All posts in photos

(photo by Brian Murphy)

The Washington Redskins did the unthinkable Sunday evening — they not only rose to the challenge of playing against their hated rival on a national stage with a playoff birth of the line, but they managed to exceed expectations in the way they handled the Dallas Cowboys.

Their 28-18 victory was a blast from the past, as the Redskins ran up and down the field en route to their first NFC East title in 13 years.

“It’s safe to say, I’m the happiest guy in the room,” said Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III. “I was 9 years old in 1999. So I stand before you at 22, and the Redskins are the NFC East champions. To me, talking to Alfred after the game, it’s the first time the Redskins have been champs since ’99 and we came in and we did it in one year. The sky’s the limit for this team.”

Alfred, of course, is Redskins running back Alfred Morris, who rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns in the biggest game of his young career. He too, was in elementary school the last time Washington was good enough to win a division title — which is seriously depressing when you stop and think about it.

But this isn’t a time to linger on the sad days. This is a time to celebrate the improbable journey this year’s Washington Redskins have taken us all on. Thanks to a magical seven-game winning streak, Washington will now host a home playoff game for just the second time in FedEx Field history.

So with that in mind, please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week. After all, there’s something truly enjoyable about watching the Dallas Cowboys fall flat on their collective faces on a national stage.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

There was a point in time earlier this season when fans of the Washington Redskins were forced to cringe and avert their eyes whenever the defense took the field.

Thanks to a paper-thin secondary and a nonexistent pass rush, Washington’s defense struggled to do much of anything right during the first half of the 2012 season and the Redskins looked dead in the water at 3-6. But then a funny thing happened.

The team used the bye week to regroup and refocus on both sides of the ball and now, the defense isn’t so terrible anymore. During the team’s current six-game winning streak, Washington has continually found a way to make mid-game adjustment and has actually started to pressure opposing quarterbacks from time to time.

Against Philadelphia, the Redskins defense had a field day — sacking rookie quarterback Nick Foles a season-high five times while also creating two turnovers. Sure, they still went out of their way to make the ending much more dramatic than it needed to be, but the defense found a way to close out the game and keep the playoff hopes alive.

That alone is enough to make the holidays happy in our nation’s capital, so with that in mind, please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

I have a confession to make — I’m a Cleveland Browns sympathizer.

I would never consider myself a fan of the Browns, but seeing them routinely finish as one of the NFL’s worst teams year in and year out has gotten me to the point where I’d like to see them turn things around.*

*And let’s be honest, it’s pretty easy for ‘Skins fans to root against Baltimore and Pittsburgh anyway, so pulling for a Browns turnaround season isn’t all that unreasonable.

Plus, a couple of my good friends happen to be diehard Browns fans, so seeing them actually enjoy an NFL season would be a nice change of pace.

Back before I started spending all of my Sundays on the sidelines covering the Washington Redskins, I used to take an annual trip with my buddies to Cleveland to see the Browns in action. And here’s the kicker — they were 4-0 in games I attended in Cleveland (before this weekend). They beat Joe Gibbs and friends back in ’04, the Baltimore Ravens in ’05, the New York Jets in ’06 and the Seattle Seahawks in ’07.

Basically, if the Redskins lost this weekend, it would have been my fault. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that.

Backup quarterback Kirk Cousins started off shaky and then settled into a groove and the Redskins cruised to an impressive 38-21 victory for their fifth-straight win.

The Redskins are currently sitting atop the NFC East division with two games remaining on the schedule, so please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week. Lord knows this doesn’t happen very often.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

At some point, we’re all going to have to stop and admit that there just might be something special about the 2012 Washington Redskins.

Of course, that didn’t appear to be the case as this team limped into the bye week with a 3-6 record thanks in large part to a three-game losing streak.

Now though, the Redskins appear fully capable of beating anyone and everyone — even when they’re not playing their best football.

The Baltimore Ravens are a perennial playoff team that, year in and year out, rank among the league’s elite thanks to a well-rounded squad that tends to excel in all three phases of the game.

The Washington Redskins, for far too long, have been a fragile snowflake of a franchise that is seemingly incapable of handling any adversity whatsoever. And yet, for one day at least, none of that mattered as the Redskins found a way to win on a day when their franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III wasn’t at his best.

Not only did RGIII struggle in the face of a solid Baltimore pass rush, but he was then forced out of action after spraining his right knee. In years past, this would have been more than enough to doom Washington.

But Griffin’s teammates stepped up in a large way on Sunday and now the Redskins are riding high on a four-game winning streak and have a wining record in December for the first time in far too long.

With that in mind, please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week. The players put together a monumental effort to defeat a talented Ravens squad, so it’s the least you can do.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

We’re headed towards uncharted territory, boys and girls.

After essentially ending the competitive portion of their schedule with a humbling loss to a pitiful Carolina Panthers team, the Washington Redskins were once again a doormat of a franchise, thanks to their 3-6 record.

And then something crazy happened — the Redskins took the bye week and magically, one week later, all was right in the universe.

Suddenly, the Redskins are playing meaningful football in December for the first time since 2007 and have rightly earned the title of “team no one wants to play.” That’s what happens when you stop dropping catchable passes and eliminate turnovers on offense while simultaneously teaching your defense it’s okay to make a play from time to time.

Now, with four games left to play, the Redskins sit just one game back of the Seattle Seahawks for the sixth and final playoff spot in the NFC. There’s plenty of football left to be played between now and the end of the regular season, but ‘Skins fans have plenty of reason to feel good about things these days.

With that in mind, please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week. It’s not every day the Redskins win three straight games against NFC East rivals, so enjoy the ride while it lasts.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

If you’re on this website, then you’re probably familiar with my body of work.

But if you’re new around these parts, here’s the rundown — I cover sports.

I write about sports. I shoot photos at sporting events. Most of my days are spent thinking about … you guessed it … sports.

That being said, while I was in Dallas for the Thanksgiving day game featuring the Cowboys and the Washington Redskins, there was plenty of action going on away from the field.

For example, rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III’s college coach, Art Briles, in attendance. One of the chicks from Wilson Phillips sang the national anthem. A dude from Duck Dynasty was hanging around the Redskins sidelines. Everyone from rapper Wale to former president George W. Bush was in attendance.

Oh, and the biggest name in country music today — Kenny Chesney — preformed during an extended halftime celebration.

It;s safe to say this game definitely felt a little bigger on the national stage, which makes Washington’s win all the more impressive.

So please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week. After all, the Redskins had never defeated Dallas on Thanksgiving before. So let’s savor this one a little while longer before moving onto the next game.

(photos by Brian Murphy)

As the first half of the 2012 season came to an end, the Washington Redskins were sadly predictable.

The offense forgot how to score points, the defense continued to underwhelm and, as always, the Redskins struggled to win games at home.

And then the bye week happened.

Now all of the sudden, the offense once again scored points at will, the defense finally put together an effort they won’t be embarrassed of and the burgundy and gold essentially ensured the Philadelphia Eagles will need a new head coach sometime in the very near future. Oh, and the Redskins finished off the Eagles with the most resounding victory of the Mike Shanahan era.

Basically, life is good once again for fans of the Washington Redskins.

With that in mind, please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week. Because wins at FedEx Field have been so hard to come by the last few seasons, it might be a while before ‘Skins fans have another game like this to enjoy.