It’s always interesting to look at a game by the numbers. Not what the numbers are, but what the numbers mean. Here is a look at the most interesting numbers from the Redskins game with the Bears on Sunday afternoon:
166 – the total yards allowed by the Skins’ defense. While the Bears offense is by no means a powerhouse, this number is still perhaps the most impressive.
52 – Santana Moss’ longest reception on Sunday. The guy who was brought in to stretch the field with his speed and give the Redskins a receiver who could be dangerous after the catch, does just that in his first game.
45 – the number of players an NFL team is allowed to field on game day. There maybe 53 men on the roster but only 45 of them play. With Antonio Brown faltering in his kick return debut, should one of these 45 spots go to someone who can fill a different type of role on Sundays? Brothers Nic and Chris Clemons were inactive against the Bears; both bring a needed pass rush threat from their respective positions. Why sit them to play Brown?
41 – the number of rushing yards allowed by the Skins’ defense. Ironically, it was also the number of yards in Clinton Portis’ longest single run.
34:15 – the Redskins’ time of possession. There are 60 minutes in a game and any time that the Redskins can spend more than half of that with the ball, they will have improved success.
5.8 – the number of yards per carry that Clinton Portis averaged.
5 – the number of penalties the Redskins had. Washington struggled with undisciplined penalties in 2004, so five was a respectable number.
3 – the number of field goals that John Hall kicked. This would not always be a very note-worthy statistic, but in a 9-7 Washington win, it is.
1 – the number of victories the Redkins have in 2005. All other numbers and statistics are actually insignificant.
0 – the number of times Andy Groom pinned Chicago inside their own 20-yard line. Tom Tupa was stellar at doing it in 2004, Groom will need to work on changing this number to help a ball control offense win the field position game.
-2 – the Redskins’ takeover plus-minus. Rarely does a team win the game when this number is negative but Washington did on Sunday.
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Mark Solway