. The difference between these two numbers is the reason why the score and game was so lopsided.

The Redskins only managed 10 points on these two long drives. One of which resulted in a field goal, while the other resulted in a touchdown that came with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game while the Redskins were already down by 24 points. The Patriots’ five drives, on the other hand, resulted in 20 of their 27 scored points.

A lack of a running game once again made the Redskins one-dimensional. Now combine that with seven dropped passes and blown run assignments and you have the makings of a slaughter instead of a potential victory by the Redskins. If drop rate remains consistent among the NFL’s wide receivers, the Redskins went from 9th overall with 8 drops in 297 passing attempts (2.97%) to 15 drops in 337 passing attempts (4.45%). This is good for 22nd overall.

Follow Samuel Gold on Twitter: @SamuelRGold.