Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
With each passing day, it seems more and more as if the Washington Redskins made the biggest mistake of the 2013 NFL season by allowing Robert Griffin III to come back from a torn ACL to begin the season.
Since coming back, Griffin has simply looked like a different player than in 2012. His speed, elusiveness, long range passing ability and even confidence have all been dramatically reduced. No more has this mistake been more apparent than during the Redskins’ 31-16 loss to the hated Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.
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During the game, Griffin completed a mere 19 out of 39 passes for 246 passing yards, 0 touchdowns and one interception. Displays like this have seemingly become a commonplace things for Griffin during the 2013 season. Even when he does put up great statistics, such as in the first three games of the season, they seem to come at meaningless times when there is no pressure.
When pressure situations do arrive, it seems as if Griffin is tentative to truly plant his surgically-repaired right knee and fire the ball like we all know that he can.
On the ground, Griffin did run nine times for 77 yards, but this contribution was significantly diminished by the fact that he fumbled the ball twice and lost one fumble. This has continued a very worrying trend in which Griffin has fumbled three times in the first four games.
These fumbles signify both a lack of strength and awareness that often comes back to bite the Redskins late in games, as it did when Griffin turned the ball over midway through the fourth quarter and the Cowboys subsequently scored the touchdown that put the game out of reach.
With poor games continuing to become common for Griffin, it is apparent that his play is costing the Redskins games on a weekly basis.
It stands to reason that Kirk Cousins would be a better option at quarterback during the remainder of the 2013 season than Griffin. Cousins may not be as talented as his counterpart, but there is also no doubting that he would be much more consistent and bring a realm of calmness to the Redskins.
If Mike Shanahan continues to ignore this common wisdom, he will only be hurting the rest of the players within the Redskins locker room, who continue to fight each week while their quarterback routinely makes mistakes.
Tyler Leli is a Washington Capitals writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or join his network on Google.
