It took being down 40-0, but Washington Redskins head coach mercifully benched quarterback Mark Sanchez in favor for backup Josh Johnson in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.
Sanchez was 6-of-14 throwing the football for 38 yards and two interceptions, including a first quarter pick-six. He was also sacked five times and finished with a quarterback rating of 10.7. He had a couple of drops but he also had at least four passes tipped, including the interception that was returned for a touchdown.
Sanchez’s struggles were not totally a surprise considering his track record through his career and the fact Washington is dealing with major injuries across the offensive line that has took out four guards, three for the season. However, his play appeared to give the Redskins offense no chance at threatening the improved Giants defense.
Mark Sanchez for 6…the other way 🍇
(via @thecheckdown)https://t.co/ZHbHfERnV7
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 9, 2018
Johnson entered the game and immediately moved the football, albeit against a soft Giants defense protecting a 40-point lead. Johnson completed 4-of-6 passes for 31 yards and rushed for 19 yards on his first series.
It was Johnson’s first series in an NFL regular season game since 2013. He was signed on Wednesday after Washington lost Colt McCoy to a broken fibula. McCoy was the second Redskins’ quarterback to suffer a devastating injury as Alex Smith suffered a broken fibula, tibia, and compound fracture in Week 11.
It may be hard to put much value on how well or not Johnson plays in the final minutes of a game that is 40-0, but some of the concepts and basis could be evaluated at some rate. It also is unclear what that means for Sanchez and his playing future in Washington until an official word from Gruden.
