PHILADELPHIA — The Redskins ended the season uttering the same lines they’d used in too many games this season. They were in the game. They made too many mistakes. They have to learn how to finish games.
Yet here’s what the Redskins didn’t do enough of this season: cut down on their mistakes; learn how to finish games.
And that was true once more in a 34-10 season-ending loss at Philadelphia. The Redskins ended the season 5-11 and in last place in the NFC East in coach Mike Shanahan’s second year. Though many reasons can be found for finishing a game worse than in his first season, the bottom line is that they didn’t improve their record.
Not that they view it the same way.
“Our team is a lot different than a year ago, and that’s a positive,” said Shanahan, who has never had such a bad record in his 17-plus seasons as a head coach.
“I don’t think we took a step back,” receiver Santana Moss said. “We progressed, getting in some of the guys and rebuilding what we’re trying to do.”
While the Redskins improved in some areas – the defense was 31st a year ago and was 13th entering Sunday – they clearly had too many lapses. And that was true again Sunday. At least they could point to another 100-yard game by a running back. Evan Royster gained 113 yards on 20 carries, his second straight 100-yard game – and the Redskins’ fifth by a back in six games. The offense managed 377 yards overall, yet couldn’t produce more points.
Why? That’s easy.
They had another field goal blocked. That made five for the season. They had Moss taking off his helmet after what he considered a missed pass interference penalty in the end zone. So instead of second and goal from the 4-yard line, they were at the 19.
“Stuff happens in the heat of battle and you never know until after you cool off what went on and how it happened, so you have no regrets,” Moss said. “You just go out there and do what you do. You don’t want to penalize your team, but at the same time me and the official was talking and I felt like he couldn’t hear me with it on so maybe I need to take it off.”
Not a smart decision, especially by a veteran.
“You can’t do that,” Shanahan said.
Nor can you continue to get field goals blocked. The right guard spot has been responsible for at least three of the blocks – and it was a different player each time. Sunday, it was Tyler Polumbus getting overpowered by multiple Eagle defenders. They kept switching players out because of injuries to others.
“But we still got to do better,” Shanahan said. “A lot of teams have new people, but that really hurt us this year.”
And no other team entered Sunday with more than two blocked field goals – and 14 hadn’t allowed a blocked kick.
“It’s frustrating,” kicker Graham Gano said. “I don’t think you can point a finger at anyone. We just have to get it corrected.”
But the blunders weren’t finished. There was another near the end of the first half. With 16 seconds left, quarterback Rex Grossman, from the Eagles’ 15-yard line and no time outs remaining, threw to receiver Jabar Gaffney underneath. He was tackled at the seven-yard line.
However, the Redskins could not stop the ball and left little time for the field goal unit to get a kick off. In fact, long snapper Nick Sundberg ran onto the field, then started to run off because center Will Montgomery was still there – and was going to snap the ball.
Montgomery told reporters, “I didn’t know what we were going to do.”
Grossman said he could not hear the play call because of a headset malfunction. So he went with a different play than the one the coaches wanted. Their play had three receivers running go routes into the end zone. If they weren’t open, the ball would be thrown out of the end zone.
“Obviously it was mismanagement by the headset, myself and we didn’t get the field goal,” Grossman said.
Yet the Redskins still were only down 13-10 after a 27-yard Gano field goal early in the fourth quarter. But Eagles quarterback Michael Vick hit DeSean Jackson for a 62-yard touchdown, beating safety Oshiomogho Atogwe and corner Josh Wilson. Six minutes later Vick connected with Brett Celek from four yards out. Four minutes later Dion Lewis ran it in from nine yards.
A close game turned into a rout and quite an exclamation point on the season.
“Big plays was the thing that killed us,” said Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo, who injured his left pectoral muscle and will undergo an MRI on Monday. “That’s something we struggled with at times. As a team, we don’t know how to finish. As good teams do, you have to know how to finish.”
