The Defense Returns With Big Performance.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:Tyrod Taylor managed the game well and finished with a 94.5 yard rating. His TD pass to Jones was very nice.
Grade B+: He has already been named the starting QB for next week.
LeSean McCoy struggled running the ball with an average of just over two yards per carry.
Travaris Cadet had 49 total yards on nine total touches.
Grade D: Should have been able to run the ball better.
Jordan Matthews had two catches for 15 yards but made a nice grab to convert a third down pass.
Zay Jones had three catches for 33 yards and a touchdown but disappeared after a halftime.
Charles Clay led the team with 60 yards receiving on four catches.
Nick O'Leary had a big 15 yard catch but fell down, if he stayed on his feet he could have had a huge gainer that could have clinched the game.
Grade C: Needed more but also needed Benjamin.
Dion Dawkins was called for holding that brought back a nice run by Cadet.
Grade C-: Allowed two sacks and not much push in the running game.
Kyle Williams was quiet on the field but was lively on the sidelines.
Jerry Hughes was very active with half of his four tackles going for a loss.
Shaq Lawson had a tackle for a loss that forced a fourth quarter punt.
Adolphus Washington .
Eddie Yarbrough got the surprise start over Lawson and got good pressure on the opening series to force a third down incompletion. He was called for an offside penalty that kept a drive going early in the 2nd half that led to a KC TD. He helped with the pressure with Alexander for a big 16 yard 3rd quarter sack.
Cedric Thornton sacked Smith late in the first half.
Grade A: The defensive front was on fire in this game.
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Preston Brown led the way with nine tackles and was solid in coverage.
Lorenzo Alexander had a sack for a 16 yard loss.
Matt Milano burst into the backfield for a tackle for a loss. He also got pressure to force a play outside that resulted in a Lawson stop for a loss on third down.
Ramon Humber had a huge pressure forcing an incompletion.
Grade A: The backers were very active.
Tre'Davious White was solid in coverage and had the big interception to clinched the game.
E.J. Gaines was called for a terrible personal foul and had eight tackles.
Leonard Johnson had a nice open field tackle on a third down completion to force a punt and had four tackles.
Micah Hyde broke up a third down pass late in the first half to hold KC to a field goal.
Jordan Poyer had four tackles.
Grade A: Gave up very little in the passing game.
Colton Schmidt had four of his seven passes end inside the 20. He had a 41.1 yard net and gross.
Steve Hauschka had his record breaking 50 yard FG streak snapped but was 3 for 4 and led the team to the win.
Brandon Tate had a 10 yard average on six punt returns. He did muff one but recovered it.
Coverage Units allowed 69 yards on three kickoff returns.
Grade A: Solid in the win.
Sean McDermott had his team ready to play after QB fiasco and got a big win to keep them very much alive in the playoff hunt.
Rick Dennison struggled with the offense but they did enough to get the win.
Leslie Frazier did a fantastic job with his defense as they had control of the game throughout.
Grade B: Big win from this struggling team.
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