Washington Redskins: Jordan Reed must limit penalties

The Washington Redskins lost to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football by a score of 19-16. The loss pushes Washington to 5-7, a record that the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles also share, and Dallas to 4-8. The NFC East is up for grabs, and it seemingly belongs to whichever team decides not to implode by the end of the season. Whether or not that team will be the Redskins is unknown at this point, but, if they are to win the prestigious NFC East title, they’ll have to cut down on the amount of penalties and mental mistakes that they commit on a weekly basis.

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The game against the Cowboys was a perfect example of what the Redskins cannot do if they truly want to capture the division title and, more importantly, perform well in the playoffs. The amount of penalties that the team committed was simply unacceptable, as Washington was charged nine times for 73 total yards on the night. It’s awfully hard to win football games, especially when both teams are equally as inept, while committing that many penalties.

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What really irks me, though, is the fact that a large number of the penalties that the Redskins committed were simply mental mistakes. Washington could have avoided a good portion of the calls, and, in my opinion, that falls on coaching. Jordan Reed, while a great pass-catching tight end, has struggled to adequately block defenders. His struggles in the run-blocking portion of his game often leads him to holding, something that has killed drives and momentum all season.

Nov 15, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; General view of a referee picking up a penalty flag during the second quarter of the game between the Kansas City Chiefs against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Reed is the most penalized player on the team, as he has accumulated a total of ten accepted penalties this season, per nflpenalties.com. The rate at which Reed is penalized makes him the third most penalized player in the NFL, with the amount of yardage Washington has lost from the calls adding up to 99 yards, or the fifth most penalty yards in the league committed by a player.

Sixty percent of Reed’s penalties have come in blocking situations, as the Washington Redskins’ tight end has had his number called for offensive holding six times this season. The blocking duties don’t typically fall on the shoulders of Reed, as Logan Paulsen, who is currently on injured reserve, is generally the tight end that assumes that responsibility. But with Paulsen shelved for the season, Reed has to step up and become a better blocker – that’s the only thing, in my opinion, keeping him from being considered an elite tight end.

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While offensive holding has plagued Jordan Reed all season, it’s not the only area that he needs to improve in. He also needs to find a way to cut down on the amount of offensive pass interference penalties he commits, as he has been caught doing so four times this season. Three of the four times that Reed has been called for offensive pass interference has been in divisional contests, and that’s simply unacceptable.

If the Washington Redskins want to win the division and Jordan Reed wants to be looked at as one of the best tight ends in football, coaching and play will have to improve. The team must find a way to correct their penalty problems, and it starts with the most penalized player on the team, which happens to be their dangerous pass-catching tight end.