The Washington Redskins are not off to the start they imagined after going to the playoffs last season and now that they are 0-2, their season could be on the line Sunday when they host the Detroit Lions at FedEx Field.
Last week the Redskins lost in embarrassing fashion to the Green Bay Packers, going down 24-0 at one point before coming back and losing 38-20. One of the main reasons for the loss was the play of Robert Griffin III, as he ended up with solid numbers but he did not look like himself for the second week in a row after being on the sidelines the entire offseason and preseason while rehabbing his serious knee injury.
Some fans have called for Kirk Cousins to start, but those calls have gone unanswered as Mike Shanahan said that Griffin will start the game and that he needs to worry only about himself and not what others are talking about him. Griffin controversially was held out of the preseason despite feeling that he was ready to get back onto the field and that layoff clearly has had some effect on him through the early part of the season, as he has been wearing a knee brace and has not looked nearly as explosive as he did last season as an electric rookie.
The team got 320 yards passing and three touchdowns from Griffin, but it was too late for the Redskins and they now are 0-2 this season after winning the NFC East last year. Griffin has to deal with the knee brace for now and while it might be hampering him early, once he gets used to it chances are things will be back to normal. His top receiver took to the radio this week to talk about it, as Pierre Garcon said that Griffin can't play like he did last season while wearing the brace.
Griffin has been noticeably bothered by the brace at times, having to adjust it while on the field and with the offense looking a bit different, he has not been quite the same player. Garcon said that Griffin still has that electric speed, but having the brace has made things a bit harder. The play of the defense hasn't helped Griffin either, as he needed to focus on passing the ball just to try and catch-up with the Packers on Sunday.
The team took a 24-0 lead into halftime and the defense has been terrible, ranking in the bottom half of the league in both rushing and passing, including last in rushing yards allowed per game with over 200 through two games. The team also gave up the most rushing yards to a Packers player than Green Bay gained in two years and now RG3 must get things together to avoid an 0-3 start.
