The Passion of the Gibbs: JC, Portis Prevail
So, the first game of the season basically came down to a single third-and-seven from midfield in overtime. Convert, and the Redskins move closer to a sudden-death score. Fail, and the Dolphin offense, which had in the late-going proven to be a difficult squad to banish from the field, takes over with a chance to cast a pall over the entire season with a win. This is why we beseeched Redskins offensive coordinator to run the ball this season. By the time the Redskins had gotten to this point, they’d called about forty rushing plays, and that steady diet of smashmouth had the Dolphins’ defense reeling.
Not to deny the coaching staff some credit, this is why they went out and drafted Jason Campbell. He hadn’t, by the time overtime started looking inevitable, distinguished himself statistically. It had been a pretty shaky game. An early errant pass ended the Skins first drive with an interception. A late throw downfield to Brandon Lloyd in the endzone netted another. By the angle shown during the broadcast, Antwaan Randle-El’s ability to at least adjust the path of a pass that ended up incomplete may have prevented a third. (There’s no reason to feel bad about the second interception—anytime a throw to Brandon Lloyd results in a positive outcome for anyone, it’s a net gain for humanity.)
Even with the missteps, Campbell had shaken off the adversity all game long and maintained a steadiness in the pocket. So, when third-and-seven in overtime finally rolled around, and the whole house knew a pass was coming, the Redskins astutely knew that a battered, depleted Dolphin defense was going to have to bring the house in order to mount a pass rush. And, as Mike Wise also relates, the Savior calmly, coolly, found Cooley, running right into the empty space provided by the vacating blitzers for a completion and a first down. From there, academic: a couple runs to get within Suisham’s range, followed by a refreshingly right-down-the-middle three-pointer.
Absent any context, the game offered a lot of hope for Washington fans. The running game, and Portis especially, looked strong, gaining traction and yards as the afternoon wore on. The defense seemed on their way to making a return to form (at least until Carlos Rogers’ fourth quarter mental meltdowns made you wonder why we’d spent a high draft pick on him in the first place). We even got a little dose of luck, and Campbell and Randle-El got to pad their stats a little bit with a ridiculous, end-of-regulation, Hail Mary heave that caromed right into Randle-El’s arms a few scant yards from the endzone.
If the Skins had been playing just about anyone else in the league, one might have felt cheered by the gut-it-out, bend-but-don’t-break win. But as the conventional wisdom is that the Dolphins are going to mostly play like the LOLphins this season, it was hardly a pleasing sign that we ended up in a tight game with them. But a loss would have been much worse.
Next week, though, a test: A Monday night date in Philadelphia with the Eagles. Critically not making the trip—Jon Jansen, whose second-quarter ankle dislocation would appear to be of the season-ending variety. Jansen was more than ably backed up by local favorite Stephon Heyer. The former Terrapin allowed no sacks and kept the running game going on his side of the ball.