Season stats

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Game Summaries

Week 1 vs MIN - Brunell did not start the game, but entered in the second quarter after Patrick Ramsey left with a neck injury. Brunell did not look particularly sharp, only throwing for 70 yards on 14 passes. However, Brunell did not turn the ball over and the Redskins scored all nine of their points for the game while he was in the game. Ramsey was medically cleared to play in the third quarter, but HC Joe Gibbs stuck with Brunell for the rest of the game.

Week 2 at DAL - Brunell looked worse than his stat line indicated, especially in the first three quarters of the game. He more than made up for that by hitting Santana Moss on scoring strikes of 39 and 70 yards in the fourth quarter. Most of the game found Brunell dumping off short passes for minimal gains; otherwise his passes were floating on him, and his missed several receivers high and even badly behind on some occasions. Brunell was sacked five times, and pressured many more, but he managed to make some plays by scrambling away from pressure, and even added 35 yards on four carries. His lone interception came on a poor pass where he locked onto his target and failed to read the proper coverage, making Terrance Newman's pick look easy.

Week 4 vs JAX - Brunell orchestrated drives of 15, 12, and 16 plays during the first half chewing up nearly 22 minutes of the clock. He was able to coolly stand in the pocket surveying the field while converting an impressive eight of eleven on third down. Brunell appeared to be radar locked on WR Santana Moss, especially when he needed a play in a crucial situation. Brunell nearly had a touchdown pass to Moss during the second period. He ended up with a touchdown pass later on in the drive regardless. Both touchdown passes from Brunell were from inside the five yard line off of play action. He also showed a willingness to scramble for yards reminding fans that he’s always been a mobile quarterback. His 18 yard run on third and long in overtime was a huge play. Brunell’s singular error came at the end of regulation. He looked a bit nervous in the pocket and tried to dump off a quick pass to RB Clinton Portis. The ball was off target and a diving Portis had the ball go off his finger tips before being intercepted. Had PK Josh Brown made his field goal attempt at the end of regulation most fans would have pointed to this one play when looking to place blame.

Week 5 at NYG - Brunell had another good day passing the ball despite the horrid weather conditions. He surpassed 300 yards passing for the first time this season. He was able to utilize receivers other than Santana Moss better than any other game so far, connecting regularly with David Patten and Chris Cooley in particular. Santana Moss was once again his favorite receiver, targeted 14 times by Brunell. Cooley was utilized in motion regularly and worked free underneath and on swing passes to either side. Patten was utilized on a series of short hitch passes, taking advantage of clear blitzes. Moss was the main target down the field. Brunell seemed unaffected by the wet weather, and his precise throws kept the Redskins in the game. Most of his passes were to the left side, but that tendency wasn’t keyed on by the Broncos. On the last play of the first half, Brunell displayed amazing arm strength on a play that didn’t matter, throwing a Hail Mary to the back of the end zone some 60 yards away. He was also able to use his legs a little, scrambling for 14 yards on an important third down play. In the end, Brunell had his pass tipped on a two point conversion attempt that would have tied the game. It appeared that he had enough room to run the ball in, but he was focused on his receivers and may have missed that opportunity.

Week 6 vs TEN - Brunell was forced, because of the ineffectiveness of the running game, to throw 41 times in this game, and was moderately successful. For the second consecutive week he surpassed 300 yards passing, after only doing that once in all of the 2004 season. He was most effective rolling out to his left, and the Redskins continued to employ this even after it became obvious the defense was cheating to that side. Both of Brunell’s touchdown passes inside the red zone, in fact, came on rollout passes to the left. For most of the game, Brunell was able to mix his throws among his two favorite receivers, Santana Moss and Chris Cooley, and was able to effectively move the ball. His main problem was in securing the football. Brunell’s fumble on the Redskins’ first possession killed a 13 play drive. He also fumbled later on in the first half attempting to run for a first down, failing to secure the ball in the open field. Brunell had a chance to tie the game on a last gasp heave to Santana Moss with under 30 seconds left, but at the last second the pass was tipped away by Sammy Knight.

