Coach Joe Gibbs never had a whole lot of success playing out in San Francisco the first time he coached the Washington Redskins. Of course, back then, both the Redskins and the 49ers were frequently atop the NFC, and, along with Dallas, a fixture of the playoffs. At recently rechristened Monster Park last Saturday, fans were treated to two teams trying to get back to that level of play, and the only monster in attendance was the Redskins defense—newly fortified with a healthy dose of LaVar Arrington. The result was a win that the Redskins knew going in was theirs to take, and as much as it pains us to say this—and it does—we are contractually obligated to point out that the Redskins are still not eliminated from playoff contention. And, yes, we feel very dirty saying that.

But while playoff glory seems unlikely for the Redskins, there is some honor to be found in the way the defense has been playing. While the unit gave up some ground to the 49ers in the fourth quarter as San Francisco furiously attempted a comeback win, they remain a close second to Pittsburgh. The performance of the defense would be impressive enough just taking into consideration how poorly our offense has played—the failure to control the clock means the defense is out on the field more. But the unbelievable spate of injuries the unit has suffered—with Shawn Springs out for this game nursing last week’s concussion—makes their feats of derring-do seem superhuman. Walt Harris, in replacing Springs, became the team’s twentieth starter on defense this year.

Saturday, Gregg Williams’ unit held 49er running back Maurice Hicks to a paltry 37 yards and picked off Ken Dorsey four times. Antonio Pierce, one of the Redskins’ no-names who is quickly becoming a star, took one of Dorsey’s errant throws the distance. Another seeming defensive touchdown by Lemar Marshall was called back after the referees ruled on a challenge that Marshall was handed the ball by Sean Taylor as a forward lateral.