Down goes Griffin: Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III took a beating in his first career playoff appearance. Photo © Brad Mills, USA Today Sports
With Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III sitting on the sideline, face in hands, the final seconds of his team’s wild-card matchup against the Seattle Seahawks came to a close. Thus ends the first weekend of NFL playoffs—a series of a few surprises and a large dose of disappointment. Although the home-field teams won three out of four games played last weekend, the overwhelming presence of displeasure seemed to outweigh the glee.
Coverage of each game was littered with shots of dejected fans. To come so far and fall is enough of a reason to look for someone to blame, and in these cases the blame fell squarely on the shoulders of the quarterbacks. Both losing teams of Saturday’s games—the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings—dealt with similar problems.
The Bengals struggled to put points on the board as the Texans routinely forced second-year quarterback Andy Dalton’s offense to punt.
Dalton missed his receivers with more than half of his attempts and finished with a dismal 127 yards. After Cincinnati somehow found themselves with a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter, Dalton overthrew wide receiver A.J. Green, sealing the Bengals’ fate.
Many cited Dalton’s lack of experience as the principal cause of the team’s demise, and Vikings backup quarterback Joe Webb was no different. Webb, who didn’t throw a single pass during the regular season, was a surprise replacement when it was announced before the game that starting quarterback Christian Ponder had suffered a triceps injury. It was quite a blow to the Minnesota team, but a hint of hope remained for fans as long as running back Adrian Peterson—who was nine yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season all-time record for total rushing yards this year—was still active.
That glimmer of hope was thoroughly extinguished, however, as the Green Bay Packers held the Vikings to just three points for most of the game, ultimately winning comfortably by a couple of touchdowns. Although Peterson managed to rush for 99 yards, his talent was not enough to carry the team away from a poor performance by Webb—one interception, three sacks and almost two-thirds of attempts missed.
Sunday’s games were also a showcase for young talent, as three of the four teams on the schedule started rookies behind center. The two quarterbacks on the losing teams—Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts, and Griffin—were the number one and two picks in the 2012 NFL draft, respectively, and their skill was truly on display throughout the regular season. The playoffs proved to be an entirely different story, but unlike with Dalton and Webb the situation was largely out of their control.
There were a grand total of seven drops by Colts receivers, with four of them coming on third or fourth down—crucial mistakes that cost Indianapolis the game against the red-hot Baltimore Ravens. Griffin, who seemed a little off for most of the game, fell awkwardly during play in the fourth quarter and a badly injured his knee. He had been playing the past few weeks with a knee brace after sustaining an injury in week 14, which had affected his rushing prowess and ability to throw long distances. With the Redskins’ entire offensive attack diminished, the Seahawks’ defense was able to take control.
A glance at each quarterback’s stats paints a picture of utter failure, but that only demonstrates the flawed value of numbers. Though Luck and Griffin both failed to reach Super Bowl glory, there is no doubt that they will have a great chance next year.