Questions mount for RG3, Redskins after loss to 49ers

Jim Corbett | USA TODAY Sports

LANDOVER, Md. — In a nearly empty locker room an hour after his worst loss as a Washington Redskin, Robert Griffin III sat at his locker, joined by his father, who seemed to be there to console his son as he faces the toughest test of his leadership.

It was an unusual scene, but then, this is an unusual time for RGIII and his fading 3-8 team.

A few minutes earlier, RG3 had addressed questions about an embarrassing 27-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in which the Redskins managed just 33 second-half yards.

In 67 combined games at Baylor University and with the Redskins, Griffin had never played in a game in which his team had failed to score an offensive touchdown, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

On a night when Colin Kaepernick threw for three touchdowns and 235 yards, Griffin threw for 127 yards with a 58.7 passer rating.

And all this comes following a week in which questions were raised about RG3's leadership and accountability.

"I mean, what am I supposed to do, come up here and talk about how bad we are? That's not my job. My job is to answer your questions and move on to the next day and get better," Griffin said. "I love my guys. I'd go to war with them any day.

"We just need to get better. That's what we've got to do."

Earlier, Griffin conceded how frustrated he and his teammates are.

"Everyone's tired of losing, fans, the media, everybody," he said. "The one thing to take away is the one thing that we're not is we're not quitters."

Griffin, who completed just 17-of-27 passes, was intercepted once, sacked four times and hit seven other times.

He was asked to address a Sunday NFL.com report alleging he didn't want any negative plays shown in film review by his coaches.

"It's false," he said. "That's why I haven't responded to it. Because there's no need to respond to untrue things. I just echo what coach said, that it's completely false.

"People are trying to character assassinate me and it's unfortunate."

The ugly loss caused fans to start exiting FedEx Field when Kaepernick's 1-yard scoring pass to tight end Vernon Davis made it 24-6 late in the third quarter. These next five games are also a huge test to gauge whether coach Mike Shanahan is the right guy to fix last year's NFC East champions who stand last in the division.

The Redskins have lost three straight and must find a way to rebound against the 4-7 New York Giants Sunday night.

"We haven't been dominated like that since I've been here. Congratulations to them," Shanahan said, referencing 7-4 San Francisco. "They were very well coached, and played well.

"We could have coached better and played better.

"It's part of the job that we are expected to win. When you do go through adversity, it's tough on everyone.

"But I think we are strong enough to fight through it, to have good practices and play the Giants."

The Redskins didn't gain a second-half first down against coach Jim Harbaugh's fourth-ranked scoring defense as the 49ers are now tied with the Arizona Cardinals for the NFC's sixth seed.

Griffin insisted the distractions, drama and outside criticism of him won't pull his team apart.

"You just have to shut it out," RG3 said. "I know that a lot of people say that, but that's what I've done.

"That's why I don't hear a lot of the stuff unless it's brought to me. As soon as it comes on, turn it off, because they're not going to say pleasant things.

"Everyone's going to speculate. Everyone's going to tear it apart."

Receiver Santana Moss who raised questions about RG3 taking his share of blame during a radio spot last week, was asked whether or not the locker room still supports Griffin. Moss said, "Definitely. He never lost it. We're all in this together and he can't do it by himself."

While Griffin looked like a young quarterback who took another step back, Kaepernick snapped a two-game losing streak by resembling the cannon-armed, dual-threat who led the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII after replacing Alex Smith last Nov. 19. The better news is that Harbaugh said Kaepernick's favorite target, receiver Michael Crabtree, out since tearing an Achilles tendon May 21, will "come back this week."

Kaepernick had taken his share of heat for throwing for more than 200 yards just once in the last nine games coming in.

"I don't listen to it," Kaepernick said of the critics. "I don't read it. I don't watch SportsCenter. I'm worried about winning games."

Griffin and the Redskins have more reason to worry about that.

"We have to conquer some of the demons we have going on as an offense and as a team and I think we will," RG3 said. "I think we call can do it."

Follow national NFL reporter Jim Corbett on Twitter @ByJimCorbett.