| RG3 was sacked four times by the Panthers Sunday. (US Presswire) |
There wasn't much to like about the Redskins' latest loss, an underwhelming 21-13 home effort to the previously 1-6 Panthers, but there are worse things than a third straight defeat. Like, say, the prospect of losing your franchise quarterback for any length of time. Following the game, rookie Robert Griffin III had X-rays on his ribs to make sure they hadn't been broken during the game.
Thankfully, the results were negative.
RG3 was sacked four times and absorbed twice as many hard hits, several coming late in the game as he tried to rally Washington after they fell behind by 15 points. According to the Washington Post's Mike Jones, Griffin had the X-rays taken almost immediately following the game after he reported soreness in his left side.
Both the quarterback and coach Mike Shanahan said Griffin has sore ribs but no fractures.
“I’m fine. I’ll be ready to go,” RG3 said following the loss. “No one is ever going to question the fight I have inside myself to be the greatest and to help this team to victory. It doesn’t matter what it is; I will make sure that I continue to help my team win games and that it starts right after the bye.”
We applaud Griffin's moxie, but the reality of the situation in Washington is this: while RG3 is undoubtedly one of the league's future stars, the Skins have no one to help him -- on either side of the ball. Key players (Brian Orakpo, Adam Carriker, Pierre Garcon) are injured, and those behind them on the depth chart haven't stepped up. And to hear Shanahan's post-game comments, it doesn't sound like he expects that to change anytime soon.
"When you lose a game like that now you're playing to see who is going to be on your football team for years to come," Shanahan said. "Now we get a chance to evaluate players and see where we're at.
"Obviously, we're not out of it statistically, but now we find out what type of character we got and how guys keep on fighting through the rest of the season."
To reiterate: it's Week 9, not Week 15. And as long as the Skins have RG3, they'll have a chance. They just need to find a few able-bodied players to make a few tackles and catch a few passes. So far, it's been a struggle.
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