After the ‘Skins overtime victory against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14, there was more consternation than jubilance among ‘Skins fans. Though the victory was an important one for bragging rights over all those Ballmer fans and for playoff implications, it came at a high price. Robert Griffin III missed the final minutes of the game after injuring his right knee.
There was a lot of attention on Griffin’s health last week. Unfortunately, there was also attention drawn to the color of Griffin’s skin, thanks to the ignorant remarks by commentator Rob Parker on ESPN First Take. This writer would like to take those responsible for the production of First Take and banish them to the wilds, with nothing to eat or drink except dirt and water. Until then, though, we’ll have to suffice with Parker being suspended. If you want evidence that Satan has dominion over Earth, watch the putrid filth that is ESPN First Take.
After test results showed RGIII’s injury to be a Grade 1 sprain of his lateral collateral ligament in his knee, there was some debate about whether or not Griffin should be rushed back to play. Their last two games of the season are against NFC East opponents, so the ‘Skins match against the Cleveland Browns yesterday seemed to have lowest impact on their playoff chances. All last week, head coach Mike Shanahan was coy about who would start: Griffin, or his fellow rookie Kirk Cousins? Kirk captained the ‘Skins with two minutes left against Baltimore with a touchdown pass and a run for the two-point conversion. But could he perform that highly for an entire game?
When the ‘Skins finally announced Griffin would be inactive for the game and Cousins would start, Griffin made it clear on Twitter that though it was not his decision to sit, he would still travel with the team to Ohio. ‘Skins fans were left to hope that they could beat the Cleveland Browns with a backup quarterback.
What should the casual observer know about the Cleveland Browns? They were on a three game winning streak heading into this contest. Those three wins were against two teams in the still-existent AFC West and a team that had Charlie Batch start at quarterback. The Browns also drafted a rookie quarterback in Brandon Weeden, albeit one who is 29 years old.
This writer could spend more time insulting the Cleveland Browns, but the ‘Skins did all that on the field. How did Cousins look? He looked like the starting quarterback of another team next year. He completed 26 of his 37 pass attempts, throwing for 329 yards, including two touchdowns and one interception in the ‘Skins 38-21 win.
There was some question as to how different the passing game would look without Griffin. While Cousins lacks the world-class athletic ability of Griffin, he proved to be quite mobil. Many of his pass attempts were off play-action bootlegs, and Cousins performed well outside moving outside the pocket. The offensive line did a good job protecting Cousins, giving up just two sacks.
And some fretted over how the running game would fare without Griffin. Play-action passes are predicated off a good running game, and the ‘Skins stayed disciplined in relying heavily on the ground game. Alfred Morris, another rookie, alone carried the ball on 27 plays, rushing for 87 yards and two scores.
There have been questions all season long about whether the ‘Skins defensive secondary could stop anybody. Well, it can at least stop the Cleveland Browns. The defense was very effective at stopping the run, bottling up Trent Richardson—yet another rookie phenom—to just 28 yards on 11 carries.
Though the game was close at halftime, the Browns were forced to try to win through the passing game. They simply don’t have the talent to do so. The ‘Skins secondary must have some contractual obligation to get torched for a big touchdown pass, as they gave up a 69-yard score from Weeden to Travis Benjamin in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, the ‘Skins defense did what it were supposed to do: win the game and vault the ‘Skins into first place in the NFC East. Though the ‘Skins, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys are all 8-6, Washington has the critical tiebreakers.
The only question though, is, who starts at quarterback next week?
