One of the biggest issues to the struggles of the Washington Football Team’s defense has been their breakdowns in secondary. Through the first three weeks, Washington’s secondary has been beaten for big plays.
Those struggles carried over into Week 4, as Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson burned the Washington defense for a 42-yard touchdown.
Just how was he so wide open? Point the blame at Washington safety Bobby McCain.
McCain was in a single-high safety look. He should have been the over the top help on Patterson’s route. Instead he bit down as Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts ran a curl underneath.
Was McCain expecting a crosser from Pitts? Possible. But it was a wrong read. Patterson ran a post, Washington corner William Jackson III let him go expecting to turn him over to McCain inside.
Pitts had a bracket of four Washington defenders around him. Patterson ran freely to the end zone for the big touchdown. If Washington is to turn around its season they’ll need the back end of the defense to clean up their eyes.
