Redskins: Dallas hate week

The Redskins won! Time to rejoice! Time to celebrate! Now we face the dreaded Thanksgiving game.

November 20, 2012; 7:13 AM • by Beth Petty

The Redskins won! Time to rejoice! Time to celebrate! Time to overlook the fact that we beat a super mediocre team! OK, I’m obviously thrilled that we won, but the Eagles really looked rough. Like rough enough to make us look kinda awesome. This was a perfect time to get a confidence booster though. I think everyone was incredibly bummed after that Carolina loss, and Mike Shanahan’s Debbie Downer approach to the rest of the season didn’t help. I’ve got my fingers crossed that we can take this momentum into Thursday’s game against Dallas.

That’s right, folks. The dreaded Thanksgiving game. Redskins fans love our traditions—from our marching band to our fight song to the amazing Hogettes. But the Thanksgiving game against Dallas has never been one of them. My father still tears up when he thinks about the 1974 game where backup QB Clint Longely (wait, who?) came in for an injured Roger Staubach to mount a mind-blowing comeback to beat the Redskins 24-23. We’re 0-6 against the ‘Boys on Thanksgiving, but this year they don’t have Roger Staubach or Clint Longely. They have lame-o Romo who was sacked a record seven times against the Browns on Sunday. We have Robert Griffin III–and a little bit more confidence after Sunday’s crushing of Philadelphia, 31-6.

OK, I’m not sure if we really crushed Philadelphia or if they just crushed themselves, but the score does look nice, and boy, it was refreshing to relax a bit on a Sunday afternoon. We moved our record to 4-6, which I admit isn’t the best. But it isn’t the worst either (positivity!). QB Mike Vick was out of the game due to a concussion he sustained during last week’s game against Dallas, so rookie QB Nick Foles was out there. It was a little amazing to compare Foles with our rookie quarterback. RGIII had a fantastic game, and it always helps when the defense blows coverage. Right, Aldrick Robinson?

Positives

RGIII, duh. He had 200 passing yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also rushed for 84 yards. And that touchdown pass to Santana? I’m still not sure how he caught that thing–pure genius. RGIII also had a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3. OMG, I love him so much.
Thankfully, the Eagles are even worse than we are. We do have the uncanny knack of losing to the most terrible of teams (ahem, Carolina), so I’m also thankful that we were able to pull this one off. And the best part: we aren’t last in the NFC East anymore!
I never thought I would say this but our defense looked kinda OK on Sunday, right? Dallas has a weak offensive line, too, and I’d be totally OK seeing OLB Ryan Kerrigan take Romo down several times on Thursday.

Negatives

FS Brandon Meriweather is out for the season on IR with a torn ACL. What makes it even worse is that we had gotten used to Meriweather not playing all season. Then he comes in for the first time as a Redskin, is all awesome–like totally awesome–and gets a season-ending injury. I mean, that’s like having an incredible first date with someone and then never hearing from them again. Or so I’ve heard.
LB London Fletcher is in a boot right now, so I’m guessing he won’t play in Thursday’s game. Like we need any more holes in our defense. This is not great news.
WR Pierre Garcon was back in his first game since the season opener. He didn’t do much, but at least he was in? I guess? I don’t know if it’s worth the chance to keep him playing this season. And there is the possibility that the Astroturf down in Cowboys Stadium Jerry’s World may aggravate his foot even more.

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We need to translate this confidence into a win against Dallas. No, seriously. I hate losing to Dallas. Especially in Dallas. Ugh, that’s just the worst. And if we can pull this off, then maybe, just maybe, we can think about the pla—nevermind, nope, I won’t jinx it.

I leave you all with deep thoughts from DE Adam Carriker:

I’m all for allowing Texas to secede from the U.S., because its a good way to get people to stop calling the Cowboys “America’s Team”.— Adam Carriker (@AdamCarriker94) November 20, 2012