The emotion of the day was tough enough. It started in the locker room, where Sean Taylor’s locker resembled a mini-museum, with his personal items, including his shoulder pads with his jersey over them, sitting behind Plexiglass. And there was the pregame warm-ups, perhaps the most difficult part of the day.
Their teammate was missing; they noticed his absence.
“There were a lot of watery eyes out there,” Redskins center Casey Rabach said.
They stayed moist for a while.
“You could probably tell a couple of guys still had it in the back of their mind [during the game], rightfully so,” Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell said.
Their grief was compounded by the fact that they couldn’t do what they wanted: win a game for Taylor, who died Tuesday morning of gunshot wounds. And it ended in cruel fashion: A 36-yard Ryan Lindell field goal, giving Buffalo a 17-16 victory over the reeling Redskins.
As they’ve done all week, the players’ emotions dashed between football and real life.
“It’s terribly disappointing that we lost the game,” Redskins guard Pete Kendall said, “but [Monday] we have to go about the business of burying a teammate and a friend. There’s not anything that’s worse than that.”
The Redskins (5-7), as they’ve done too often this season, blew a double-digit lead at home, one reason they’re fading in the playoff race. This time, Buffalo (6-6) rallied from a 16-5 deficit.
“It’s like your heart dropped all the way to your feet,” Campbell said.
The Redskins could have had a bigger lead, but settled for field goals of 27 and 28 yards in the first half.
The Bills rallied with 27 seconds left, thanks in large part to a 30-yard Trent Edwards pass to receiver Josh Reed to the Redskins’ 33. Reed caught the ball in the area Taylor used to patrol.
“I stepped in front of the pass and thought it would be an interception,” Redskins safety Reed Doughty, who now starts for Taylor, said.
A play later, following a Redskins penalty, Lindell kicked the game-winner.
“We wanted to win this game for [Taylor],” Redskins corner Fred Smoot said.
Their hearts would have been just as heavy afterward. They were reminded all day of his presence. Signs were everywhere; towels with Taylor’s No. 21 were handed out to fans; a large sign with his name and number, flanked by black ribbons, sat above one end zone.
“My first two drives I cried,” Smoot said. “I’m used to looking back there and seeing him. … It went on during the game. [Today], we’ll get the real effects of it.”
