Fans of the Washington Redskins are going nuts after their team pulled to 6-6 with a 17-16 exciting victory over the first-place New York Giants.
It was an important victory for the team and the franchise. The Redskins’ players were just as celebratory as the fans. Announcer and former 49ers QB Steve Young after the Redskins win over the Giants said, “Did you see that sideline erupt? I haven’t seen a sideline erupt like that. In college, I see that a lot but in the pros you don’t see that often.”
I must say though, the constant RG3 chants, in honor of rookie sensation QB Robert Griffin III, should be a little embarrassing to Redskins fans and are dismissive of other Redskins’ achievements. Alfred Morris muscled over several Giants to get a first down to basically wrap it up and the cameras immediately switch to Redskins fans chanting “RG3, RG3!” Jeez. I mean, give Morris some love.
Griffin played well but wasn’t as spectacular as other games this season. He threw for only 163 yards but he had an outstanding QB rating of 101.9. He had a pair of key runs and threw a great pass for a first down on the last drive of the game that ran out the clock. But was he deserving of the all-encompassing praise? It seemed to be more of a team effort than some other wins this season.
Even after Griffin fumbled and the Skins lucked into a score by another player on the recovery, the fans immediately yelled “RG3, RG3!” Then, at the end while the post-game show was going on, well before Griffin was interviewed so it wasn’t because he was there, Redskins fans were chanting “RG3, RG3” again instead of yelling “We’re No. 1” or “Let’s go Redskins” or “We want Dallas” or “Hail to the Redskins.”
Many of the Redskin fans’ tweets just after the game revolved around Griffin rather than the Redskins as a team. One tweeter wrote, “OMG, OMG, OMG, RGIII” Another tweeted “Merry Griffmas!” And “the Griff that stole the Giants’ Christmas.” “And Playoff bound baby. Thank you Robert Griffin.” And “We whooped the G-men Griffin style.” And “rgIII is a beast, need I say more.” It went on and on but you get the idea.
The Jesus savior worship not only isn’t healthy but what happens if and when he is injured? A one-man team plays all alone. Luckily Griffin understands that and has his head on his shoulders right but could you imagine how this over-the-top response to Griffin would affect another first-year QB?
To his credit, Griffin deflected a question at the post-game media interview about the fans chanting RG3 and showed he’s a team player. “To have the fans all behind you, not just the quarterback but behind the team, is exciting,” he said. “There is a lot of excitement surrounding this team and I think everybody feels it.”
The key now for the Redskins as a team – not as an excuse to watch a singular exciting player’s accomplishments – is to win the division because the wild card will be tough. For one, Seattle, the beneficiaries of a botched TD call by replacement officials against the Packers early in the year, has seven wins. Whoever doesn’t win the Central Division – the Packers or the Bears – will get one of the two wild card berths. Several other teams, including the Rams who earlier defeated the Skins, are tied or within a game of the Skins in the playoff hunt. An 8-8 finish will be rewarding while a 10-6 record would get them in the playoffs. A 9-7 record might get the Skins in the playoffs but probably as a wild card.
I don’t mean to play the what if game but the Redskins should be 8-4 – at least. The Redskins most likely would have beaten the Rams without that stupid ball-throwing penalty on Josh Morgan at the end of that game and the Skins should have beaten the Giants the first time they played. And can you believe now that the Panthers defeated the Redskins in Washington? The Panthers were beneficiaries of a botched officiating call where the Panthers scored a TD after an official blew a whistle thinking the runner was out of bounds. Redskins defenders stopped running and the league later admitted that the runner should have been down once the whistle was blown.
The Bengals and Falcons losses were really close too. The Steelers were really the only team that manhandled the Redskins.
The Redskins, winners of three in a row, will be underdogs again next Sunday at home against the Baltimore Ravens before being favored at Cleveland and at Philadelphia. Finally, the Skins finish against the rival Cowboys at home in a game that could determine a playoff spot. Think the RG3 chanters will be in full voice for that one?