There isn’t a playoff position on the line for the Redskins; nor for the Cardinals. For all intents and purposes, this is a meaningless NFL football game. Bookmakers still have the Redskins betting odds this week as four point favorites, but it remains to be seen if the “home field” advantage will amount to much.
To be accurate, the Cardinals do technically have a mathematical chance of making the playoffs, but Venus has to align with Mars, while the Sun eclipses both. Arizona are 6-7 and while there are still scenarios that can be laid out that see them make the playoffs, they aren’t likely to happen. They are two full games back, with four to go, and there are six teams ahead of them vying for those last two Wild Card berths. Not going to happen.
The Redskins are already out and this week started to shut some things down. Jordan Reed was finally put on the injured reserve after six consecutive weeks on the inactive list. Conventional wisdom says that he will still be a Redskin in 2018, but that remains to be seen. As incredibly talented a player as the tight end obviously is, he spends as much time on the inactive list or injured reserve, as he does on the field.
Surprisingly, Trent Williams was NOT put on injured reserve. He will be having offseason knee surgery and while his tenacity and leadership is always helpful, it seems completely senseless to risk the Pro Bowl tackle even further exacerbating the injury. He has been hopping on and off the inactive list for the last two months, and it looks like he will again be a game time decision. The why of that equation is the part that doesn’t make much sense.
The Redskin to really keep your eye on down the stretch is Head Coach Jay Gruden. As little as a few weeks ago, he was all but assured of returning for 2018, but is that a foregone conclusion now? The wheels have completely fallen off the last few weeks and unless the Redskins can drastically turn things around, Gruden will find himself on the hot seat come the first of january – when the Redskins season is officially already over. The Redskins will have to obviously run the table to finish with even a .500 record, and that isn’t much for an NFL coach to aspire to. There have been games where this Washington team looks well coached, but there have been too many more where they look sloppy, ill-prepared and undisciplined. Gruden must hear thefootsteps behind him:
“I just feel like the worst coach in America to have to lose the way we’re losing.”
Is that what an organization really wants to hear the man coaching their team, say?
To be frank, the Redskins faithful are tired of it.
Fed Ex is slowly but surely getting emptier and emptier. Some of those empty seats are being lapped up by the opposition’s fans and turning Fed Ex into a sea of not-burgundy-and-gold. Gone are the days of season ticket waiting lists. The new norm is closer to challenging blackout restrictions.
People are even turning their idiot boxes off. The Redskins had the worst ratings (in their own region) of all the NFL games on TV last week.
And in that game, the Redskins looked listless and unmotivated against the Chargers with a playoff spot still technically in their grasp. It will be “interesting” to see what shows up this week at Fed Ex. It will be interesting to see how the crowd at Fed Ex looks and responds.
It could be a long day for the Redskins faithful.
Then again, when you’re 5-8 and on the outside looking in, every Redskins win has the potential for a little bit of redemption. After all, pride is worth playing for when your mind is right.