Week 7 at IND - Brunell had another outstanding game passing the football, surpassing 250 yards for the fourth game this season. He easily could have accumulated more statistics, but he was pulled from the game after the third quarter with his team ahead comfortably. He was able to distribute the ball among many different receivers, completing passes to six different teammates. His favorite target yet again was Santana Moss, who he connected with for a 43 yard touchdown off of broken coverage in the second quarter. Brunell didn’t feel much pressure, only being sacked once, and had tons of time to find open receivers. In the red zone, Brunell looked to Mike Sellers twice for touchdowns as the defense paid attention to more visible targets.

Week 8 FA - Brunell had a bad outing, his first of the season. The Giants’ defense, thirty-first in the league in yards allowed entering the weekend, appeared to confuse Brunell, who took a number of coverage sacks and was indecisive all day. When Brunell did find a target to throw to his receivers didn’t help him out, dropping the pass outright or looking up field before the ball was secured and dropping it as a consequence. The Redskins were not able to gain a first down until their fourth drive, and were not able to advance into Giants’ territory until after Brunell had been replaced by Patrick Ramsey with the game out of hand. Brunell threw a costly interception near the end of the first half with the Redskins driving that gave the giants another scoring opportunity. Once down by multiple scores and forced to use spread formations, Brunell was under pressure constantly and couldn’t find time to throw.

Week 9 vs DAL - Brunell had a strong performance in the game, despite having no touchdown passes. He moved around well in the pocket, buying time to find open receivers. He made smart accurate throws, and avoided throwing any interceptions. He showed excellent touch on several passes and then a strong arm when it was needed.

Week 10 at PHI - Brunell started off very badly, giving Tampa three turnovers in the first half. His first interception wasn’t entirely his fault, as David Patten was roughed up by Juran Bolden and the ball essentially was stolen from his grasp. The pass was a bit later than it needed to be though. His second interception was ill-advised, as he threw a screen to Santana Moss who was well covered by Bolden. The ball was tipped and Simeon Rice would intercept it. On the very next possession, Brunell tried to evade the pass rush to the left sideline, attempting to outrun Simeon Rice. That wasn’t a smart decision, as Rice brought him down to the ground and forced a fumble. These three turnovers resulted in 14 Tampa Bay points, putting the Redskins behind early on. Brunell would recover, however, and was able to systematically pick apart the Bucs defense for the remainder of the game. The Redskins would score touchdowns on their first three possessions of the second half, two on passes from him. Brunell threw a pass out to his favorite red zone target, Mike Sellers, for the first touchdown, and would add two points more on a pass to Clinton Portis after a rollout to the left. On the next drive, he threw a beautiful pass down the middle of the field to Ladell Betts for a touchdown. He would hit his tight ends/H-backs ten times during the afternoon, going to Chris Cooley especially on key short yardage plays.

Week 11 at TB - Brunell had a day to forget, as he struggled to lead his team down the field. He appeared jittery in the pocket, and with his main target in Santana Moss taken out of the picture, he was unable to find alternatives. He attempted to make a target out of Taylor Jacobs, throwing the ball downfield hoping Jacobs could make something of it, but it didn’t happen. After James Thrash’s injury late in the second quarter the Redskins were left with only two healthy receivers, and they were forced to play formations using extra tight ends exclusively. Brunell got his bell rung in the second quarter, as he collided heads with a Raiders defender and broke his helmet. He was forced to take a timeout to repair his helmet, but after that hit he wasn’t the same, appearing tentative. He overthrew receivers regularly in the second half, and was unable to lead his team to any scoring opportunities.

