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For the Washington Redskins, the 2005 regular season was an unpredictable series of dizzy highs and swampy valleys as the team went from looking like a playoff shoo-in to an NFL also-ran. With only the thinnest post-season hopes remaining, however, the Skins made Tony Kornheiser look like a genius and rattled off December wins even as critical competitors – the Falcons, the Vikings, the Cowboys – hit the skids. It all culminated in yesterday afternoon’s game against the Eagles, a stomach-knotting, tension-filled affair that saw Washington put forth a superhuman effort in the fourth quarter to secure a 31-20 win.
If you are a big Redskins fan, it’s okay if at some point during the first half, you lowered your head and snapped, to no one in particular, “They're gonna give this game away!” We feel you. Groans of mounting, hopeless disgust were heard all over the Lyon Village apartment complex as fans watched the Redskins offense sputter and the defense do their best to turn Eagles Mike McMahon and Reggie Brown into folk heroes. Washington’s 2005 scoring machine, Mike Sellers, was pretty much solely responsible for our only first half touchdown, recovering a muffed punt and then catching the touchdown pass at the end of the short-field drive.
Mark Brunell’s knee injury really hobbled him during the game, affecting his accuracy on a lot of the short timing routes Joe Gibbs likes to run. But when Brunell was good, he was very good, twice setting up red zone possessions with timely long passes and once scrambling for a long first down – something he’s done several times this season. But ultimately, it came down to Clinton Portis and a superhuman effort from the Redskins defense in the fourth quarter. That the defense turned the game around is saying a lot, too, because at one point it looked like Gregg Williams wasn’t going to have any defensive backfielders to play after they all seemed to get hurt.
This week, it was Lemar Marshall who sparked the comeback, skying to tip a McMahon pass then lurching his frame forward to grab the interception. Clinton Portis capitalized on the next play, with a 22-yard run-and-stretch for the endzone that in one play encapsulated all of the determination he’s put out on the field this year. A few plays later, Philip Daniels – who’s been outstanding over the past four weeks – wrenched the ball loose from Koy Detmer. The fumble ended up in the hands of another former Miami Hurricane, Sean Taylor, who sprinted thirty-nine yards for the clinching score.
The victory was all that was necessary to earn a playoff spot for Washington, a reward that seemed unlikely a month ago. The Redskins will go to Tampa Bay this Saturday for a rematch with the Buccaneers, the only NFC team the Redskins failed to get a win against this year. The biggest concern for Washington is the state of the defensive secondary: another barrage on injuries, most seriously a Shawn Springs groin pull, have reduced the unit to a skeleton crew. Tampa Bay is the last team to beat Washington in a playoff game.
By the way, the Redskins went 6-1 against the entire –ist network this year. All you guys owe us a beer when we come to your town.
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