After their Week 9 loss to the Carolina Panthers, ‘Skins fans had a bye week to debate head coach Mike Shanahan’s comments that he would begin to “evaluate players” for next season. The Post’s Mike Wise represented many other observers who felt Shanahan was giving up on the season. Comcast SportsNet’s Brian Mitchell went further, saying the ‘Skins are terrible. Shanahan was left to try to explain these comments until he was orange in the face.
The chatter eventually drifted to a more favorable topic among ‘Skins fans: their playoff hopes. Rational observers would be quick to point out that a 3-6 record should dash any talk of playoffs. However, heading into their game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the ‘Skins had played only one of their six divisional games. They were 2.5 games behind the New York Giants, but they were not mathematically out of it.
The Philadelphia Eagles, on the other hand… Well, there’s 3-6 teams, and then there’s 3-6 teams. Last year, Eagles head coach Andy Reid promoted an offensive line coach to be their defensive coordinator, and he’s just now finally realized that was not such a good idea. Their $100 million quarterback Michael Vick was sidelined with a concussion heading into this game, although there was a lot of talk that Vick should be benched even barring an injury, and not just amongst Philly fans. Eagles fans got what they’ve been demanding since Donovan McNabb was suiting up for them: the backup.
If this game was all about evaluating players, the first place to start is rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, who was recently elected team captain. How did he look in the ‘Skins’ 31-6 victory? Pretty darn good. He threw more touchdowns than incomplete passes, completing 14 of his 15 pass attempts for 200 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. He was also the team’s top rusher, going 84 yards on 12 carries.
The much-maligned Washington secondary passed this week’s evaluation, too. They didn’t give up any big plays, and they didn’t give up any touchdowns.
This game was an absolute blowout. When the announcer spends about a minute talking with the color commentator about the nice dinner they had together with each others families, you’re in garbage time. Garbage time arrived early. The one-sided nature of this contest was made most evident when Griffin was in a third-and-10 situation and under a little pressure. He lobbed it up to receiver Santana Moss, who beat out two defenders for the ball for a 61-yard touchdown.
At The House on Georgia Avenue, the ribald revelry after the game broke out into chants of “We Want Dallas!” In case you haven’t heard, the ‘Skins face the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. For ‘Skins fans, they have at least this game to be thankful.
