Clinton Portis conceded the Redskins were too full of themselves.
The running back saw too many smiling faces around Redskins Park last week. The 4-1 start with three seemingly easy opponents pending made 7-1 look real. The playoffs, maybe the Super Bowl seemed sure things.
Everyone became too loose, said Portis. They lost the edge as the perennial underdog. Success proved harder to withstand than adversity.
“We didn’t think ahead all season long until this week,” Portis said. “We overlooked the team that came here to play. … I don’t know how we let them shock us like that.”
The Redskins now have plenty of adversity for incentive after losing 19-17 to previously winless St. Louis on Sunday. Three turnovers, bad punting and too many missed chances left the Redskins with enough material to fill the week for second guessers.
“It was maddening — maddening,” coach Jim Zorn said. “When we ran a play right, [it was] pretty good. … You could see how we were moving. … That was really frustrating.”
The Redskins committed the unforgiveable sin of taking an opponent too lightly. It happens regularly around the NFL, just not in Washington where the Redskins aren’t double-digit favorites very often.
“In this league you can get your butt kicked any day,” said defensive end Jason Taylor, who played for 1-15 Miami last year. “We just lost to a team that was 0-4.”
Players are human. They believed the hype starting to surround their lives after beating Dallas and Philadelphia on the road. St. Louis was one of the worst teams in the NFL. Its offense still is after managing only four field goals against Washington, two on a short field.
But Washington wasn’t quite as good as it looked during the four-game winning streak. It still needs better pass protection after surrendering four sacks to St. Louis. The interior run blocking could be better. The defense must pass rush better with one player not blitzing to give St. Louis time for the key 43-yard reception. The punter might be on the first bus leaving town on Tuesday.
There are plenty of examples for Zorn to use this week. Players will listen this time. Cleveland is better than believed. Detroit nearly knocked off Minnesota on Sunday. The next two games could decide the Redskins season as much as the coming Dallas-Pittsburgh and Philadelphia-San Francisco exactas.
“The past doesn’t buy you anything; it only buys you confidence,” said running back Rock Cartwright.
The Redskins should keep their swagger. The defense is pretty good. So is the offense. A fluke play cost them a touchdown against St. Louis. The Redskins came one play away from surviving three turnovers.
Washington is good enough to win 10 games, but it’s probably still a wild card in the NFL’s toughest division. Come January, it will be all about survive and advance. The Redskins would be smart to adopt that strategy now.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
