Anyone USC diehards hoping to see Mark Sanchez and Cody Kessler square off when Washington and Jacksonville meet in Week 15 will be disappointed.
Sanchez was benched in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Giants and replaced by Josh Johnson, who was playing in his first regular season game since 2013. Johnson ran for one score and threw another, which made the final score 40-16 and was enough for Washington coach Jay Gruden to name him next week’s starter.
Gruden said “nothing” worked for Sanchez during the game and the move has the approval of running back Adrian Peterson.
“It was obvious,” Peterson said, via J.P. Finley of NBC Sports Washington. “When he came in, we started moving the ball and started to score points. That right there is hope alone.”
Johnson said he was working hard to learn his new teammates’ names after signing with Washington during the week. He’ll get a little more time to pick up those names and the rest of the offense before making his first start since 2011.