Former Washington quarterback Josh Johnson found himself in a familiar position, in Sunday’s NFC championship game, as the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-7.
The Eagles had taken the opening kickoff and driven 66 yards in 11 plays to grab an early 7-0 lead. The 49ers, in turn, had taken possession at their own 25, gained 25 yards, and faced a 2nd & 6 at the 50. Rookie starting quarterback Brock Purdy dropped back to pass and was hit from his right side by the Eagles’ Hassan Reddick, injuring Purdy’s right throwing elbow.
Johnson, who was not even with the 49ers until he was signed on Dec. 6, was forced into quite the unenviable position of facing the NFL’s best pass rush while not even having had time to learn all of his own team’s offense. (Johnson had been practicing as the scout team quarterback, running the offense of the 49ers opposition each week since he signed with San Francisco).
This all rings a bell for Washington fans who follow their team closely. November 18, 2018, Washington was 6-3 facing the Houston Texans when starting quarterback Alex Smith suffered a season-ending compound fracture of his leg.
Two weeks later, new starter Colt McCoy suffered a broken leg in a Monday night game at Philadelphia, ending his season. Mark Sanchez, the veteran third-stringer, was now the starter, and Washington urgently signed Johnson.
Sanchez struggled mightily, and Johnson was forced into action, though he had last thrown an NFL regular-season pass seven seasons earlier as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer in 2011. Johnson played in the final four games of the season, starting the last three.
Johnson did lead Washington to a 16-13 road win at Jacksonville; however, Washington, after the Alex Smith injury, did lose six of their final seven games, finishing 7-9.
Sunday, being thrown into the fire in a nearly impossible situation against the Eagles, Johnson completed 7 of 13 passing attempts for 74 yards (5.7 YPA). Johnson ran twice for two yards and was sacked twice for -14 yards, generating a passer rating of 70.7 and a QBR of 14.7. Unfortunately, he was also knocked out of the game with a concussion.