After leg fractures ended the season for both Alex Smith and Colt McCoy, the Washington Redskins are now down to Mark Sanchez at quarterback.
A few weeks ago, when the Washington Redskins were thriving with Alex Smith at quarterback, fans probably never imagined that their season would soon be falling on the shoulders of Mark Sanchez.
But now that’s where they find themselves, and this once hopeful 2018 season for the Redskins has taken hit after hit in recent weeks.
Sanchez entered the game at quarterback for the Redskins on Monday night after Colt McCoy suffered a fractured leg. This divisional showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles was only McCoy’s second start for Washington since he took over for Smith, whose season also ended with a fractured leg.
As expected, McCoy is done for the year. Any hope the Redskins have of making the playoffs now lies entirely on the shoulders of Sanchez, whom the Redskins signed following Smith’s injury to serve as the backup to McCoy.
This is the first in-game action Sanchez has seen in two years. He was a member of the Chicago Bears in 2017, but didn’t see any playing time as he was the third string quarterback behind Mitchell Trubisky and Mike Glennon.
The 32-year-old Sanchez has spent the last several seasons bouncing around from team to team, but one positive is that he has experience leading teams to the playoffs. Early in his career when he was the starting quarterback for the New York Jets, he helped them to some playoff success in 2009 and 2010, taking them to the AFC Championship Game in both seasons.
In the 2010 playoffs, Sanchez even led the Jets to a playoff win against their AFC East rival New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, something that not many teams have accomplished in the last two decades.
But while he was successful early in his career, Sanchez has seen little to no success since the Jets decided to move on from him following the 2013 season. If he can recapture that old magic, he might give the Redskins a fighting chance to get back to the playoffs.
But if you’re a Redskins fan, you shouldn’t hold your breath.