Washington Commanders

Tyrann Mathieu Listed As Doubtful For Game vs. Washington Redskins

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Washington Redskins will have a serious advantage on offense this Sunday. The Arizona Cardinals are going to be without one of their top defensive backs during the game.

Heading into Week 13, a lot of analysts were concerned about the Washington Redskins’ matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. The Redskins had a red hot offense coming into the game, but the Cardinals boast some talent in the secondary. All fears of a bad matchup had to have dissipated on Friday, when Tyrann Mathieu was declared doubtful for the contest. The news broke via the Arizona Cardinals Twitter.

BA says Tyrann Mathieu is doubtful for #WASvsAZ, but will be a game-time decision.

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 2, 2016

CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Rich Tandler pointed out that a “doubtful” tag means that Mathieu has a less than 50 percent chance of playing. Without Mathieu, the Cardinals will have major issues covering the Redskins weapons and they could post some big numbers as a result.

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The Cardinals will likely be able to shut down at least one of the Redskins receivers, as Patrick Peterson should be ready to go on Sunday. Peterson will likely matchup with DeSean Jackson for most of the day, given that he is the only player with enough speed to keep pace with him. However, Pierre Garcon and Jamison Crowder will now have favorable matchups against the backup Cardinals corners.

In certain packages, Mathieu has been a slot cornerback. Justin Bethel seems likely to play the slot a significant amount on Sunday and the results could be mixed. Bethel is a decent slot man, but he is an elite special teams player. It seems unlikely that he will be able to keep pace with Crowder. Crowder could post a 100 yard game and should be Kirk Cousins’ top target.

For Garcon, taking on Marcus Cooper on the outside should be a good battle for him. Garcon can use his physical, possession style play to get in front of Cooper to catch 10 yard passes. Garcon will be heavily targeted in Jackson is bottled up, and he could be a red zone target.

The wild card in this game will probably be Vernon Davis. The veteran tight end will be playing in place of Jordan Reed and now no safety will be able to matchup well with him. He could do some damage if the Cardinals cannot find a favorable matchup. Perhaps linebacker Deone Bucannon will be tasked with targeting him.

Overall, Mathieu’s absence will be big for the Redskins. The team has the offensive weaponry to spread the Cardinals thin, and Mathieu’s absence will just make that easier for them.

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