(photos by Brian Murphy)

1. “Difference” by Childish Gambino

What does it say about the state of the Washington Redskins franchise that local fans can actually live with a loss to a hated rival?

No ‘Skins fan ever wants to see the burgundy and gold fall to the Dallas Cowboys, but seeing the team shows signs of life for the first time in more than a month should be enough to help ease the pain of the 27-24 overtime loss.

The game started much like every other Redskins game in 2011 – with the offense missing in action in the first quarter. Washington’s first three offensive plays were two end-arounds and a fumble.

Their first five drives resulted in four punts and a fumble as the Redskins racked up a grand-total of 26 yards, and it seemed as if it was only a matter of time before Dallas took control of the game and blew out the home team.

And then something crazy happened.

On 3rd-and-7, Quarterback Rex Grossman connected with receiver David Anderson for a 23-yard gain that seemed to spark the Redskins offense.

Three plays later, Grossman scored just the fourth rushing touchdown of his career and the Redskins had a first-half touchdown for the first time since the St. Louis game, Oct. 2.

As if that wasn’t reason enough to celebrate, the Redskins struck again with 14 seconds left in the first half – when Grossman connected with receiver Jabar Gaffney on a 3rd-and-6 play for a 16-yard touchdown that gave Washington a 14-13 lead at the break.

Just how unexpected

For starters, the Cowboys were coming off of a 44-7 win over the Buffalo Bills. Those same Bills shutout the Redskins 23-0, so basically, logic dictates that the Cowboys should have beaten Washington 67-7.

If that’s not enough, that seemingly innocent one-point lead represented Washington’s first lead in any game since that same St. Louis game 48 days ago.

It goes without saying that if a team never has the lead, they don’t win many football games.

2. “Get That Dirt Off Your Shoulder” by Jay-Z

Anyone familiar with Grossman’s body of work knows to expect the unexpected. Depending on the week, the nine-year veteran can either single-handedly win or lose a game.

Against Philadelphia earlier this season, Grossman was at his worst – throwing four interceptions and opening the door to the miserable John Beck era in Washington.

But then there are games like the season-opening victory over the New York Giants when Grossman proves to be the difference maker in a positive way.

That’s the way it goes with the Rex Cannon – you never whether you’re getting Good Rex or Bad Rex until the proverbial bullets start to fly.

After the first 15 minutes of play, it seemed like the Redskins were going to have to settle for another less-than-stellar outing from the quarterback position.

But then Sexy Rexy stepped up and treated the FedEx Field faithful to the most exciting game of the year. Grossman orchestrated back-to-back scoring drives late in the second quarter and, if nothing else, showed his teammates that he is capable of moving the chains and keeping drives alive with his arm.

Grossman completed 25 of 38 passes for 289 yards with three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and one interception. His quarterback rating of 95.2 is the second-best showing he’s had this season – behind only his 110.5 rating in the season opener.

And best of all, Grossman played with an attitude that screamed “I’m tired of all these critics talking shit about me.”

His swagger was noticeable from the moment he took the field (see photo above) until the moment the game ended and his teammates like tight end Fred Davis admitted that they feed off Grossman’s energy during the games.

It’s too bad that Grossman doesn’t have these outings more often, because I found myself absolutely enjoying the show as Good Rex took command of the game.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

Ladies and gentlemen, back by popular demand, it’s time for another round of “caption this.”

The game is fairly simple, as you hopefully know by now. I supply the photo and you bring the witty reader-submitted captions. You might not win any cool prizes, but you’ll be formally recognized for being better than your peers and will get some love here on the blog.

Here’s my humble offering for this photo to help get folks started:

“Okay, look, I’ll give you your flag back if you stop intercepting my passes. Deal?”

Think you can do better? Leave a comment below with your best caption.

And to see my best photos of the Redskins-Dolphins game, click this link.

[Editor's note: The winner is Christopher with a caption of, “Wanna see Shanahan turn purple? Watch this next pass.” Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun.]

(photo by Brian Murphy)

For all of the talk about the lack of production from Washington Redskins quarterbacks John Beck and Rex Grossman, the simple truth is Mike Shanahan made a name for himself by consistently delivering one of the NFL’s top running games for nearly two decades.