Week 12 vs CAR - Brunell had about the most average day an NFL quarterback has ever had. He didn’t make glaring mistakes, he was never really close to being intercepted, and didn’t have any really poor decisions. On the flipside, there was nothing spectacular about his play, and he didn’t do much to enable his team to win. The Redskins rarely sustained drives, and punted nine times compared to just 15 first downs. The inability to move the football falls squarely on Brunell, though as mentioned above, with the type of game he played it’s tough to say he’s the main reason for the loss. Simply put, he had an average game against a below-average pass defense, and his owners should have expected more.

Week 13 vs ATL - The conservative game plan of Joe Gibbs and his coaching staff is really cutting into Mark Brunell’s fantasy numbers. Brunell attempted only 21 passes in the game and his longest completion went for only 30 yards, though his team didn’t enjoy a two-possession lead until late in the fourth quarter. At least he was efficient in the second half, completing all eight of his pass attempts for 100 yards and a touchdown to tight end Chris Cooley. He finished with 14 of 21 for 156 yards and no interceptions.

Week 14 vs PHI - Brunell had his worst half of the season completing ten of 18 passes for 59 yards and three interceptions in the opening stanza. He had a much more efficient second half as the team turned the game over to the running game and shorter, safer passes. Brunell finished without a touchdown and 18 of 28 for 122 yards.

Week 15 at NO - Brunell threw three sharp touchdown passes to Chris Cooley in the first half and a fourth to Mike Sellers. He was not often called to pass, but when he did, he was accurate, managing the game well. He also connected with Santana Moss on two well thrown passes that helped to set up two touchdowns.

Week 16 at STL - Brunell was extremely solid in this game. He didn’t throw the ball much in his three quarters of action, but when he did throw, he did so effectively. He had two touchdown strikes to Santana Moss (for 17 and 59 yards each). He threw one costly interception that was returned for a touchdown in the first quarter. He was replaced by backup Patrick Ramsey in the third quarter when he sprained his knee.

Week 17 vs NYG - Brunell started the game despite being hampered by a knee injury. The knee limited his mobility, especially early in the game, and also seemed to contribute to some errant throws. Brunell did just enough in this game to allow his team to win, throwing a nice deep ball to Santana Moss and avoiding any critical errors. Brunell threw a short touchdown pass to Mike Sellers for the Redskins’ first score. He was intercepted late in the first half on a deep pass.

Week 18 FA - This wasn’t a game that will be put onto the Mark Brunell highlight reel. Of his 15 passes, just two were deep targets (both of them misfiring), and his stat line looks pitiful. Brunell’s best play of the game was by far a play on which he recovered a fumble by TE Chris Cooley. It’s not saying much when the best play a QB makes is on a fumble recovery. He didn’t make a ton of mistakes; then again, he didn’t make a single play all afternoon, with his longest pass play of the day covering just 15 yards. He had an opportunity to connect with WR Santana Moss for what would have been a long touchdown, but Brunell’s pass sailed a bit wide toward the sideline. Had the pass been on target, it may have gone for a score. As it was, Moss probably still should have at least come up with the reception for a solid gain on the play. Brunell also made what could have been a costly mistake when he was intercepted by Brian Kelly on an ill-advised pass intended for Taylor Jacobs. The ensuing drive by Tampa was the drive on which Edell Shepherd came about as close as one can come to tying the game with a touchdown. Had the Bucs scored there and gone on to win the game, Brunell would be called the goat right now.

Week 19 FA - Brunell had a terrible first half, completing only seven passes for 38 yards. He was pressured often and had to throw the ball away to avoid the sack. Brunell had to call his own number and sneak for a yard in the second minute of the second quarter for Washington’s first first down of the game.

Brunell picked up the pace in the second half in part due to the deficit on the scoreboard. Washington had kept a decent balance on offense before the final quarter, but after entering the last period down 14-3 Brunell threw 14 times compared to just three running plays. He targeted his favorite receiver, WR Santana Moss, ten times in the second half and targeted TE Chris Cooley another six. Brunell used the touch pass and the deep ball to move the chains effectively as he gained over 200 yards and connected for the only Redskins’ touchdown of the game to Moss.