The Giants received a rare laugher of a win on Sunday after dismantling an inept Washington Redskins team of the score of 40-16 at FedEx Field. But this wasn’t about how improved the Giants are from two months ago. This was more about the ineptness of the Redskins as an organization under the failed Daniel Snyder era.
The Redskins clearly had no interest in playing. Their defense decided to let Giants rookie running back Saquon Barkley run over them for 170 yards, and their offense was so offensive. The game was over by halftime when the Giants took a 34-0 lead by scoring 27 points in the second quarter. It symbolized the lack of leadership and organization under that organization for two decades.
They not only stink on the field, but also off the field. They had one chance to erase all their public relation blunders with one move. Instead, they blew it by not signing Colin Kaepernick as the quarterback after Alex Smith was out for the season with a broken leg and Colt McCoy was out for the season with a broken leg.
They rather lose by signing Mark Sanchez and Josh Johnson, who played against the Giants and stunk. Sanchez hasn’t worked out in training camp this season, and Johnson hasn’t thrown a pass since 2011.
The excuse the Redskins offered for signing Sanchez and Johnson instead of signing Kaepernick was because those two know the Redskins offense much better than the former 49ers quarterback. It was easy to sense hogwash from miles away.
Sanchez finished 6 of 14 for 38 yards with two interceptions and a paltry 10.7 QB rating before he was mercifully benched for Johnson, who completed 11 of 16 for 195 yards with a 104.9 QB rating.
The Redskins should have publicly admitted they did not want to sign Kaepernick because they did not want to deal with the public relations blunder that comes with signing him. As we all know, the one-time 49ers quarterback has not played in the NFL in a year and a half because he kneeled rather than stand up for the national anthem because he was standing up for police brutality.
The gall. The nerve. The shame.
By not signing Kaepernick, the Redskins sent a message that they rather lose with an atrocious quarterback rather than winning with him. It’s no wonder the players don’t feel obligated to play hard. It’s no wonder the team has called it a season. The score was a reflection of all that.
Yes, Kaepernick has been rusty as a result of a long layoff. Yes, he has not worked out in quite some time. No matter. He is better than Sanchez and Johnson, even if those two have been playing in the league for quite some time. At least, he would have put points on the scoreboard. He would have given the Redskins a much-needed spark after losing Smith for the season. He would have helped them make the playoffs by winning the NFC East. He would have given them a fighting chance to win every game. His presence itself would have galvanized the team.
There’s no way the Redskins would be losing five in a row with him at quarterback.
Don’t even say that he hasn’t played in years when Sanchez and Johnson haven’t play much, either. Don’t even argue that it’s hard to plug a quarterback in when the current Redskins quarterbacks are under center despite sitting in their couch in recent months. Don’t dare say he is not good enough when he is better than those two.
The Redskins don’t want Kaepernick because he would cause media distraction that coaches and players don’t want to deal with. They don’t want him because they don’t want to be a talking point on ESPN and national news organizations for hiring a guy who apparently wanted to stand up for police brutality.
It would be understandable if only the Redskins didn’t sign Reuben Foster, who was involved in a domestic dispute incident with estranged girlfriend Elissa Ennis. He allegedly hit her. He apparently is good enough to play for them despite all that, but Kaepernick is not.
Just signing a woman-beater is good enough for the Redskins, but a guy who refused to stand up for the national anthem is deemed as toxic. Talk about misplaced priorities. Talk about stupidity. It’s no wonder why the Redskins have been a dysfunctional franchise for a long time. It’s decisions like this.
Call Sunday’s Giants beatdown of the Redskins as karma. Not just for denying Kaepernick a job, but for signing a guy that put his hands on a lady.
If Kaepernick played, there’s no way the Redskins lose to the Giants in this lopsided score. If he played, the Redskins would not be in a slide. If he played, the game would have been entertaining instead of the Redskins playing dead.
All we can do is wonder what if.
This is not only the Redskins’ loss, but it’s the football fans’ loss.
