They could have won in dramatic fashion. Corner Fred Smoot jumped in front of a last-minute Trent Green pass, staring at nothing but green and a win. And he dropped the ball. Antwaan Randle El rebounded a batted last-second Hail Mary pass near the end zone. And his diving attempt to reach the end zone ended two yards shy.
Instead, Washington settled for a ho-hum 39-yard Shaun Suisham field goal and 16-13 win over visiting Miami in overtime. But after a 5-11 season, the Redskins will accept any and all drab victories.
“There are good things in store for us,” Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said.
It’s a new year. Antyhing is possible.
“When I saw the offense take the field [in overtime], I said, ‘They’re not coming off without a victory,’” end Phillip Daniels said. “That’s different this year. We’re more confident.”
The Redskins can feel good because they showed what they needed to on both sides of the ball. Though it wasn’t always pretty, the offense managed 400 yards, with 305 coming after halftime.
Washington stood by its ground game, partly because quarterback Jason Campbell struggled. On its two most important drives late in the game, the Redskins ran the ball a combined 14 times and threw it only three times as the line took over.
They didn’t change their game plan, sticking with inside zone-blocking runs, mixing in some perimeter jaunts. That’s how Clinton Portis scored on a 19-yard run, capping the first third-quarter drive.
“We started moving people around out there,” left tackle Chris Samuels said.
“When we got to the fourth quarter we felt real good,” center Casey Rabach said. “As a line, that’s all we can ask for. You have to keep on calling that play if you’re doing the right thing.”
The defense excelled at stopping the run — holding Miami to 66 yards on 20 carries, with 19 of those yards coming on two end arounds — and in sudden changes. The Dolphins’ line struggled to open holes and any they did create were quickly filled by linebackers. The defensive tackles combined for only four tackles (all by Cornelius Griffin). But linebackers London Fletcher and Rocky McIntosh combined for 23.
“We thought the linebackers had to make more plays this year and they have,” assistant head coach/defense Gregg Williams said.
Williams’ unit also held when needed. Like in the first quarter after a Campbell interception was returned to the Redskins’ 38. Miami was forced to punt. Another time, the Dolphins started at their 49 after a kickoff return, only to punt again.
“That’s a measure of how good you are as a defense,” Williams said. “To be a real good defense, you have to turn people away inadverse situations.”
