San Francisco 49ers VS Washington Redskins, a Monday night game in the 12th week of the regular season.
During the offseason, this game had high hopes, and many analysts and commentators expressed that they were particularly looking forward to this game; but after the start of the new season, the performance of the two teams was far below expectations, killing everyone. Caught off guard, things seemed to deviate from the original track.
The side also proves once again that the competition in the NFL is fierce, and the ups and downs between seasons are definitely not that simple.
Of course, the San Francisco 49ers need not go into details, and the Washington Redskins are also stuck in the quagmire of defeat.
In the wild card game last season, Griffin injured his right knee again in the fourth quarter of the game against the Seattle Seahawks on the fourteenth day of the regular season and was forced to leave the game; after the game, he was diagnosed The cruciate ligament and tibial collateral ligament of his right knee were torn at the same time. He immediately underwent surgery and then entered a long period of recuperation.
Due to the recovery from surgery and subsequent rehabilitation, Griffin missed all training camps and all preseason games of the Washington Redskins. His recovery status and game feel became a huge question mark, but when the regular season opened, head coach Mike Shaner Han still announced Griffin's return to the starting quarterback position, expressing his firm trust.
But injuries are injuries after all. Even if they recover, they will no longer be the same as before. The style and content of the game will inevitably change significantly.
Due to knee injuries, Griffin's read-option offense and the number of times he holds the ball have dropped significantly, and correspondingly, the proportion of passes he makes has increased significantly.
But this is not the style of play that running quarterbacks are good at. Griffin's number of personal turnovers has greatly increased, fully doubling compared with the same period last season, and the passing accuracy has also fluctuated drastically; at the same time, This also broke the balance of the team's offensive tactics manual. Last season, the powerful threats of the Washington Redskins' multiple offenses plummeted, and the tactical arrangement and combination were obviously constrained, forcing the team's offense to fall into a deep quagmire.
The new season started with three consecutive losses, and then the Washington Redskins finally defeated the Oakland Raiders, ushering in their first win of the season and getting a brief buffer period; then they entered the bye week, and in the six games they returned, they lost to The Dallas Cowboys, defeated the Chicago Bears, lost to the Denver Broncos, defeated the San Diego Chargers, and then lost to the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles in consecutive games.
So far, the Washington Redskins' season record is temporarily fixed at three wins and seven losses.
Objectively speaking, the record data is not satisfactory, but it is not terrible. Comparing the data of the same period last season, it is clear at a glance:
At this time last season, the Washington Redskins entered the offseason adjustment with three wins and six losses. After returning from the break, they won a wave of seven consecutive victories and entered the playoffs in one go; their current record is three With seven wins and seven losses, who can be sure that they can't win another six games in a row to complete their counterattack?
But the question is, are the situations last season and this season really the same?
Last season, rookie quarterback Griffin quickly adapted to the rhythm of the league after a fierce impact in the first half of the season. In the second half of the season, he found the feel and rhythm. The tactical system established with the read option offense as the core played well. The Tigers were so powerful that they continuously took the advantage in head-to-head confrontations, and finally achieved a counterattack of seven consecutive victories.
This season, second-year quarterback Griffin suffered from a knee injury, and the proportion of read-option offenses dropped significantly. He was forced to return to the traditional pocket quarterback game and re-establish a tactical system. This is almost equivalent to abolishing martial arts. Starting from scratch, and in a way and style that I am not good at, how easy is it to win six consecutive games?
Of course, through the "45:41" victory over the Chicago Bears, Griffin's offensive talent is still amazing. From last season to this season, this is an undoubted thing; but facing the obstacles of the "rookie wall" In the face of the impact of the right knee injury, how successful can Griffin be?
In two seasons, similar situations have different situations. All the weight is on the shoulders of the sophomore Griffin.
"San Francisco 49ers VS Washington Redskins", this game came under such a background.
At the current point in time, both teams are in a relatively unstable state: they have certain abilities, are facing many difficulties, and also have hope. This season still has many different possible trends. Next It depends on what kind of answer the two teams can deliver in the process of facing challenges and tempering.
Before the official start of the twelfth week of the regular season, the analysts and commentators of "Inside the League" also talked about this game:
"On the one hand, although the San Francisco 49ers are currently facing many difficulties and there are many variables, overall, they still show an upward curve. Lu Ke still occupies the starting position, allowing the team to find its backbone and regain its strength. The undefeated force with a tough style.”
