The Washington Snyders this week will be playing a winless team for the SIXTH CONSECUTIVE WEEK.
That is one of the most amazing things I have ever heard in sports. And it’s absolutely legit too.
Week 1: You always play a winless team in the opening week, of course. That’s why seasons start with hope. Washington loses to Giants 23-17. Giants have twice as much total yardage, but Washington mostly keeps the Giants out the end zone (New York settles for three Lawrence Tynes field goals) and scores last to make the score look respectable. The Giants are the only team on the Redskins schedule (so far) with a non-Washington victory.
Week 2: Washington beats astonishingly bad (and still winless) St. Louis Rams 9-7. Believe it or not — and here’s ANOTHER amazing statistic for you — the seven points the Rams scored in that game is more than their season average. They have scored 34 points in five games, an average of 6.8. If they keep it up (and I’m assured by people who watch the Rams regularly that they COULD keep it up) the Rams would become the lowest scoring NFL team since the merger.
It’s amazing to think that it has been less than a decade since the Rams were the “Greatest Show On Turf.” What are they now? “The Most Godforsaken Players on Turf?”
Week 3: Washington loses to the winless Lions 19-14. The Lions, of course, were not just winless this year, but they did not win a game last year either. The Lions had to beat SOMEBODY, and Washington seemed like the right team.
Week 4: Washington beats winless Tampa Bay 16-14. It’s a strange thing … Tampa Bay has been mostly good for about a dozen years. They have had eight winning records in those 12 seasons, made the playoffs seven times, won one Super Bowl and lost in one of the more compelling NFC Championship games. In other words, it has been a long time since the Bucs have been a joke. And yet … they move so naturally and easily back into jokedom that it hardly seems like Leeman Bennett has ever been gone.
Week 5: Washington blows a 15-point lead in the second half and loses to the winless Carolina Panthers. Carolina QB Jake Delhomme throws an interception for the fourth consecutive game — he now has eight picks in four games this season. He did not throw one in the bye week … though I’m certain he threw several near-picks. I’m not entirely how you lose a 15-point lead to a Jake Delhomme team — a muffed punt certainly helps.
Week 6: Washington plays the winless Kansas City Chiefs this week, a Chiefs team that has lost 28 of their last 30 games. I wish there was a streak report on Football Reference like there is on Baseball Reference … I cannot imagine many teams in NFL history have lost 28 of 30 games.*
In fact, think about this: We know no NFL team has lost 30 games in a row. So the worst a team has been over 30 games is 1-29. That’s just not much worse than 2-28, is it?
-Joe Posnanski's Blog
That is one of the most amazing things I have ever heard in sports. And it’s absolutely legit too.
Week 1: You always play a winless team in the opening week, of course. That’s why seasons start with hope. Washington loses to Giants 23-17. Giants have twice as much total yardage, but Washington mostly keeps the Giants out the end zone (New York settles for three Lawrence Tynes field goals) and scores last to make the score look respectable. The Giants are the only team on the Redskins schedule (so far) with a non-Washington victory.
Week 2: Washington beats astonishingly bad (and still winless) St. Louis Rams 9-7. Believe it or not — and here’s ANOTHER amazing statistic for you — the seven points the Rams scored in that game is more than their season average. They have scored 34 points in five games, an average of 6.8. If they keep it up (and I’m assured by people who watch the Rams regularly that they COULD keep it up) the Rams would become the lowest scoring NFL team since the merger.
It’s amazing to think that it has been less than a decade since the Rams were the “Greatest Show On Turf.” What are they now? “The Most Godforsaken Players on Turf?”
Week 3: Washington loses to the winless Lions 19-14. The Lions, of course, were not just winless this year, but they did not win a game last year either. The Lions had to beat SOMEBODY, and Washington seemed like the right team.
Week 4: Washington beats winless Tampa Bay 16-14. It’s a strange thing … Tampa Bay has been mostly good for about a dozen years. They have had eight winning records in those 12 seasons, made the playoffs seven times, won one Super Bowl and lost in one of the more compelling NFC Championship games. In other words, it has been a long time since the Bucs have been a joke. And yet … they move so naturally and easily back into jokedom that it hardly seems like Leeman Bennett has ever been gone.
Week 5: Washington blows a 15-point lead in the second half and loses to the winless Carolina Panthers. Carolina QB Jake Delhomme throws an interception for the fourth consecutive game — he now has eight picks in four games this season. He did not throw one in the bye week … though I’m certain he threw several near-picks. I’m not entirely how you lose a 15-point lead to a Jake Delhomme team — a muffed punt certainly helps.
Week 6: Washington plays the winless Kansas City Chiefs this week, a Chiefs team that has lost 28 of their last 30 games. I wish there was a streak report on Football Reference like there is on Baseball Reference … I cannot imagine many teams in NFL history have lost 28 of 30 games.*
In fact, think about this: We know no NFL team has lost 30 games in a row. So the worst a team has been over 30 games is 1-29. That’s just not much worse than 2-28, is it?
-Joe Posnanski's Blog
