Turnovers, Injuries Spoil Beck's First Start
John Beck got his first start in a NFL game since 2007 against the Carolina Panthers, and unfortunately for Washington Redskins fans, the result was the same as his other four career starts: a loss. The Skins fell to the Panthers 33-20 in Charlotte, losing their second straight and third in four games to drop to 3-3. For the second straight game, Washington played a team coming in with only one win, but the Skins' opponent left with two. With the Giants and Eagles idle and the Cowboys beating the Rams, the loss drops the Skins to a tie with Dallas at second in the division, a game behind New York.
The first half of this game saw little to no offensive production from with squad, with a halftime score of 9-6 in Carolina's favor. The second half started with the Skins receiving the kickoff and the first play from scrimmage saw Beck completing a deep pass to Jabar Gaffney for 32 yards down the middle. The drive stalled from there, including a questionable call for the Skins to go for it on fourth and two from the Panthers' 40, and Washington turned it over on downs when Beck was sacked on that fourth down play. Cam Newton completed a deep pass to Brandon LaFell for 37 yards on the next play, then was followed by a 16 yard touchdown scamper by the rookie Carolina quarterback. Down 16-6, the Skins got the ball back and drove right down the field with a couple big gainers. The drive was capped by a four yard touchdown run by Beck. From then on, it was the Carolina show. The Panthers opened up a 30-13 lead, and the Skins didn't get into the endzone again until late in the fourth quarter on a Fred Davis TD reception. Beck finished the game completing 22 of his 37 pass attempts for 279 yards, the one touchdown to Davis, an interception and a fumble lost. Davis led the way receiving with 80 yards on six receptions.
> Find Washington Redskins hats & Merchandise online through Pro Football Fans for all your team gear!
The big story of the game was the injuries. Two of the Redskins' leading offensive weapons went down during the game, adding to the list of sidelined players. Leading receiver Santana Moss broke his hand in the first half. Moss is expected to miss at least next week's game, but his status after week eight is uncertain. The team's leading rusher, Tim Hightower, who started the game as the lead back in Mike Shanahan's running back carousel, ran the ball 17 times for 88 yards before going down in the third quarter. Early reports said it might be an ACL tear, which would be a big blow to the Skins rushing attack. Through six games, Hightower leads the team with 84 touches and 321 yards. Neither Roy Helu or Ryan Torain got anything done on the ground against the Panthers, combining for negative six yards on three carries. Beck had 10 yards on the ground as the team's second leading rusher for the game.
The defense did blanket Newton in the first half, and did get pressure on hm throughout. The unit recorded four sacks and got a couple hits on Newton as well. Linebacker London Fletcher, who had been removed from last week's game with an injury, came back strong and led the team with seven solo tackles and nine all together. Brian Orakpo added another sack to his total for the year, bringing him up to 4.5. While giving up 33 points and over 400 total yards isn't particularly a good afternoon, the Skins did have to defend some short fields after three offensive turnovers by Washington. A bright spot for Washington was place kicker Graham Gano. Gano, who has been shaky at best during his time in Washington, connected on both field goal attempts, including a 49 yarder with just over a minute to go in the first half that had tied the game at 6-6. He has made six attempts in a row dating back to the Dallas game and is 11-14 on the year.
The Skins travel north of the border in week eight to play the Buffalo Bills in Toronto. The Bills are coming off a bye and are a surprising 4-2, sitting in second in the AFC East. The Bills have been moving the ball very well this year, averaging almost 380 yards of offense per game, with 141 of that average coming in rushing yards. On the flip side, their defense ranks 30 th in passing and rushing yards allowed, so hopefully the Skins offense comes to play. Washington doesn't want to drop three straight, especially with the meat of their schedule coming up, with the 49ers, Jets, Patriots and the other three games against the division upcoming. With Washington desperately needing a win, we'll see if playing in another country helps them solve some of their problems. Hail to the Redskins.
By Matthew Dagen
ProFootball-fans.com Washington Redskins Correspondent