Let’s start by saying this, Alex Smith returning today is nothing short of a miracle. Did he play well? No not at all. But with the overall story and everything he’s been through from almost losing his leg, and potentially losing his life, you can’t not cheer for the guy.
But aside from the feel-good Alex Smith story, the team played like complete trash. No offense, could not make a stop on defense, this team just flat out SUCKS.
The team only gained a total of 108 yards of offense. Kyle Allen started the game, he started okay, but it looked like the same unit we’ve seen all season. He scrambled for a TD, but outside of that one drive, the longest drive he orchestrated was 5 plays. Then a helmet to helmet hit knocked him out of the game. He was cleared to return, but Ron Rivera said he was not going to risk putting him back in the game and make the injury worse. The Alex Smith led offense was definitely the worst we’ve seen all season. He finished the game 9/17, 37 yards, 6 sacks and a QBR of 3.2. Washington had only 2.1 yards per play, the worst I’ve seen from this franchise in my life.
With the injury to Kyle Allen today, is there a chance that we see Dwayne Haskins active next week? Yes, Allen was cleared to return, but with the uncertainty of Alex Smith and the durbility of his leg, I think you need to have Haskins active.
The secondary play is terrible, maybe the worst positional group on the team. The communication lacks fluidity, and they consistently give up the big plays; and they just can’t tackle. If the defensive line isn’t creating pressure at the line of scrimmage, the defense get’s gashed every single play. I truly expect there to be a defensive overall this offseason, especially in the secondary.
After the game coach Ron Rivera said Kyle Allen is the starter for now, and that’s no surprise. Rivera trust him more than any QB on the roster, and he’s probably the best option. The main Smith question for me is, can Kyle Allen protect himself. The offensive line is terrible as you’ve seeen from the 8 sacks they allowed Sunday, and Allen is a wreckless QB. I think they’ll eventually go to Alex Smith as it’s been reported all week, but how will the offense look with him in there? Are they really competing for a playoff spot? If they are out of the playoff race, will they go back to Haskins?