During his time in Denver, Shanahan was seemingly able to take any running back off of the street and turn him into a 1,000-yard rusher. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about his time in Washington.

The Redskins have racked up 2,241 rushing yards in 25 games under Shanahan — which works out to roughly 89 yards per game and is fewer yards than five teams finished with in 2010 alone.

In fact, Shanahan’s Broncos rushed for more than 2,241 yards in a season eight times during his 14 years in Denver. So if you’re wondering why the Redskins offense has scored exactly one touchdown in the last 36 possessions, that’s probably a good place to start assigning the blame.

Tim Hightower was Washington’s best running back … right up until he suffered a season-ending injury against Carolina. Rookie Roy Helu has shown plenty of promise, but his coaching staff apparently lacks confidence in making him the feature back because he’s never had more than 10 attempts in a game.

And then there’s Ryan Torain.

While plenty of fans got fired up for his 19-carry, 135-yard performance against St. Louis, he’s been one of the least effective running backs in football since then.

Over the last five games, Torain has 31 carries for 53 yards (1.7 yards per carry). In related news, the Redskins offense has no identity, can’t sustain a drive for more than four or five plays at a time and hasn’t scored a first-half touchdown during this five-game losing streak.

At this point, the only acceptable reason I can come up with for why Shanahan continues to trot out Torain is that the 25-year-old must have blackmail photos of his head coach.

Why else would a two-time Super Bowl winning coach continue to try and utilize a running back who can’t … you know … run?

All of this leads up to an interesting transaction that the front office made back on Halloween, when the Redskins signed former Dallas Cowboys running back Tashard Choice.

Because I admittedly don’t know much about the Georgia Tech product, I sought out defensive tackle Stephen Bowen, who was teammates with Choice in Dallas.

“He has great vision and is a good all-around back,” Bowen said of Choice. “He can run the ball. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s a good pass blocker. I mean, he’s pretty much everything you need. When he was in Dallas, he did it all.”

So what went wrong with the Cowboys? How is it that Choice became available for the Redskins to claim?

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

Make no mistake about it – covering the Washington Redskins as a credentialed media member for the last seven seasons has been a dream come true.

Each and every Sunday, I’m on the sidelines with the best possible view as my favorite football team takes to the field and I know there isn’t a diehard sports fan out there who wouldn’t trade places with me in a heartbeat.

That being said, the job isn’t without its challenges. For starters, a typical game day usually lasts 10 or 11 hours, which is time spent away from your loved ones.

There’s also the whole “try not to get run over” aspect of being on the sidelines, which can be both exciting and terrifying at the same time.

Redskins rookie linebacker Ryan Kerrigan nearly trampled me earlier this season when he picked off an Eli Manning pass and returned it for a touchdown in Week 1, and there wasn’t much I could do other than duck and cover while trying to protect my expensive camera equipment.

But the most challenging part of covering the Redskins is heading into the locker room after a tough loss and trying to make sense of it all. No one likes losing, so you can imagine how thrilled the players are to have a sea of microphones, digital recorders and TV cameras shoved in their face just moments after suffering through a heartbreaking loss.

That’s why I’m shocked outbursts like the obscenity-laced tirade cornerback DeAngelo Hall had after the Dallas loss don’t happen more often. There’s only so many times you can handle the same stupid question over and over before you lose your cool and start telling people how you truly feel. And if those feelings involve a few “F bombs,” then so be it.

And let’s be real – how many different ways can a journalist tactfully ask, “So … what the hell happened today?” as a season continues to spiral out of control?

Like I said, everyone hates losing. Therefore, this gig is a lot less enjoyable when the offense has scored exactly one touchdown in their last 36 possessions and the defense fails to make a play when the game is on the line.

Rather than trying and put into words after the Redskins suffered a fifth-straight loss – this time to a one-win Miami Dolphins team that has been dreadful for most of the season – I thought it would be interesting to let fans hear from the players directly.

Instead of trying to put some spin on things or make sense of it all, I’d rather just share their words from the post-game locker room and let fans draw their own conclusions about what, if anything, the 2011 season has left to offer.

“There were points in the game where we feel like we could have taken control of the game, but we didn’t do it,” said defensive lineman Barry Cofield.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Different Names For The Same Thing” by Death Cab For Cutie

Mike Shanahan and the Washington Redskins set out to silence their critics against the Miami Dolphins Sunday.

