Karma finally has returned to Washington.
The Redskins have lost in almost every way imaginable since their 1991 Super Bowl. Nearly two decades of maddening losses — a guard fumbling for a touchdown, winless opponents pulling upsets, Washington committing every penalty possible — may be coming to an end.
Norv Turner made a career of losing close games while coaching Washington from 1994-2000. Jim Zorn seemed jinxed last year. Even Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier and Joe Gibbs saw their reputations tarnished by this karma-killing franchise.
But the end of bad luck may be near. The secret to the Redskins’ 3-2 start isn’t just the plays they make, but the breaks they catch. It’s the other teams losing stars. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rogers suffered a concussion on Sunday. Pass rusher Clay Matthews and tight end Jermichael Finley left with injuries. Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick was hurt the previous week.
Green Bay’s last-second field goal bounced off the upright to force overtime in Washington’s 16-13 victory. In past years, it would have bounced through. Philadelphia blew four points the previous week on a delay of game penalty at the goal line. In previous seasons, the Eagles get the play off and score a touchdown.
Four of five Redskins games have come down to the final play — two in overtime. How many times over nearly two decades was Washington the one suffering a last-second defeat? Now the Redskins have already survived three.
“A year ago, these kinda games, we lose,” defensive end Phillip Daniels said. “The ball’s bouncing our way for a change.”
Player theories on the turnaround often center on new coach Mike Shanahan.
“Our whole mental is so much different from the years before,” receiver Santana Moss said. “We had guys on the team that when we get in those tough situations would just give in. I think what coach Shanahan has brought is putting us through a lot of things early — training camps, offseason workouts — just to show us that there are going to be situations throughout the season that we are going to have to face and we are going to have to call on each other.”
Indeed, players believe good fortune creates good effort.
“I think that after a couple of games like this,” quarterback Donovan McNabb said, “this is an opportunity where you’re in the huddle, guys are just waiting for that opportunity to make big plays.”
Said Moss: “Fourth quarter [versus Green Bay] someone said, ‘Hey, just make a play.’ And when that one play was made, we just kind of built off of it. Then you seen it kind of caught on like a wildfire, everybody wanting to make a play. It’s contagious.”
And confidence creates success, said cornerback DeAngelo Hall.
“We just always keep hearing the whispers — we can’t beat this team, we can’t beat that team, we’re not playing great, we’re not doing this,” he said. “This is a great team. This is a great team.”
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
