Washington Redskins: Team Looks Hapless in Loss to Philadelphia Eagles

All the good feelings and positive vibes the Washington Redskins generated in the first four weeks of the season are gone. They were erased on Sunday by a return to the brand of football that has permeated Washington since the late 1990s. 

It’s not just that Washington lost to the Philadelphia Eagles; it was the way that they lost that was so disheartening and reminded fans why the team has struggled mightily in recent years.

Turnovers, inopportune penalties, injuries and dropped passes killed the Redskins and gave the game the tenor of a preseason scrimmage. If this is how the team performs following a week off, they should feel thankful that the NFL schedule only provides one bye.  

At one point, Washington lined up for a 51-yard field goal, but committed a delay of game penalty because they couldn’t get the right personnel on the field. The penalty moved the team out of field goal range and forced them to punt. Before the FOX telecast cut to commercial, the camera lingered on a shot of placekicker Graham Gano holding his hands-up in bewilderment as if to say, “Are you serious?”

You’ll have to forgive Gano, who’s only been with the Redskins for two seasons, for not knowing that this is what typically passes for professional football in Washington. It is instances like these that explain why the franchise is mired in such a losing and disheartening culture.

The game started out on what should have been a positive note for Washington, when on the Eagles second possession Michael Vick committed what looked like intentional grounding from within his own end zone. That play should have resulted in a safety and a hearty dose of early momentum for Washington, but instead typical Redskins karma took over when officials flagged outside linebacker Brian Orakpo for a roughing the passer penalty, giving the Eagles 15 yards and an automatic first down. Vick capitalized on the mistake, leading his offense down the field for Philadelphia’s first touchdown.

From there, the bad karma snowballed. Washington lost offensive lineman Trent Williams and Kory Lichtensteiger to injury, and all of a sudden, the massive holes that opened for the Redskins running backs against the St. Louis Rams disappeared. Ryan Torain and Roy Helu couldn’t find any daylight, and an inability to establish the running game put the game in the hands of Rex Grossman who responded by throwing four interceptions.

He now leads the NFL in turnovers.

Grossman’s most egregious interception came in the second quarter when he under threw an open Jabar Gaffney. As I’ve written before, Grossman’s most glaring weakness isn’t a lack of accuracy but a shortage of arm strength: he consistently under throws his receivers. Had he been able to put more under that ball, Gaffney could have scored, and the Redskins would have found themselves back in the game. Instead Philadelphia scored off the interception, finalizing a 20 point lead that proved to be insurmountable.

It’s somewhat unfair to heap all the blame on Grossman. The hobbled offensive line did not do an adequate job of protecting him, and the lack of an effective running game forced offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to call a one-dimensional and somewhat predictable game plan. But after four interceptions it’s easy to understand why Mike Shanahan decided to bring heralded backup John Beck off the bench. The fact that Beck led Washington to its only touchdown of the game may ignite a quarterback controversy in Washington.

Beck is far from a top-notch quarterback, but if he can protect the ball better than Grossman has this season than he should become the Redskins starting quarterback. Beck has better presence in the pocket and is somewhat mobile, two traits he will need if Williams and Lichtensteiger can’t return to the lineup soon.

The only positive note that gleamed on Sunday is that despite turning the ball over four times and getting trounced in nearly every meaningful statistical category, the Redskins only lost by seven points and came within one third down stop of getting the ball back with less than two minutes remaining. Whether that is more a factor of resilience by Washington or Philadelphia’s continued inability to close-out opponents is too hard to call.

Give credit to the Washington defense, which under the direction of defensive coordinator Jim Haslett and ageless middle linebacker London Fletcher is one of the league’s toughest. Despite getting burned early by the talented Philadelphia offense, the unit hung in there and prevented Philadelphia from scoring in the second-half. They also fell victim to some questionable officiating, but refused to get discouraged.

Many analyst and pundits will write-off the Redskins after this week, and given the team’s woefully pathetic performance that is understandable. This is not the type of football Shanahan and general manager Bruce Allen expect to play, but until the team stops committing mental mistakes they will never be able to win more than 60 percent of their games.

It’s important to keep in mind that Washington lacks an explosive player that can single-handedly overcome large deficits, someone like Calvin Johnson, whose ability to get in the end zone means the Detroit Lions are never out of a game. If the Redskins want to win they will have to be methodical, they will have to play error free football. On Sunday, they did anything but that. It may have been an aberration from their play this season, but resembled the norm that Redskins fans have come to expect.