That’s one easy conclusion to draw after the Redskins third loss in four games. This time the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants beat them, 23-7, on a rain-soaked day that began with a tribute to slain teammate Sean Taylor.

“I didn’t feel we understood how critical this game was,” Redskins coach Jim Zorn said. “If we did, we definitely didn’t perform like we did.”

At 7-5, the Redskins have fallen behind in the wild card race with Carolina (9-3), Dallas (8-4) and Atlanta (8-4) all ahead of them.

“In the past this team has been tough as nails down the stretch,” Redskins left tackle Chris Samuels said. “We have to find that heart we had before or we’ll be sitting at home watching the playoffs.”

They’ve lost three straight at home — all to teams with winning records.

“We’re either not as good as we thought,” said Redskins corner Fred Smoot, “or we have a lot of work to do.”

“We have to do it now,” Fletcher said.

In the three losses, the Redskins have scored a combined 23 points and they haven’t scored more than one touchdown offensively since Oct. 19.

Washington’s lone score Sunday came off trickery — a 29-yard reverse to rookie receiver Devin Thomas, making it 13-7. But the Giants dominated, controlling the ball for 35 minutes, 44 seconds.

Their quarterback isn’t playing as well lately — Jason Campbell has finished one game with a passer rating above 73.4 in the past four weeks. His receivers aren’t helping.

“Our receivers were not getting separation and therefore were getting hammered as soon as the catch was made,” Zorn said. “We had receivers running poor routes.”