"On the other hand, the overall condition of the Washington Redskins has not changed much. It has always been in a struggling flat state, just like an electrocardiogram, fluctuating violently up and down but ultimately unable to find a stable rhythm. Griffin remains the same. There’s no style that fits the ‘pocket quarterback’ style.”
"Relatively speaking, the San Francisco 49ers have the upper hand in this game."
Among the ten analysts and commentators, the final selection result was "8:2", with the San Francisco 49ers winning eight votes.
Before heading to Washington for an away game, the San Francisco 49ers released the latest injury report:
Tight end Vernon Davis had to miss four to six games due to a serious concussion. It is still unknown whether he can catch up with the last game of the season.
Safety guard Eric Reed suffered a concussion against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 and was unable to complete the game, but the condition was relatively minor at the time and he did not miss subsequent games; this is his first time this season. After suffering a concussion for the second time, the situation was better than expected and he only had to miss two games.
Offensive guard Mike Lupati's old shoulder injury resurfaced during Thursday's training. After a X-ray examination, the doctor will need to rest and adjust for at least one to two weeks. The follow-up situation will be determined based on the recovery status and cannot be advanced for the time being. Conclusions must be drawn with caution.
In addition, wide receiver Mario Manningham suffered a minor thigh muscle strain and will also miss one game.
Amid all the bad news, there is good news.
After a long period of rest and rehabilitation, wide receiver Michael Crabtree's torn Achilles tendon was finally declared recovered. He has officially returned to the training base this week and started training.
The most concerning thing is undoubtedly Lu Ke's injury.
In the game against the New Orleans Saints, Lu Ke's passing accuracy dropped significantly, and anyone with a discerning eye could see the clues; then Lu Ke missed Tuesday's recovery training. Although the official announcement did not mention Lu Ke's injury, fans and the industry The reporters still paid attention one after another.
Subsequently, the team issued an official announcement. Lu Ke's arm muscle was slightly strained, but it was not serious. His performance during training was normal. He will continue to start in the game against the Washington Redskins.
On November 25th, at 8:40 pm Eastern Time and 5:40 pm Western Time in North America, the Monday Night Game officially started.
Although the analysis and commentators "within the league" have given a general outline of the trend, the actual progress of the game still brought a lot of surprises - not twists and turns, but easy surprises.
From the first second of the game, the San Francisco 49ers took control of the game and firmly controlled the trend of the game. They never let the game process escape their control. In a steady and solid way, they won the victory steadily. middle. There were no twists or turns, and the San Francisco 49ers' victory was "unexpectedly" easy.
Although the recent situation of the Washington Redskins is not good, the San Francisco 49ers' control over the entire game is still impressive. After experiencing the dissipation of the "invincible halo" in the last game, the team quickly collected their emotions and refocused their attention. He put his strength into this game in the best condition.
It was not the offensive team led by Lu Ke that dominated this game, but the defensive team led by Willis!
Even though Aldon Smith is missing, even though many veterans on the defensive front are injured, even though Willis only played in three quarters, and even though the second line of defense is short of major generals, the defensive team that plays with a broken lineup still relies on teamwork. The power completely dominated the game.
Defensive front: four sacks, nine quarterback rushes, 17 effective pressures, one pass shot.
Defensive second line: Seventeen effective tackles, 22 timely interceptions, and one interception.
Such dazzling performance data is a nightmare for any offensive team. The quarterback and offensive linemen are almost breathless in the storm, starting from the pressure of the front line to the outflanking of the second line. , the San Francisco 49ers defensive team, which played with an "old, weak, sick and disabled" lineup, once again showed a dominant level.
Throughout the game, the defensive team led by Willis restricted the Washington Redskins offensive team to immobility:
It advanced 114 yards on the ground and 76 yards passing the ball. The opponent was allowed to advance a total of 190 yards in the game. In addition, the opponent was only allowed to get only ten first downs in the game!
Total suppression!
In the end, the Washington Redskins only successfully advanced to the free kick area twice in the second quarter and scored six points. They were completely shut out in the other three quarters and were almost unable to fight back. The game was over in the second half of the third quarter. It entered garbage time early, and there was not even a little bit of suspense.
It is particularly worth mentioning that this was the worst game of Robert Griffin III's career:
From the NCAA to the NFL, in six seasons, this was the first time in history that Griffin failed to score a touchdown - neither a passing touchdown nor a running touchdown.
