The Mark Sanchez era in Washington may have come to an end during the team's blowout loss at the hands of the New York Giants.

Washington was down 40-0 in the third quarter of the matchup at FedEx Field when head coach Jay Gruden benched Sanchez in favor of Josh Johnson.

Sanchez completed six of 14 attempts for just 38 yards — good for an average of 2.7 yards per completion — and two interceptions. Johnson is the fourth quarterback to line up under center for Washington this year.

Alex Smith had the team in prime position to win the NFC East, but after breaking his fibula and tibia in Week 11 of the season versus the Houston Texans, their playoff hopes began falling apart.

Two weeks later, backup Colt McCoy broke his right fibula in a Monday night loss the the Philadelphia Eagles. Washington brought in several journeymen quarterbacks for workouts and settled on Sanchez.

Gruden claims the team discussed signing Colin Kaepernick, but said they decided he wasn't the right fit for their offense. Kaepernick got his first action as an NFL starter in 2012 when he replaced Smith in San Francisco after the quarterback suffered a concussion.

Johnson is a 32-year-old former fifth-round pick. Washington is Johnson's 14th team since he was drafted in 2008, not including a pair of short stints in the United Football League and the Alliance of American Football in 2012 and 2018 respectively. Today was the first NFL game Johnson has played in since 2013, and he hadn't thrown a pass in an NFL game since 2011.

Johnson was responsible for Washington's first points of the day versus the Giants with an eight-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.