Contrary to what the final boxscore might suggest, there were no winners when the Miami Dolphins “battled” the Washington Redskins. That’s because these franchises came into this contest widely considered the two worst teams in the National Football League this season.
While the Dolphins have been historically awful to start the 2019 season, they’re in the early stages of tearing it down and building it back up — trading away serviceable players for draft picks and otherwise stockpiling assets for the future rather than worrying about the pitiful present.
And then there are the Redskins, who are convinced they’re a bad break or two from competing for a division title, even though reality (and anyone tuning into their games on a weekly basis) screams otherwise.
The Redskins held off a late comeback attempt by Ryan Fitzpatrick and friends to emerge victorious, 17-16. But the real winner was linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton, who intercepted Miami quarterback Josh Rosen, and then kindly brought the entire defense over to pose for a celebratory photo directly in front of me.
Sadly, they were just a few yards away and I only had my big 400mm lens, so the group photo ended up being more of a headshot instead. Like I said, there were no real winners on this day. But thanks for thinking of me, Shaun.