The final day before vacation, do you start clock watching by lunch?
The Redskins face the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight before taking off for bye week. Washington has gone longer than any other NFL team. Five preseason games. Eight regular season games. It has been a long grind since July 20. Six days each week, plenty of bumps and bruises. And don’t say poor baby, you haven’t had a vacation this year. Most people couldn’t survive a month in this world.
Defensive coordinator Greg Blache said players looked like the Confederate Army heading home from the war over the last week.
“We are tired and weary — a very beat up football team at this point in time,” Blache said, “which is why we need to take a deep breath and make one more push before the bye.”
Unfortunately, the Redskins (6-2) face the equally-bruising Steelers (5-2) at FedEx Field. Pittsburgh plays smashmouth ball like NFC East teams. The Steelers are the No. 1 defense overall and versus the pass and third against the run.
It’s another trap game. If the Redskins are lured by vacation, this game will be over by halftime. If tired, they won’t survive the fourth quarter that has largely been their time to win. Even if they give it everything they have, the game will probably still come down to the final moments like the last seven weeks have seen.
The Redskins get a chance before a national audience to prove they’re not a fluke.
“This game Monday night is huge,” Blache said. “A big game, great opponent at home. … [The defense has] to stand up, be the big brother and do what our offense has done for us all year, stand tall and help alleviate the pressure off them.”
Ironically, the energy in the locker room mirrors the same in every workplace around town. The Super Bowl of politics, which is the other sport Washingtonians live for, comes in the morning. Players have argued over candidates in hallways, training room and parking lot.
“When I saw that [game] at the beginning of the year,” coach Jim Zorn said, “I thought [NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell had a sense of humor, putting that game on Monday night. It is pretty incredible that we get to be here in our nation’s capital and play a very good football team and then have the election the next day. There will be a lot of excitement around the D.C. area — no question.”
Hopefully, the Redskins will use that energy one last night before resting.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
