Grossman gets yanked for Beck at end of ugly defeat
Rex Grossman flirted with disaster in other games, only to be saved by the running game. Or the defense. Or even one of his own throws. That wasn’t the case Sunday. Not in a game the Redskins felt could provide a statement to the rest of the NFL. Not when they needed the turnovers to end.
Instead, the quarterback threw four interceptions in a 20-13 loss to the Eagles. And now his starting job is in jeopardy.
Backup John Beck played the fourth quarter, rallying the Redskins (3-2) with a late touchdown drive — capped by his 2-yard run. Beck completed eight of 15 passes for 117 yards. Grossman completed nine of 22 passes for 143 yards and the four picks, a mixture of forcing passes into double coverage and general bad decisions. Two other potential interceptions were dropped.
In five starts, Grossman has turned the ball over 11 times (and 15 times in eight starts with Washington).
Thus starts Round II of the Redskins’ quarterback controversy, which first flared up during the summer. Coach Mike Shanahan would not say who will start at Carolina on Sunday, saying he first wanted to look at the film.
“Bottom line is you have a good day or you don’t,” Shanahan said. “Everybody knows that if you have four picks in a game good things aren’t going to happen.”
The first three interceptions were significant. The first came at the Philadelphia 2-yard line, but after the play left guard Kory Lichtensteiger suffered a season-ending knee injury. And left tackle Trent Williams retaliated for what he felt was a cheap shot and drew an unnecessary roughness penalty. The Eagles then drove down and scored a touchdown.
The second one led to a field goal by the Eagles (2-4), and the third came after the Redskins had intercepted a pass at the Philadelphia 18-yard line and trailed 20-6.
Enter Beck.
“We needed a spark,” Shanahan said.
Beck’s late touchdown closed the gap, but the Redskins could not get the ball back in the final 2:44. He missed open receivers — perhaps a sign of taking nothing but scout team reps for a month — and had a couple passes dropped.
“I don’t know if I felt like a great rhythm,” Beck said. “We were just trying to claw for what we could.”
Grossman said he’s not worrying about any decision; he just wishes he had stayed in the game.
“Obviously I would have liked to have finished what I started,” Grossman said. “There are a lot of times when things aren’t going well and all of a sudden things go into place. They thought the best answer was to replace me.”
That might be the case next week, too. But next week was not what was on Beck’s mind after the game.
“I’m thinking about those plays and what I could’ve done so that way whatever happens next, I want to be ready,” Beck said.
The players were more concerned about losing Sunday than who will start at quarterback.
“We have enough on our own plates to worry about,” said receiver Donte Stallworth, who dropped one of Beck’s passes. “Everyone has tough games. It was Rex’s day today. It’s a tough deal. … For John to be in it mentally, you have to give him kudos. He was able to give us a spark. He did well for himself.”
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