Redskins falter with weak offensive performance

On Sunday Sept. 19, the Redskins defied all expectations, underperforming horrendously to fool all of us here at Silver Chips Online. The sad thing is that even with seven turnovers compared to the N.Y. Giants one, the team still had a chance to win the game.

The Redskins came into the Meadowlands with a legitimate chance to go 2-0 versus the Giants, who were reeling from infighting between their players and head coach Tom Coughlin, as well as an embarrassing two-touchdown loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants had lost nine straight games. Kurt Warner, the Giants starting quarterback, had not had a dominating performance since the 2001 NFC Championship. The game ended 20-14, Giants.

For the first drive, it seemed as if the Redskins were going to continue their winning ways and steamroll their way over the Giants for another dominating performance. The Giants had other plans, however, and down by a touchdown, they found their winning ways; something that had been lost to them for a long, long time.

So many things went wrong for the Redskins this game, it's a wonder they were able to stay in it at all. Clinton Portis, who hadn't fumbled in 260+ touches coming into the game, fumbled not once, but twice. Mark Brunell, who hadn't thrown an interception in almost 120 passes was picked off and then injured his left hamstring allowing Patrick Ramsey to burst onto the scene. Ramsey, often criticized for his immobility, was sacked three times and hurried on almost every throw, leading to three interceptions. Rod Gardner, supposedly one of the best possession receivers in the NFL, dropped at least three passes that would have been sure first downs or touchdowns. In fact, all of the Redskin's receivers seemed to have left their hands on the sideline as the team as a whole dropped seven passes.

The one highlight of the game was the Redskin's stifling defense. In two games, the Redskins have allowed only one offensive touchdown and are still the number one ranked total defense in the league. If only the offense could start scoring points, maybe the Redskins would be 2-0 right now instead of 1-1.