Kyle Allen's Mr. Hyde Can't Get Out of Dr. Jekyll's Way in Washington Loss
It was a game for the race to the bottom of the NFC East.
This was the time for quarterback Kyle Allen to prove head coach Ron Rivera right. Kyle Allen was supposed to be the quarterback that wins Washington important games in a weak division. Not lose them.
Someone should have told Kyle Allen that.
While Allen led Washington down the field on an impressive potential game winning drive, it was his ugly play that put them in that position. A bad sack and turnover turned into the go-ahead touchdown for 'Big Blue.'
Earlier on Washington's second drive of the game—after another missed Dustin Hopkins field goal of over 40 yards (47) — Allen dropped back on its second play and threw the ball right into coverage.
Similar to what we saw Dwayne Haskins do against the Cleveland Browns.
Washington had shown in their first drive they could push around New York's defense and continuously get into field goal range. But, Allen didn't give his offense, or kicker, an opportunity. New York was able to turn that interception into a Darius Slayton touchdown where he ran right by cornerback Fabian Moreau.
Allen was able to put together double digit play drives consistently throughout the game, but the play calling only allowed for so much to be gotten at a time. We saw a lot of what was seen in previous weeks. Majority of pass plays 5 yards and in. There were opportunities deep and Allen took those shots, but there were not enough big play opportunities to really put the Giants on their heels.
'Bad Kyle' reared his ugly head again by taking bad sacks and coughing up a fumble on a potential game winning drive. Tae Crowder—the 2020 draft’s Mr. Irrelevant—picked the ball up and ran it in for a touchdown with 3:29 left in the game putting Washington in comeback mode.
Allen was able to hit wide receiver Cam Sims in the back left end of the end zone for Sims first career touchdown to bring it to a 20-19 deficit. However, with Ron opting to go for the two-point conversion, Allen was force left out of the pocket and threw an incomplete pass ending the comeback. There will be questions about the play call as it looked like wide receiver Terry McLaurin could have been audibled to a slant route instead of an out route with the middle-left of the endzone having space.
Both of the touchdown drives were Kyle Allen's best with finishing them both by putting the ball only where tight end Logan Thomas and Sims could reach them. He finished the day 31-for-42 for 280 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Allen also added 2 carries for 8 yards, one of them being for a first down.
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Giants quarterback Daniel Jones didn't do anything consistently impressive through the air. It was his 49 yard run on a read option that will get the most talk about his stat line. Safety Landon Collins was victim to crashing too hard on running back Devonta Freeman which left the entire left side open for Jones. And the track meet began. The first play of New York's third drive led to a Graham Gano field goal to put the Giants up 10-3.
Collins continued his streak of bad play by also missing his protection assignment on Dion Lewis who leaked from the back field and converted a third and five into a 10 yard game.
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The positives on defense did show some. Defensive tackle Da'Ron Payne quietly had his best game of the season getting pressure on Jones and creating problems for New York in the run game. Ryan Kerrigan also tallied the lone sack of the game.
Cornerback Kendall Fuller continues his streak of an interception in three straight games coming up with an acrobatic interception in the back of the endzone. This play made up for a defensive pass interference call just one play prior.
Washington's defense continued their struggles on stopping their opponent on third down. New York was 7-for-11 (64%) on third down. This is something that Rivera and defensive coordinator Jack del Rio had harped on this week. Being consistent and making stops to give the offense more chances. You also won't beat bad teams if you keep giving them opportunities.
From Halftime: Washington Right back in it
Head coach Ron Rivera and company will have a lot to build on in practice as Dallas week awaits them. The division might already be out of reach, but it will definitely be long gone if they lose on Sunday. Then, we turn our heads to what Rivera might do at quarterback for the rest of the year.
Injury Report: Left guard Saahdiq Charles left the game after the second offensive snap with a leg injury and never returned.
OUCH! Washington Loses Two Early
Wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden left the game with a hamstring injury.
Wide receiver Isaiah Wright left the game late in the 4th quarter with an apparent shoulder injury after taking a shot from Giants safety Jabrill Peppers. Wright had contributed 4 receptions and 25 yards on 5 targets and 1 rushing yard on a jet sweep.
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Stats of the Game: Washington won the time of possession battle 33:30 to 26:30.
New York continues to struggle in the red zone going 0-for-3 with their goal to go efficiency 0-for-2.
Wide receiver Terry McLaurin was targeted 12 times and recorded 7 receptions for 74 yards.
Running back Antonio Gibson totaled 13 touches for 55 scrimmage yards while seeing 5 targets.
Wide receivers Dontrelle Inman and Isaiah Wright saw 5 targets each.
Quarterback Kyle Allen went 8-for-10 for 75 yards and a touchdown on the final drive.
Alan Lepore joins "Washington Football" on SI.com, while still doing outstanding work as an editor/writer at FullPressCoverage.com or @FPC_Redskins. You can follow him on Twitter @AlanLepore or on instagram @leporealan. Alan is a Villanova University MPA Nonprofit Management candidate and is a fundraising/development professional.
