Written by DCist contributor Don Pitz

After Week 1, the pulse of Washington Redskins fandom was that of a coital myocardial infarction. We covered how Robert Griffin III had perhaps the best first week performance of any rookie quarterback of all time as the ‘Skins won 40-32 against the New Orleans Saints. Since then, the chatter in local sports talk radio had placed RG3’s debut somewhere between the second coming of Sonny Jurgensen or Jesus of Nazareth. John Madden said RG3 is already the best player in the NFL today.

But what about the team’s Week 2 match at the St. Louis Rams? Could He lead His team of 52 disciples to two road game wins in a row?

What to say of the Rams? This writer’s mom once said, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” This happened right before this writer put her in a nursing home. But to indulge her, the one nice thing to say is their new head coach Jeff Fisher still has an awesome mullet.

Football games are often compared to chess matches. This football game was a lot like the chess match in the music video for “One Night in Bangkok“. It was a back-and-forth affair. Though the ‘Skins at one point had a 21-6 lead, the Rams rallied from behind.

The good news is that Griffin still looked like the dynamo ‘Skins fans hoped they got when they traded up to the number two overall spot in the draft, in a deal with the aforementioned Rams. In addition to completing 20 of 29 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown, he was also their second-leading rusher, tacking up 82 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. Sadly, he did throw his first career interception.

The bad news is that the ‘Skins have done what fans have seen too often before: they snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory. The game’s final score really came down to two critical mistakes that the coaching staff has to be fuming about. For the second game in a row, the ‘Skins punting team has given up a block. That costly turnover gave the Rams a short field for an eventual touchdown. Blocked punts cannot continue to happen.

The other critical mistake came when the Skins were given one last chance with the ball to drive down to either tie or win. Wide receiver Josh Morgan caught a seven-yard pass that would have given the ‘Skins a fourth down situation to either try for a field goal or convert for a first down. Instead, Morgan threw the ball at Rams Cornerback Cortland Finnegan.

Finnegan is an alleged goon, known for playing to the echo of the whistle. Receivers have lost their cool to him before, just as Andre Johnson did a while back when he ripped Finnegan’s helmet off and opened a can of whoop ass. Morgan should have been prepared for Finnegan’s antics and should have kept his cool. Instead, he was charged with a 15-yard penalty. This set the ‘Skins back to try a 62-yard field goal, which went wide and way short.

The ‘Skins ended up losing to the Rams 31-28.

There’s no better place to feel the pulse of ‘Skins fandom after a game than “The House” on Georgia Avenue. The ‘Skins fans there bare their souls—and a whole lot more. The mood inside hadn’t been this somber since former D.C. councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. was sent to prison. Just outside The House, a man wearing a Stephen Davis jersey was drunkenly fumbling for his keys to his Ford F-150. He was yelling out to the rest of Georgia Avenue’s miscreants, “No! Redskins! Why you do this to me?”

It’s a desperate plea from a fan base with an unrequited love.