Not many would have predicted that the Washington Redskins, led by quarterback Kirk Cousins, would be the NFC East champions when the season kicked back off in Week 1. Fast forward to now and it is clearly the Cousins era, while former starting quarterback Robert Griffin III watches from plain clothes along the sideline.
Speaking of the sidelines, center Kory Lichtensteiger, who played in only five games and is currently on IR with a shoulder injury, chimed in regarding the team’s winning status while getting a subtle poke in at RG3.
“The proof’s in the pudding now,” Lichtensteiger said, via The Washington Post. “We’re playoff dancing because of him. [At the time of the decision], it was good to see that there’s repercussions and rewards; repercussions for not playing well and rewards for doing the right thing: preparing, performing in practice and the preseason. It was just good to know that you get rewarded for hard work and performing.”
We can assess that Lichtensteiger is claiming that RG3 was punished for not playing/preparing well while Cousins reaps the reward for outshining his counterpart.
Unfortunately for RG3, his 2012 rookie season appears to be the high point in his career. At this point he looks like he’s taking a permanent back seat to Cousins for however long he remains with Washington.
Many were skeptical of Cousins after his first six games, which produced four losses and with a touchdown to interception ratio of 6:8. However, that has long since been forgotten by most. Cousins helped lead Washington to their last three wins in a row while he compiled nine touchdowns and nearly 1,000 passing yards.
With only one game left against a lowly Dallas Cowboys squad, Washington (8-7) is now playoff-bound for the first time since Griffin’s rookie campaign.
The task at hand after Sunday’s game will be for Cousins and the team to prepare to face either the Green Bay Packers or Minnesota Vikings for their first playoff game.
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