Not much went right for the home team in Washington today, which meant describing the carnage took some effort.
But quarterback Robert Griffin III did the best he could after throwing two picks and being sacked six times in a 27-7 loss to the Buccaneers, allowing the Bucs to double their win total for the season.
“It was a travesty. It was a travesty out there today,” Griffin said, via the Washington Post. “We didn’t play well. I didn’t see the field as well as I would’ve liked to. We had turnovers. I can’t throw interceptions. We had false start penalties and holding penalties. It was just bad ball out there today. It’s not that we looked past Tampa Bay because we can’t afford to look past anybody.
“The fact of the matter is we’re not a very good football team right now.”
That part was hard to dispute, as they sagged in pretty much every aspect. The early turnovers put them in a hole, and then there was not much consistent about the offense afterward.
But after his leadership has been criticized in recent weeks, Griffin was careful to take the blame for things that weren’t necessarily his fault.
“All of the sacks are on me. Period,” he said. “We’re 3-7, and everybody in this room knows that, and everybody in that locker room knows that. We can’t do what 3-7 football teams do. We can’t throw knives and stab each other in the back. I think we have good people in our locker room, men of God that are going to stick together and stay strong. So when you ask me that question, and I say all of the sacks are on me, it’s because I’m looking myself in the mirror and saying, I can do better. I have to do better. I need every man in that locker room, players and coaches, to look themselves in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do better?’”
That kind of statement sounds good, but at this point, it’s easy to wonder if it’s too late for him to do anything about the lingering perceptions, or his team’s persistent inability to get the ball in the end zone.