While some fans inexplicably believe the Redskins’ head coach is content to lose the rest of the games on the schedule in hopes of securing the best draft pick possible, Shanahan made a series of pre-game moves that seemingly killed that theory.

After three uninspired starts, quarterback John Beck was relieved of his duties in favor of unstable veteran Rex Grossman. Beck might not turn the ball over as much as Grossman, but he also took too long to make decisions with the football and rarely attempted to challenge defenses.

Middle linebacker Rocky McIntosh was also removed from the starting lineup — giving way for Perry Riley’s first NFL start. Running back Roy Helu, who made his first career start one week ago, was bumped in favor of Ryan Torain and while receiver Anthony Armstrong wasn’t a starter to begin with, it appeared most of his playing time was given to David Anderson, who has been on the team less than a week.

None of those moves suggest a coach who is waiving the white flag. They all suggest Shanahan was doing anything and everything within his power to right the ship and salvage a season on the brink of total collapse.

Unfortunately for the two-time Super Bowl winner, those moves had little to no impact and the Redskins lost for the fifth-consecutive game — as Miami won their first home game in 364 days, with a 20-9 victory over Washington.

Even though the Dolphins were just 1-12 in their last 13 home games and play in front of one of the most indifferent crowds I’ve ever witnessed in person, Miami was able to secure the win because the Redskins offense still fails to mount any sort of consistent attack and the defense still gets gashed for chunks of yards at the worst-possible time and struggles to get off the field when the game is on the line.

Now, Shanahan must deal with the first five-game losing streak of his illustrious coaching career as the Redskins dropped five in a row for the first time since Marty Schottenheimer’s 2001 campaign.

And while Schottenheimer was able to bounce back from an 0-5 start to finish the season 8-3, there’s little reason to think these Redskins are remotely capable of anything similar. That’s because it’s tough to envision this dire situation suddenly improving — not when Washington lost to a one-win team for the fourth time in nine games this season.

2. “Temporary Remedy” by Ben Harper

I’ve always believed in the saying “moral victories are for losers,” but there were a few players who did have respectable outings against the Dolphins.

For starters, there was rookie receiver Leonard Hankerson. You might remember him as the guy who couldn’t make even the simplest of catches during the preseason or as the youngster who was inactive for Washington’s first five games of the season. Well, on Sunday he went from liability to clutch, as Hankerson became the team’s only reliable weapon on offense against Miami.

In just his second NFL start, Hankerson hauled in eight catches for 106 yards — making him the first Redskins rookie wideout to finish a game with at least 100 receiving yards since Rod “Stone Hands” Gardner back in 2001 (162 regular season games ago). To put those numbers in perspective, players not named Hankerson finished the game with 13 catches for 109 receiving yards.

“It just felt good to go out there and contribute to the team,” Hankerson said. “I’m out there capable of making plays and catching first downs and stuff like that.”

Of course, because this season is destined to be a disaster, Hankerson left the game early with a hip injury and was seen leaving the stadium on crutches. So naturally, before fans can even enjoy his breakout performance, they’re now left wondering when is the next time Hankerson will be able to take the field.

3. “Every Chance I Get” by T.I.

Another rookie who continues to be a lone bright spot this season is linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, who finished the game with two sacks, two forced fumbles and six tackles. While fellow linebacker Brian Orakpo has struggled during the second half of the each of his two previous NFL seasons, Kerrigan showed no signs of slowing down what has been an outstanding first season.

Kerrigan leads Washington with four forced fumbles, is second on the team with five sacks and remains the only defensive player to score a touchdown this season. As grim as this season has been, I can’t even imagine how sad things would be without Kerrigan in the lineup.

The only other player who bothered to show up in Miami was Riley — the seldom-used linebacker who was making his first NFL start. The second-year pro finished the game with nine tackles (seven solo) and made more of an impact than McIntosh has in years.

Unfortunately, it’s tough to celebrate something even as significant as your first pro start when your team is playing the worst stretch of football in a decade, so Riley wasn’t in the most festive of moods in the post-game locker room.

“I felt like I did some good things out there and made some mistakes as well,” said Riley. “I’m not worried about the things I did well, just worried about the things I did bad, fixing them and getting the Ws. That’s why we play this game.”

