Washington Redskins: RGIII Ignited a Fire That Could Linger

With their “backs against a wall,” the Washington Redskins defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 31-6 on Sunday.  The team overcame several mental lapses - specifically on offense – and was led by their newest team captain Robert Griffin III.

Griffin was highly efficient – completing 14-of-15 passes (93.3 percent) for 200 yards with four touchdowns. He finished the game with a perfect 158.3 passer rating and also contributed 84 rushing yards on 12 carries. Of course, the NFL won’t recognize Griffin’s nearly perfect day because he had under 20 passing attempts, but he was a complete animal in Sunday’s victory over Philadelphia.  Griffin was five attempts short of meeting the 20-attempt minimum needed to qualify for team records for completion percentage (Mark Brunell – 89.3 on Sept. 24, 2006 vs. Houston) and passer rating (Sonny Jurgensen – 149.3, Sept. 15, 1968 at Chicago).

“He really ignites our fire,” Santana Moss said of Robert Griffin III after the game. “When he is doing his thing, he’s on fire, and then it just rubs off on everyone else.”

The 25-point margin of victory was the team’s largest in the Mike Shanahan era and the team’s biggest since defeating the Detroit Lions by 31 points on Oct. 7, 2007. It was far from a perfect performance, especially on offense, but the Redskins did a tremendous job feeding off the energy and confidence level Robert Griffin III provided.

Not to mention the monumental day Washington’s defense had – limiting a professional football team to 6 points in a full four quarters of play. The Redskins held the Eagles without a touchdown, marking the first time the Redskins have held an opponent without a touchdown since Week 3 at Dallas during the 2011 season. It was the first time Washington has held an opponent without a touchdown in a win since Dec. 21, 2008, when the Redskins defeated the Eagles, 10-3.

The 25-point margin score could be defined as a blowout victory, but with 13 penalties accounting for 80 yards and another sub 50% day on third down – Washington still has a ton of work to do if they plan on making a run for the division lead. There’s reason to be optimistic, however, because if Washington is able to make those mental mistakes and still win football games – then we’re looking a team that could be getting hot at the right time.

“With the mistakes we had, we were not sharp all the way around, but we made the big plays,” Robert Griffin III said. “I think all the guys are satisfied with the outcome.”

The Redskins played with a certain energy and had a fearless mentality on both sides of the football. That’s something the Redskins have not had in a long time. Safety Brandon Meriweather played an outstanding game before suffering a right knee injury. If Washington continues to keep him out of situations were he has to move backwards and show coverage skills, Meriweather can provide a spark for the defense.

“Right now, I think it was the most physical I have ever seen our team play as a whole, both offense and defense,” Griffin said after the game. “It was impressive to have [safety Brandon] Meriweather back out there at safety. It seems like it brought some tenacity back to those guys. Everybody stepped up and now we have to go do it on Thursday against the Cowboys.”

Fearless football was on display when Robert Griffin III reached past his back pocket and rocked the football over 60 yards down the field to Santana Moss.

“[Baylor Head Coach Art] Briles always told me that there is a difference between playing fearless and being stupid,” Griffin said. “You have to be able to tip toe that line. If it would have been an interception, the pass to Santana would have been stupid. Because it was a touchdown, it was fearless. God blessed me with the ability to move around a lot more than other quarterbacks. You try to use that when you can, if a guy is not open, so you don’t have to force things. But when guys are open, you get them the rock and let them make plays.”

That is something Santana Moss has been waiting years to have at the quarterback position – a guy that can fearlessly throw the ball down the field, and give his receiver an opportunity to make a play on the ball. Now, the Redskins have to sustain that down-field attack. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan had his ups and downs with play calling, as usual. But the younger Shanahan has flashed brilliance often – it’s just those lapses that he has seemingly every drive that everyone doesn’t like. Kyle is an aggressive play caller, but sometimes he gets conservative or attempts to force plays that are not high percentage play calls.

In order for Washington to continue playing the way they did on Sunday, they have to correct the mental lapses – from a play calling and execution standpoint. Penalties has been a problem all season, and no matter how you slice it, that’s an inexcusable issue. The Redskins get called for some of the weirdest penalties too, like defensive delay of game – how in the world is that even possible? The defensive delay of game was later defined as improper punt formation on Cedric Griffin, but either way – that is not a call that’s often heard.

Next up for Washington is the Dallas Cowboys, in a short week – Thanksgiving day showdown. Robert Griffin III is 24 out of 43, for 458 yards, 6 touchdowns and 1 interception combined in division play against the New York Giants and Eagles. He was indeed built for a big stage and it doesn’t get bigger than Jerry Jones’ “Big Screen Store.”