Redskins Get Dose Of Reality In Pittsburgh
- Updated: October 28, 2012
Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
Redskins fans probably would have preferred if Hurricane Sandy hit a day early after what took place in Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon. Needless to say, the performance was one you’d like to forget quickly.
It appeared that everything that could have gone wrong in Pittsburgh went wrong. Whether that was due to the weather or the team being unprepared, nobody knows, but the performance was by far the worst we’ve seen all season.
That’s not to take away credit from a Pittsburgh Steelers team that has been dominate at home, not to mention pretty good all season long. While injuries have plagued the Steelers just as much as they have the Redskins, the difference between the two is the amount of depth Pittsburgh has.
As we found out this afternoon, the backups of Pittsburgh are just as equally qualified to be starters than the ones currently in place – and with a Redskins team out of sync that only made things easier for the Steelers.
Robert Griffin III threw for a career low 177 yards, a lot which can be put on dropped passes by the Redskins receivers who not only would have hauled in touchdowns at times, but also important yards and first downs.
Not only was Griffin shut down, but so was rookie sensation Alfred Morris, who rushed for 59 yards on 13 total carries. Needless to say both he and Griffin found their matches on Sunday in a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that wouldn’t be fooled.
Dick LeBeau has been one of the better coaches in the league for a reason, and on Sunday we found out why as he exploited the two rookies lack of experience in the NFL.
Unfortunately when it rains it pours, and it did literally both of that in Pittsburgh. Not only was Washington’s explosive offense dormant, but a bad defense looked even worse at times. DeAngelo Hall was a prime example of that after he was ejected from the game for ripping off his helmet and berating an official; something no captain should do.
That’s one thing the Redskins have had trouble doing all season — and that’s controlling their tempers on the field. As we’ve seen far too many times this season, the Washington Redskins have been getting into far too many scraps compared to previous years under Mike Shanahan who is know for having has well-disciplined football teams.
On top of that, the defense seemed to be lost and confused on the field, as the Steelers seemed to toy with them as they went up and down the field with massive rushes by third string running back Jonathan Dwyer whom the Redskins failed to stop all day, allowing 107 yards off 17 rushes.
While the Redskins did contain Mike Wallace most of the game, they failed to shut down the other threats, especially the most obvious one in Heath Miller who scored not only a touchdown, but hauled in four receptions for 46 yards.
What might have been more surprising was the kicking woes coming back to bite the Redskins. Sav Rocca had his worst punt ever, an eight yarder, while newly acquired kicker Kai Forbath missed an extra point attempt. All while former Redskins kicker Shaun Suisham poured salt in the wounds by making multiple kicks from distances he failed to make in Washington.
Unlike previous games where the Redskins would show up for at least one of the halves, the Redskins failed to do that to get any sustainable drives going. This resulted in the Redskins attempting new tricks, such as the flea flicker, which failed miserably, and an end-around throw which nearly got Robert Griffin III killed for the second time this season.
Perhaps this was due to what some are calling a “gimmick” offense finally being shut down by one of the better defenses in the league. As we saw, the trickery was ineffective, the pistol formation were rarely ran, and the quarterback draws stood little to no chance from the beginning. Robert Griffin III ran the ball six times on Sunday, resulting in eights yards total. The only other team to keep him under 10 yards this season was the Atlanta Falcons.
The Redskins were completely outmatched on Sunday, and hopefully they can use this loss as a way to effectively game plan for the rest of season. If not, much like they saw today, the Redskins will have trouble with the rest of the teams on their schedule because they can not only play defense, but they can also put up points.
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