Sunday’s home-opener at FedEx Field faced a controversial ending that still has many Redskins fans shaking their heads. There was less than a minute remaining on the clock and the Redskins were getting deeper and deeper into Bengals territory. Following an on-side kick which went in the Bengals favor; our defense was able to hold their own, eventually giving the offense one more shot at victory. However, on second down, victory came to a halt when the referee decided to shave 10 seconds off the clock after killing the prior play with no time outs remaining, which should have only resulted in a 5-yard penalty. This caused the referees to end the game, which sent FedEx Field into frenzy. Time was put back on the clock, however, an un-sportsman-like conduct penalty was called against the Redskins resulting in a 3^rd and 45 positioning for which pushed Robert Griffin III back into Redskins territory, causing him to throw a hail-mary for an impressive 100 yards.

Following the game, Offensive Coordinator, Kyle Shanahan was seen chasing the replacement referees into the locker room yelling profane language which eventually cost him a $25,000 fine. Can you honestly blame him for saying what everyone else was thinking?

With that said, protection needs to be secured for Griffin who has taken 9 sacks this season (6^th most in the NFL.) He may not feel it now, but if he keeps taking the hits like he has been, he’s going to start to feel the repercussions of it come the next several weeks. With everything we gave up to acquire him in the draft, his protection needs to be a top priority.

Needless to say, these pass protection issues don’t seem to be improving which will ultimately cost us another win. With that said, our offensive line also continues to struggle as we allowed six sacks on QB RGIII and seven knock-downs. The Bengals came in with one mission and that was to get after the young quarterback, and that they did. Center, Will Montgomery, made a statement following Sunday’s game, “The offense was plagued by poor execution, which lead Griffin trying to create his own plays.” I think I can speak for everyone when I say, this isn’t a one –man show, this is a team effort in which everyone needs to step up and know their role.

Poor execution is the excuse being used for LT Trent Williams’ early exit from the game due to a knee injury. However, this injury shouldn’t be blamed for break downs on the O-line. Luckily, Williams MRI came back negative and he’s taking his injury one day at a time per Redskins.com.  This team is becoming more injury prone than any team I’ve seen in the past. If we can’t remain healthy, they’re going to start bringing in replacement players and all chaos is going to break loose.

However, after Orakpo went down in week two, OLB Rob Jackson stepped up in a big way, making his first career start a memorable one. He made his first career interception for a touchdown after he picked off Bengals QB Andy Dalton at the 1-yard line for the TD after a blitz by the beautiful LB, Ryan Kerrigan. This forced Dalton to throw to avoid the safety. However, the two points he could’ve taken, resulted in seven points for the Redskins.

With injuries working against us, the Redskins will have to overcome the odds in Tampa vs. the Buccaneers on Sunday. Defense will have to step it up this week and they need to find a consistency with the offense if they want their second victory of the season.  Personally, I haven’t been able to sing “Hail to the Redskins, Hail Victory” since week 1 and I’m starting to forget the words.

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Written by Kara

Kara is a Maryland native who was born and raised a Redskins fan. A Stevenson University graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business Communication, she currently resides in Frederick, Maryland where she is pursuing her master’s in Business Administration at Hood College. During her four years at Stevenson, she was the goalkeeper to the field hockey team where she broke several school records and continues her passion for field hockey by coaching at the collegiate level. Aside from being a passionate Redskins fan, Kara is also a Washington Capitals and Washington Nationals fan. Her love for D.C. sports was evident at an early age and it’s been said she knew both versus to “Hail to the Redskins” before her “ABC’s.”