Redskins Recap - Decent Effort, Same Outcome

A loss wasn’t exactly surprising this week.  What some people may have not expected is for the Redskins to put up the fight that they did.  They certainly didn’t look great and they made some very BIG mistakes, but at least they played tough…..at times.

AP Photo/Rich Lipski

The Skins had the ball for a good chunk of time in the first quarter.  But that is a bit deceptive, as the Patriots struck first.  Ex-Redskin Andre Carter got through the left side of the offensive line (where Trent Williams would’ve been if he wasn’t an idiot), and knocked the ball away from Rex Grossman in the end zone.  The Patriots recovered for a defensive touchdown.  After a Graham Gano field goal, the Pats scored again on a 2 play drive that included a play where D-Hall literally stood there and watched 2 of his teammates get beat and did absolutely nothing to help.  The Redskins scored 7 late in the first quarter on a Grossman to Gaffney 9-yard touchdown. 

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

The second quarter started with a whole lot of Redskin fun!!  A little trick play allowed Brandon Banks to throw a 49 yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss.  The rest of the half was filled by mistakes and ridiculous penalties.  There was an outrageously bad Roughing the Passer call against London Fletcher that just reinforced why it’s called the “Tom Brady Rule.”  There had been a roughing call against the Patriots as well, but in the case of the call against the Skins, Brady was actually running the ball.  Man was the crowd loud on that one.  About as loud as I’ve heard it all year.  The score was tied at 20 at the half.

The Redskin’s David Anderson scored a touchdown in the 3^rd quarter on a pass from Grossman.  But Tom Brady, who wasn’t at the top of his game, seemed to have more answers than the Skins did.  Of course, Brady had his help, as D-Hall, once again proved he’s a true professional.  He got flagged for a 5 year penalty, but picked up the flag and threw it, adding another 15 yards onto the penalty.  The Patriots took advantage and took the lead, 34-27 in this quarter.

There was no scoring in the 4^th quarter.  Not that there weren’t opportunities.  Josh Wilson picked a Brady pass in the end zone.  Grossman actually hit Moss in the end zone for what appeared to be the game tying touchdown.  But the play was called back on an Offensive Interference call.  I haven’t seen the replay yet, but he was pretty freaking wide open, so I would guess he probably did it.  And then 2 plays later, Rex threw a pass that bounced off Santana’s hands and into those of a Patriot.  Game over. 

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Rex was 19 of 32 for 252 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception (should’ve been at least 2 interceptions).  Roy Helu had a great game with 27 runs for 126 yards.  His back up, Royster, also played well with 6 runs for 44 yards.  Gaffney and Stallworth both had big days with 92 and 96 yards respectively.  Santana Moss had 3 receptions for 81 yards. London Fletcher had 10 tackles and Perry Riley had 6, which included one gigantic hit that the crowd loved. 

My silver lining for the week is that the offense looked to be cohesive at times and, even with the mistakes, it really was a close game that was pretty fun to watch.  Next week the Skins are away against the Giants.