One Washington D.C. columnist came up with a theory for why the Redskins should concede victory to the New England Patriots — sit all their starters — and simply prepare for an easier task against the Saints.
Why send your best soldiers out to slaughter against the juggernaut that is New England — when you can save their legs for a winnable game against the Saints?
The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg delves into his reasoning for the Redskins laying down to the Pats.
Now let me ask you this: If the Redskins began game-planning for the Saints right now, and also rested all their best and most banged-up players against New England, would they have a better chance to beat New Orleans? Even just a slightly better chance? You’d have to guess they would, right?
So if you saunter from A to B and then pause to reflect, you will pretty quickly agree that there’s only one logical conclusion here: The Redskins should punt on this weekend’s game. Accept the loss to New England. Saints week starts now.
And so fine, more data. As I type, the Redskins are 14-point underdogs this weekend. Since 2011, NFL road teams that are at least 14-point underdogs are 0-23. Since 2007, the Patriots are 17-0 when favored by at least 14 points. And since Daniel Snyder bought the Redskins, they’re 1-10 when double-digit underdogs, with the only win coming as a 10-point underdog, which is an awful long distance from the full 14.
I mean, the Redskins have topped 35 points once in Jay Gruden’s 23 games. The Patriots are averaging more than 35 points a game. Heck, when Clinton Portis was asked on the team’s flagship station to lay out the blueprint for a Redskins win, he declined. “I just don’t see it [as] possible,” he said.
Steinberg goes on to explain that by sitting his starters against the Patriots, who they have no shot at outscoring, the Redskins would essentially guarantee themselves a second bye-week.
DeSean Jackson is finally ready to play. Jordan Reed seems relatively okay. Kerrigan and Chris Culliver are plucky, but banged-up. These are all key pieces, and they’re all currently fragile. Why waste any of their health points in a lost cause? Is Bernie Sanders going to pour precious resources into Alabama? Is The Washington Post going to spent marketing money hawking print subscriptions to millennials? And seriously, can you imagine the agony if Jackson or Reed gets injured during an inevitable loss to the Patriots and then can’t play against New Orleans?
How about it Redskins fans.
Would you sacrifice a blowout loss to the Patriots in order to ensure a playoff birth out of the weak NFC East?