It was a fitting ending for Washington in the loss that mathematically eliminated them from the playoffs. The end of Washington’s loss to New York was one of the most bizarre series of events to end a game since Saturday’s Iron Bowl. A second down pass looked like it was a yard short of a first down but the refs singled for a first down and the chains moved. Washington went for a deep pass that was dropped by Fred Davis and then followed that up with a pass to Pierre Garcon that was good for a first down but was ripped from Garcon’s hands by a New York defensive back to seal the game.
It was bizarre but it was so Washington. The game started out with promise as the offense, defense, and even special teams came out sharp and ready to play. Washington scored on their opening drive for the first time all season and then forced Eli Manning to go three and out before taking a 14-0 lead. New York would end up tying it up before the half and then Washington’s coaching came into play.
It wasn’t like Washington gave up on running the football but they gave up on running the football with Alfred Morris. With all the attempted trick plays and going away from the middle running game it was like Kyle Shanahan thought 14-14 was the same as 28-0. It is strange to watch a team in a tie game completely lose its composure and abandon what they do best. Morris is a strong middle of the field runner and teams that win can control the middle of the field. Washington didn’t do that in the second half of this game. They tried to run outside and pass to receivers who appeared to have butter on their hands.
The circumstances at the end aside Washington didn’t look ready for the adjustments that New York made early on. They started with a plan that worked and then when New York was able to stop it they were unable to re-adjust and come up with a plan that would work. Washington is one of the best running teams in the NFL and Morris is a top five running back in the league. It is strange that in a close game he would be completely abandoned. It is what Washington does well, the only thing they’ve done well this season, and they went away from it early on in a winnable game.
Trying to figure out the why of Washington shouldn’t be done anymore. If you do you’ll end up at 11:35 on a Sunday night writing about a game when you should be in bed sleeping next to your beautiful wife and loyal hound dog. Week after week is the same in the world of Washington football and like the bizarre ending to this evening’s affair it will never make sense, and continuing to watch is staring into the abyss as your life slowly drains away.
