Here is what you need to know on this Thursday, December 6, three days before the Redskins take on the Ravens at FedEx Field.
Days of the underdog are over
The Redskins have opened as 2.5-point favorites over the Ravens on Sunday. The days of them being the underdog are over. They are no longer the hunted, they are now the hunters.
They won as underdogs in Dallas (3.5 points) and against the Giants (3). But it will be a different story when the Ravens come to town.
The Ravens are 9-3. The last time the Redskins were favored over a team that had nine or more wins was the last game of the 2007 season when they were favored by 9 over the 13-3 Cowboys.
That game carries an asterisk. The Cowboys had already locked up the top seed in the playoffs when they came to FedEx Field that day and the Redskins were playing for their playoff lives.
In games where both teams had something to play for the Redskins were last favored over a team with nine or more wins when they played the 10-4 Giants on Christmas Eve in 2005. Washington was favored by 3 and won 35-20.
So far this year, the Redskins have won as underdogs against the Saints (New Orleans favored by 8.5), Bucs (2), Vikings (2), Cowboys and Giants. They have won as favorites just once, against the Eagles (Redskins favored by 3.5).
The early line shows the Redskins as three-point favorites over the Browns the next Sunday and on Dec. 23 they are likely to be favored over the Eagles by a solid margin. Washington should be a slight favorite over Dallas in Week 17 depending on what each team has to play for
Math skills needed for Redskins fans
With Robert Griffin III well on his way to becoming one of the most popular Redskins of all time, it is becoming more and more difficult for fans to find vanity license plates that pay tribute to the rookie quarterback. All of the simple imprints like “RG3”, “RGIII’ and “RGTHREE” are long gone.
My colleague Chuck Gormley, the outstanding Caps Insider at CSNwashington.com, came across this one that employs some simple math to express the owner’s affinity for Griffin.
Today’s schedule
11:30—Practice (closed to the media after first 30 minutes)
After practice (approx. 1:30)—Open locker room, Mike Shanahan news conference, Kyle Shanahan and Jim Haslett media availability.
In case you missed it
RG3 is sending out some laundry—to Canton
Josh Wilson—Redskins have enough rivals
Days until: Ravens vs. Redskins @ FedEx Field 3; Redskins @ Browns 10; Cowboys @ Redskins 24; 1st round of NFL playoffs 30
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