Washington Redskins: The Season That Could Have Been
With 11:35 remaining in the 4th quarter of what would become the season-ending loss for the Washington Redskins on Thursday Night Football, we saw flashes of the team that could have been. It took only 9 plays for the Redskins to go 87 yards in just over 3 minutes. It is drives like this that will haunt Redskins fans for the next 4 weeks, constantly reminding them of what could have been.
If you are a passive viewer and only see highlights of the Redskins games or just see the final scores on social media, it is easy to say that they are just a bad team. However, anyone who has been watching the Redskins each week has seen a different story. We have seen this team go into Seattle and beat one the NFL’s toughest teams with a makeshift offensive line. We have seen this team go toe-to-toe with the then undefeated Kanas City Chiefs. We have seen this team dismantle one of the NFL’s best offenses in the Oakland Raiders. It is why, even with a season plagued by injuries, there was still hope for a late playoff push going into the game against the Dallas Cowboys. But just like a battery, for every positive there has been a negative to follow right behind.
It is hard to pinpoint what has been the biggest disappointment of the 2017 campaign considering there are so many of them. Is it the lack of a run game even though the Redskins have one of the best offensive lines (when healthy) in the NFL? Don’t believe me? Go back and watch the film against the Rams in week 2. The Redskins dominated one of the best front 7 in football and got one of their most impressive wins of the year on the road in LA. Or is it the lack of production from a non-existent receiving corps? Last year the Redskins had 2 receivers eclipse 1,000 yards. This year they will be lucky to have one get close to those numbers. Any way you slice it – there is plenty of blame to go around and one of these was on prominent display in the Dallas game.
Coming into the season, CBS sports fantasy writer Dave Richard wrote the following about Redskins wide receiver Jamison Crowder, “Crowder’s good hands and quality routes should give him a shot at reeling in at least 65 percent of his targets…I would also expect Crowder to keep up his 12.6 receiving yard average from last year and catch over 76 hauls, that puts him at 958 yards.” Just like the Redskins season, we have seen flashes of the player everyone thought Crowder was going to be at points. Then come games like last week that can only categorize this year as a huge disappointment for him. Not only did he miss an easy pass that led to a key interception, he also fumbled his third punt return of the season. Many forget that the Redskins drafted Crowder more for his punt returning ability than his possible production as a receiver. It is this total 180 that have many Redskins fans scratching their heads while wondering what has happened to this once dominant special teamer.
Crowder himself is certainly not the only one to blame for the Redskins’ woes this season. He is just one of many examples that remind us of what could have been. From the highest highs to the lowest lows, these emotions are nothing new to Redskins fans. This season has been a constant roller coaster that finally came to the end of its tracks last Thursday night against the Cowboys.
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