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‘Skins shuffle QB position again, try to snap skid Sunday – LIVE on News 3

Posted at 3:52 PM, Dec 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-14 15:52:45-05

Quarterback Josh Johnson of the Washington Redskins. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s been a while since a quarterback carousel appeared at Redskins Park. However, the ride is running furiously as the 2018 regular season winds down.

Sunday at Jacksonville, QB Josh Johnson will make his first NFL start since 2011. In doing so, he’ll become the fourth different Redskins quarterback to start a game since November 18th – a 28 day span. Johnson takes over for Mark Sanchez (benched), who took over for Colt McCoy (fractured right fibula), who took over for Alex Smith (fractured right tibia, fibula).

From 2015 to 2017, a span of 49 games and 840 days, Kirk Cousins was the lone Redskins quarterback to start a game.

Quarterback Josh Johnson of the Washington Redskins. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

“I think the element he brings, a little bit, knowing the system,” Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said of his reasoning behind naming Johnson the team’s starter. “He came in here and he was playing a pickup basketball game and came in here and is playing in the National Football League on a Sunday. My hat’s off to him for picking it up. Fortunately, he’s been around me for a while and can handle the terminology and did a pretty good job moving around.”

In his first game action since 2013, Johnson entered Washington’s game vs. the New York Giants last Sunday in the second half and completed 11-of-16 pass attempts for 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The Jacksonville Jaguars enter Sunday’s contest vs. the Redskins having lost eight of their last nine games after starting the season 3-and-1. Head Coach Doug Marrone, in his second full season with the team, is 15-and-16 in his tenure in Jacksonville. Last year, the Jaguars lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship.

Cody Kessler of the Jacksonville Jaguars. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Similar to the ‘Skins, Jacksonville’s quarterback position has experienced a lot of turnover – only it’s performance related not health related. Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler have rotated throughout the year. Bortles entered the season as the starter, but struggled, going 223-for-369 for 2,572 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 11 games. Kessler is 64-for-97 for 546 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in three games.

Sunday’s game between the Redskins and the Jaguars will be the seventh meeting between the two franchises since Jacksonville’s inception in 1995. The Redskins are 5-and-1 all-time against the Jaguars.

You can watch Washington at Jacksonville LIVE on News 3, Hampton Roads’ home of the Redskins. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at TIAA Bank Field.