The Post Sports Live crew predicts what will happen when the Redskins take on the Titans at FedEx Field on Sunday. (Post Sports Live/The Washington Post)

The Post Sports Live crew predicts what will happen when the Redskins take on the Titans at FedEx Field on Sunday. (Post Sports Live/The Washington Post)

Few NFL players better fit the description of “go-to guy” than Pierre Garcon did last season. One of the few bright spots on the Washington Redskins’ offense, the wide receiver led the NFL with a franchise-record 113 catches and 184 targets and ranked eighth with 1,346 receiving yards.

Garcon entered this season as one of just three players in NFL history to record at least five catches in all 16 regular season games. And when he connected with Robert Griffin III for a 10-catch performance in the season opener, Garcon found himself within two of the league record for consecutive games with at least five catches.

But the run ended in Week 2. Garcon had only one reception, his first one-catch game since Week 4 of the 2012 season. He bounced back in Week 3 with 11 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown, but since then he has seemed like a mostly forgotten man with eight catches in three games.

“It’s football. You know how it is, man,” Garcon said with a grunt when asked to assess the decrease in production and opportunities. “You never know when your number’s going to be called. You just have to be ready.”

At the same time, Washington’s offense has sputtered, ranking among the worst in the league on third downs and turnovers. The Redskins (1-5) have lost four straight.

The Post Sports Live crew analyzes Kirk Cousins's performance in eight career starts and debates whether he has proven he could ever be a top 20 quarterback in the NFL. (Post Sports Live/The Washington Post)

Through six games, Garcon has just 30 catches for 309 yards and two touchdowns. He has 10 fewer catches and 157 fewer yards than he did at this point last season. Garcon also has received 3.3 fewer targets per game. As a result, he ranks 20th in the league in targets, 21st in receptions and 41st in yards.

Garcon makes clear the decline has nothing to do with a lack of execution on his part.

“I’m always open, man,” he laughed. “You know that.”

However, the circumstances around Garcon have changed.

Garcon knew a new coach and play-caller meant a different offense and in-game decision-making.

Garcon also knew offseason acquisition DeSean Jackson would need touches and that second-year tight end Jordan Reed would have a big role in the offense.

But throughout the offseason, training camp and preseason, Redskins Coach Jay Gruden remained adamant he saw Garcon as his team’s top receiving threat.

The Post Sports Live crew debates whether the teams with the best records are also the best teams in the NFL after six weeks. (Post Sports Live/The Washington Post)

The well-balanced attack Gruden anticipated has yet to manifest itself.

Sunday represented the first full game in which all three talented pass catchers have shared the field. The results were mixed.

Jackson scored on a 64-yard reception early in the second quarter and shortly after had a 42-yard catch-and-run. The touchdown represented the third scoring play of 60 yards or more Jackson had delivered for Washington this season.

Reed, who played for the first time since Week 1, added eight catches for 92 yards, with four of those plays producing first downs.

Meanwhile, Garcon recorded three catches on three targets in the first half. But then he went largely ignored until catching a late-game touchdown. He finished the game with four catches for 31 yards and that one score.

“Yeah, it looks like [he is forgotten] compared to last year,” said former Redskins running back Brian Mitchell, an analyst for CSN Washington. “But last year, outside of [Garcon], they did have Jordan Reed, but he was hurt most of the year, and they didn’t have a lot of other options. This year, DeSean Jackson is taking some of those targets and now Jordan Reed, since he’s back.”

The spikes and plunges in opportunities have proved perplexing to Garcon and, to a degree, to Gruden as well.

“He’s had a couple of games where he’s had multiple catches, like you said. Then he’s had a couple games where he’s had two or three catches, which seems a little bit odd,” Gruden said. “But sometimes this coverage predicates it. Sometimes he’s a feature guy and Kirk doesn’t see him, or he gets pressured or what have you. . . . But we do have to make sure we get him more touches early in games.”

Because the Redskins struggle to extend drives, the number of offensive plays decrease as well.

“When we get to third and four and punt, that’s three more chances he has lost to make a play,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “In the Philadelphia game, we did pretty well there [8 for 15 on third downs], and Pierre had 11 catches.”

But third downs represent an area in which Garcon could help the Redskins, although his opportunities have been limited. This season he has one catch for a first down on just six third-down targets and 17 catches for a first down overall.

Last season, Garcon produced 60 first-down catches. Meanwhile, Andre Roberts, another offseason acquisition, has eight first downs on 16 third-down targets, and he is tied with Garcon with 17 catches for first downs overall.

Teammates say if Garcon has found the situation vexing, he hasn’t shown it.

“He’s been fine. He’s a total pro,” said Cousins, in whom Garcon continues to express confidence. “I think it’s important that you communicate. If you are upset and you feel like you’re open, then I want to know. Whether you yell at me or talk to me calmly, I want to know. I don’t want you to just be a stranger, and he hasn’t been that.”

Garcon said his early years in the NFL helped prepare him for this hot-and-cold situation. In his first five seasons, he played in Indianapolis behind Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark.

Whenever they noticed him slipping into despair over a lack of action, the veterans encouraged him to remain positive and continue to prepare.

“I was young,” he recalled. “They told me, ‘Just stay ready.’ ”

Garcon continues to run his routes crisply as if he expects each pass to come to him, and he also delivers sound blocks in the running game so he can have the peace of mind that he is doing everything possible to help his team.

“That’s a mind-set he has, and not every receiver does,” Mitchell said. “Pierre is probably one of the few receivers that can have an outstanding game even though he may have only two or three catches. He knows he just has to let it come. It will.”