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The Rams are in D.C. today for what seems like a relatively innocuous challenge on the national stage. It's not.
For the Rams, it's a chance to pull within a game of .500. With a home game coming up on Thursday, a win today pulls the Rams within a game of .500. It's the last thread the Rams are hanging on to for 2014, so that in and of itself has some relevance.
More profoundly though, it's a referendum on the RGIII trade. These two teams set up their future two and half years ago when the Redskins shipped off their 2013 and 2014 first round picks to pick up RGIII. It hasn't worked out. But this remains a opportunity to gauge how each team has constructed themselves since that trade. Washington has caged RGIII and has their best weapon, arguably, injured in DeSean Jackson. The Rams are, overall, pretty healthy.
A win for the Rams would signal they've made out with the better of the move. A loss would suggest they've squandered it.
It may not play for the national media. But today's game is a clear explanation of failures past...and successes future.
Go Rams.