4. “Gasoline” by Seether

Just how bad was this game? So bad that Dolphins running back Reggie Bush, who is known more for taking money in college and sleeping with the Kardashians than actually playing football, rushed for two touchdowns against Washington.

Bush hadn’t rushed for two touchdowns in a game since 2007, so once again, the opposition can send a thank-you card to Redskins Park as another opponent was able to get well at Washington’s expense.

Conversely, Torain continues to be one of the least effective running backs in football.

Since Tim Hightower suffered a season-ending injury (also known as when the Redskins needed him to step up most), Torain has been awful. In the four games before Miami, Torain had 21 carries for 33 yards (1.5 yards per carry). Against Miami, Torain rushed 11 times for 20 yards (1.8 yards per carry).

I can understand why Shanahan made the moves concerning Grossman and Riley, but what exactly does the coach see in Torain at this point?

5. “Comatose” by Pearl Jam

Regardless of whether Beck or Grossman is the starting quarterback, the Redskins continue to boast one of the worst offensive imaginable. Washington has just one touchdown in their last 36 drives and has scored a grand total of 20 points over the last three games.

During the current five-game losing streak, the team has scored just 53 points (while allowing 115) and seemingly follows the same script each and every week.

The Redskins get off to a slow start, punt the ball a bunch and then pray the defense pitches a shutout and the kicking game doesn’t get an attempt blocked. Washington hasn’t scored a first half touchdown since the St. Louis game (which also happens to be their last win) and has racked up a depressing 16 points in nine first quarters this season (one touchdown and three field goals).

Other than that though, things have been great for the Redskins.

Finally, here’s a link to my favorite photos I was able to capture during the game.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Whenever I’ve done these power rankings in the past, the formula has always remained the same. I start by listing the top 10 members of the Washington Redskins who have risen to the challenge and made a strong impression, and then wrap things up with five players who need to step up their game.

Unfortunately, that’s not realistic at the moment. A once-promising season has completely spiraled out of control over the last month and the Redskins are clearly getting worse – not better – with each passing game.

I’ve got a better chance of becoming a big-time Hollywood actor than identifying 10 Redskins players worthy of praise during this dreadful four-game losing streak, so we’ll flip the script and name five players who are getting it done and 10 guys who need to take a serious look in the mirror before getting on the plane for Miami.

As always, these rankings are completely subjective, biased and, ultimately, meaningless. They simply represent one person’s take on the current state of the franchise. If you see things differently and/or feel like I’m forgetting someone, that’s okay. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts on the subject.

1. London Fletcher, middle linebacker – The 36-year-old had 20 tackles against Buffalo and another 10 against San Francisco. If everyone wearing the burgundy and gold worked as hard as Fletcher, people wouldn’t still be wondering how and why this team peaked in Week 1.

2. Sav Rocca, punter – One member of the Redskins ranks statistically among the NFL’s best at his position. Too bad it’s the punter.

3. Ryan Kerrigan, outside linebacker – The rookie standout has three sacks, two forced fumbles and as many rushing touchdowns as Roy Helu and Ryan Torain combined.

4. Fred Davis, tight end – He’s the only player on his side of the ball who can even be remotely considered a weapon. That’s gotta count for something.

5. Brian Orakpo, outside linebacker – Take a look at his career stats and you’ll clearly see that Orakpo has always done well in the first half of a season. The question is – is this the year he finally puts together a memorable second half of a season?

On the flip side, here are 10  players need to step up their game sooner rather than later:

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

Ladies and gentlemen, back by popular demand, it’s time for another round of “caption this.”

The game is fairly simple, as you hopefully know by now. I supply the photo and you bring the witty reader-submitted captions. You might not win any cool prizes, but you’ll be formally recognized for being better than your peers and will get some love here on the blog.

Here’s my humble offering for this photo to help get folks started:

“Maybe Mike Shanahan’s decision to hire Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka as an assistant coach wasn’t such a bad idea after all.”

Think you can do better? Leave a comment below with your best caption.

And to see my best photos of the Redskins-49ers game, click this link.

[Editor's note: The winner is RememberOsaka with a caption of, “Misguided rookie Niles Paul upon learning that Daniel Snyder paid $100 million for bellyflops.” Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun.]