November 18, 2013
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
Prior to the 2013 season, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan declared this season would be “Super Bowl or Bust” for his team. 11 weeks into the season, and it looks like a bust.
Heading into Sunday’s game at 3-6, the Redskins didn’t just want a win, they needed one. After a disheartening loss to the Vikings on Thursday Night Football, the Redskins had 10 days to rest before taking the field against the division leading Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately, it looks like the time off hurt–not helped–them.
Robert Griffin III was terribly inaccurate in the 24-16 Washington loss, completing less than 50% off his passes (17-of-35) for 264 yards. With his team trailing 24-0 and facing their first shutout of the year, RGIII finally showed signs of life in the fourth quarter. He threw a pair of touchdowns — a 62-yarder to fullback Darrel Young and another to wide receiver Aldrick Robinson — each followed by a successful two-point conversion to cut the deficit to eight.
After trailing the entire game, the Redskins had given themselves a shot to tie. Griffin, who had thrown for just 57 yards in the first three quarters, threw for over 200 in the fourth. The defense had stopped the Eagles from scoring since the third quarter. And the Skins had driven from their own 4-yard line to the Eagles’ 18, with less than a minute on the clock.
But instead of a storybook ending–like they had had two weeks ago against the Chargers–it was another deflating, disappointing loss. The Eagles put pressure on Griffin, who couldn’t get the ball away fast enough and threw it away to avoid a sack. Unfortunately, the ball ended up in the hands of Philly cornerback Brandon Boykin to end the Redskins’ rally, and the game.
The Skins have now dropped two straight, falling to 3-7 and dead last in the NFC East. Their upcoming schedule doesn’t look too promising, as they face tough opponents three weeks in a row–the 49ers (6-4) on Monday night, followed by the New York Giants (4-6) and Kansas City Chiefs (9-1). The good news is that all three games will be played at FedEx Field, where the Skins are 2-1 on the season.
Despite the resounding disappointment in the team, and RGIII in particular, the Redskins are not giving up on the season. Reed Doughty took to Twitter after the loss, not just to voice his disappointment, but to confirm his determination. “Frustrated. Disappointed. Only way to fix it is to keep working. There are no quitters on this team,” he wrote. Griffin shared similar sentiments, tweeting “Staying the course through the great times & the times of adversity,” followed by a more defiant statement: “There is no quit – will fight with these guys any day.”
It’s comforting to know they are willing to fight – as the remainder of the season will be an uphill battle.
Capitals
Despite a less than stellar start, the Capitals (12-8-1) are finally hitting their stride. After going 5-7 in October, the Caps are 7-2 so far this month, including a current three-game winnig streak.
The Caps, who knocked out 4-3 wins over the Blue Jackets and Red Wings last week, had a surprisingly easy victory against the St. Louis Blues (13-3-3) at Verizon Center Sunday night. No overtime or shootout was needed in the Caps’ 4-1 rout of St. Louis.
While the match-up was highly anticipated, with Alexander Steen heading into the game as the only player in the league with more goals than Alex Ovechkin, it turned out to be rather one-sided. Ovechkin got to work early, scoring two goals in the first period to tie Steen’s league-leading 17 goals, while Steen was held scoreless, breaking his 13-game point streak.
“For me, it means a lot,” Ovechkin said afterwards. “It’s always nice to score big goals in a big game, but it was a very good team effort today.”
Mikhail Grabovski and John Carlson added a goal apiece for Washington, while the Blues managed just one goal on the night, a wrist shot from Vladimir Sobotka early in the second period.
The Capitals now lead the Metropolitan Division by one point over the Pittsburgh Penguins, whom they face for the first time this Wednesday at home.
