The Redskins Blog

Is AFC East Key To NFC Championship?

Happy belated birthday to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who would have been 86 on Jan. 15 (his actual birthday), and a Happy Inauguration Day to all. Regardless of your political persuasion, everyone can enjoy a balmy Monday off of work in the middle of January.

Unless, of course, you’re working today, in which case thank you for choosing to procrastinate with the Redskins.

Yesterday’s playoff football action determined that the Baltimore Ravens will face the San Francisco 49ers on Super Bowl Sunday in two weeks.

Even if you don’t give two hoots about the matchup, there are many heart-stopping appetizers and hilarious commercials to be watched that day, so there is something for everyone.

To find out how the Redskins’ player predictions and a weird statistical anomaly played out, check the link below: Read more »

Redskins Pumped After Win No. 1

(AP photo)

OK, it was the preseason and the games don’t actually begin counting until they take on the New Orleans Saints Sept. 9, but that doesn’t mean the Washington Redskins shouldn’t be fired up about their first win of the year.

Washington went into Ralph Wilson Stadium and handed the Buffalo Bills a 7-6 loss Thursday night, opening the preseason with win No. 1.

The players were understandably jacked up after the game, as evidenced by their tweets immediately after getting on the team bus and heading home:

Robert Griffin III:

Had fun tonight, First NFL Win & First NFL Touchdown
I know it's Preseason…, but it still counts lol—
Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) August 10, 2012

Read more »

Redskins-Bills: A Night In Instagram

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The Washington Redskins and the Buffalo Bills both opened their 2012 preseason slates Thursday night at Ralph Wilson Stadium, with the Redskins pulling out the 7-6 win.

The game will most likely be most remembered as the debut of first-round pick Robert Griffin III, and the rookie from Baylor didn’t disappoint by converting 4-of-6 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown to Pierre Garçon before ending his night.

As you can see above, we were all over Instagram with several photos from the pregame warm-ups and throughout the game. Please follow us on Instagram — you can access our feed by clicking here or by searching for “Redskins” on your mobile device.

Also, don’t hesitate to follow our Facebook, Twitter and Google+ accounts, and tell us what we’re doing wrong — and what we’re doing right.

Thanks for following tonight. We’ll be back tomorrow on the blog with lots of follow-up from the first win of the preseason, which continues Saturday, Aug. 18, with a matchup at the Chicago Bears.

Fourth Quarter Calculations

(AP photo)

The 2012 season for the Washington Redskins has officially opened in Buffalo with a 7-6 Redskins preseason win.

But before we get to the complete game reaction, here’s a little bit from the fourth quarter.

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Third Quarter Conclusions

(AP image)

The second half began for the Redskins just as the first half ended: with dominant defense.

With new Buffalo’ quarterback Vince Young in, the Bills went three and out, highlighted by a 8-yard loss on a sack by Darrion Scott and Chris Neild.

On the next play, Young found Tashard Choice on a screen pass, and cornerback David Jones rocked the running back’s bones with a great open-field hit, leading to a two-yard loss and a punt.

Read more »

First Half Impressions

(AP photo)

Things got a little sloppy in the second quarter.

It is, after all, the first preseason game for both teams — though you won’t hear either coaching staff saying that after the game.

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First Quarter Thoughts

(AP photo)

The Robert Griffin III era began tonight with a three-and-out series to start the game.

But it ended six passes later with success.

With the opening kickoff sailing over returner Brandon Banks’ head and out of the back of the end zone, Griffin III began his first drive as an NFL quarterback from the Redskins’ 20-yard line.

Read more »

Bills’ Stats Still Crossing Canadian Border

The Week 8 game against the Buffalo Bills will definitely go down as one of the strangest games of the year for the Redskins.

• First of all, it was played against a team that the Redskins rarely play, but haven’t beaten since the 1991 Super Bowl.
• Secondly, it was played in a foreign country, which prints hockey games on their official currency.
• Thirdly, it’s safe to say that the Redskins didn’t get the results they were hoping for.

And that was all during the game.  The real fun began after.

Three days after the game, we learned that instead of the nine sacks that the Bills’ defense had been credited with, there should have been 10.

And now, 17 days later, the NFL and Elias Sports Bureau have credited Redskins punter Sav Rocca with an additional punt downed inside the 20.

Sporting news must simply take longer to travel across international boundaries.

The situation occurred in the first quarter, on the Redskins’ second possession.  The drive began on the Redskins 39 and stalled after a three-and-out on the Redskins 48.  On fourth-and-1, Rocca punted the ball to the Bills 10-yard line, where it was a fair caught by C.J. Spiller.  But a penalty on the Redskins moved the ball to the 20, and was ruled as not “inside the 20.”

But technically, it still counts. Read more »

Monday Morning In Fast Forward

AP Image

Oddly enough, when the Redskins landed in Washington last night, it was about 15 degrees colder than it was in Ontario, hours earlier.  And the weather wasn’t the only thing that was frosty.

From the general reaction to the game last night, I wasn’t sure if the sun would rise in Washington today.  If there is something to hang your hat on from last night, just know that the score was based on the metric system.

The Bills really only scored 14 U.S. points.

Most people in Washington will spend the next three days harping on what happened over the last three weeks, but today seems like a good day to live in the present.   Read more »

Fourth Quarter Frustrations

AP Image

Perhaps Canada is best left to ice hockey and Celine Dion.

This was a tough loss today, against a very good football team.  The Redskins got beat in every statistical category that matters: total yards, turnovers, time of possession, penalty yards, first downs…you get the point.

This has been a disappointing stretch for a team that, at the bye week, was in first place in the NFC East.  They have yet to win in this quarter of the season, and the November and December schedule looms large.

Yes, the Redskins are dealing with injuries, but that’s not much consolation in a shutout.  This was the first time in Mike Shanahan’s head coaching career that he was shut out in a game.  The last time that the Redskins were shut out in a game was Week 16 of 2009 against the Cowboys.  This game was held in hostile territory against a high-flying team, but the Redskins certainly had their opportunities, and simply didn’t make the most of them.

Perhaps the greatest sense of hope can be found by looking across the field at the far sidelines, to see the meteoric rise of the Buffalo Bills.  Respectfully, this is a team that has wallowed in mediocrity for much of the 2000s, until things have magically clicked this season.  On offense, they have a journeyman quarterback that’s finally putting it all together.  Clearly, they struck gold with Fred Jackson at running back, who has already eclipsed 1,000 yards from scrimmage on the season.  At receiver, the Bills have young, fast playmakers, and they have a line up front that gives them time to execute on offense.  This was a similar cast of characters that went 4-12 last year.  With their fifth win today, they’ve already surpassed that in 2011.

Youth is an X-factor in the NFL, and it can only be harnessed as much as it can be trusted: irregularly.  But these are the types of games, against the type of playmakers, that show Redskins coaches what the team has.  These are the types of games, against the type of playmakers, that teach the young Redskins players how to better prepare next time.  It’s not pretty, but it only counts for one loss.  The last three games only count for three losses.  The important element is how this team responds to these losses down the stretch.

There’s a lot of reason to believe in what’s happening in Washington, even after a disheartening loss.

I can’t wait to get home, and I’m kissing the ground when we land in Washington.  So long from Canada: Redskins 0, Bills 23.