Botched extra point try results in another loss
The Redskins’ season in a nutshell: Fans cheering the turnaround. Players on the sideline celebrating their heroics and prepping for another shot at victory. Players on the field botching the simplest of plays.
Then again, nothing has been simple for Washington this season; otherwise, the Redskins wouldn’t be 5-8. But that’s where they are after Sunday’s 17-16 loss to Tampa Bay (8-5), a game that was clinched when holder Hunter Smith couldn’t control a high snap on an extra point attempt.
“It’s execution,” Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. “Sometimes it feels like you’re cursed a little bit, but that’s definitely not the case. The football gods ain’t cursing us right now. We’re just not executing some plays that’s supposed to be routine.”
That about sums up a season that appeared to be headed in a different direction after seven weeks when the Redskins were 4-3. Instead, it’ll end with another season out of the playoffs. The Redskins have lost four games this season by four points or less.
“When you’re just losing and you know you had a chance to win … I’m talking throughout the game, throughout the years, throughout this year … that’s why it hurts,” Redskins receiver Santana Moss said. “I’m just getting tired of it.”
The Redskins managed to lose on a day when their starting running back, Ryan Torain, gained 172 yards — 158 in the first half. Yet that sterling first half netted only 10 points as Graham Gano missed field goals from 34 and 24 yards.
And there were two dropped interceptions, including one by Hall that could have been a game-changer.
“I would have probably took it to the house,” Hall said.
There also was the fumbled kickoff to start the second half. Tampa Bay tried to give Washington good field position by squibbing a kick down the middle rather than nailing one deep to dangerous Brandon Banks. But Chris Wilson couldn’t corral the slick ball, and Tampa Bay recovered, leading to a field goal and 10-6 deficit.
That ignited a third quarter in which the Redskins gained 11 yards. They had 48 yards of offense in the second half until the final drive.
“It’s the story of the season. It really is,” center Casey Rabach said. “We play really good football, and then we have that lull.”
This season has been filled with near misses and what-ifs, a common occurrence for losing teams. But this one set a new bar, mainly because of how it ended.
After Santana Moss caught a 6-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down toss with 13 seconds left, capping a 75-yard drive, the Redskins lined up for the tying extra point.
A simple play.
But not for the Redskins. And not on a day when rain fell the entire game.
Naturally, Nick Sundberg’s snap was high. Holder Hunter Smith couldn’t get the ball down, and Gano was tackled in pursuit of the errant snap.
“It was higher than I wanted it to be,” Sundberg said.
“I have to catch the ball and put it down,” Smith said. “Doesn’t matter if the snap is high. I’ve caught a lot of high snaps in the rain, and I dropped this one and we lost the game.”
