Ashburn, Va. – There have been several monkeys clinging to the Washington Redskins back over the years and this season, they have managed to get rid of a few of them. They are relatively healthy after surviving some key injuries to starters thanks to General Manager Scot McCloughan’s eye for talent. As well, Washington finally won a road game when they went to Soldier Field and beat the Chicago Bears two weeks ago. And following that game, the Redskins came home and beat the Buffalo Bills, shooing the “No-Back-to-Back-Wins” monkey away. There is one more thing they must do now and that is to have a good showing in prime time under the big lights.
In 2013, the Redskins lost all three of their national night games. In 2014, they had three prime time games and one national Saturday game (it was at 4:30) and they won two (against the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles) and lost two (against the New York Giants and the Seattle Seahawks). This season Washington has played in one Thursday Night Football game and in it, the team lost to the Giants 32-21. Then earlier this month, the Redskins hosted the Cowboys for Monday Night Football and lost that contest 16-19. This week, the Redskins have a Saturday Night Football match up against the Eagles and a win would get that last monkey — that of a good prime time showing — off of their back. It would also give them the NFC East division title.
Unfortunately for Washington, Philadelphia is also looking for a post-season opportunity and to get one, the Redskins must be beaten. The Eagles will be motivated after an ugly 40-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week (Cards QB Carsen Palmer had 274+ yards passing in that game and the team logged 230 yards rushing) and a few of the players have said they will absolutely beat the Redskins. What player on any team wouldn’t?
Recently Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks said to reporters that the Redskins have “something coming to them.” Newly-named 2015 Pro Bowler and defensive end Fletcher Cox virtually guaranteed a Philly win Saturday. This is good bulletin board material for a Redskins team that head coach Jay Gruden says is already pretty motivated.
Speaking of that, incentive can come from surprising sources.
“I mean, you’re always looking for ways to motivate your team,” the head coach said about how the team handles the negative attention outside of the facility. “Football is hard enough as it is. It’s a grind, obviously. But if you can find unique ways… and there’s a lot of doubters and a lot of haters that really had a lot of negative things to say about this franchise before the season about this team… you should take it personally. This is their jobs. This is what they are paid to do. We have a lot of pride in this locker room, and for people to give us no respect whatsoever is insulting and it is a motivational tool. I’d be stupid not to use that, in my opinion — to an extent, obviously. But to challenge these guys and let them know that, ‘Hey, this is where we are. This is where we need to get. That’s a long way.’ I think they’ve accepted the challenge and have come a long way. But I try not to buy into what people say, but to an extent, I think it was important to let them know what the views are. It wasn’t just one publication… it was ESPN, it was PFT [Pro Football Talk], it was CBS. It was all of them that had us in the 30, 31 or 32 [range]. It is what it is. We still have a long way to go obviously but we’re proud of what we’ve done so far but we have a long way to go.”
The Redskins have accomplished a great deal in 2015 and this can be credited to more than just one person or thing.
Gruden has done a masterful job of designing game plans throughout the season that brings out the best in his players. He has been outstanding in the way he has brought quarterback Kirk Cousins along so that when it’s most important, the former Spartan is playing at his best and most confident. McCloughan brought in exceptional football players throughout the season that were able to start immediately when guys went down due to injury. The players are focused, confident and united. Finally, owner Dan Snyder has remained in the background writing the required checks and supporting his team.
Saturday’s contest will be a great opportunity for the Redskins to beat the Eagles and earn the NFC East division title. As well, however, this game could very likely be the one in which Washington gets that last monkey off their back by winning a huge game on prime-time television in front of the entire country.