Emotional loss for Redskins
LANDOVER, Md. – Fred Smoot cried several times when he looked over to the safety position and Sean Taylor wasn’t there. Santana Moss held up his fingers to represent Taylor’s No. 21 after catching a pass. Clinton Portis revealed a T-shirt honoring Taylor after scoring the game’s only touchdown.
Drained before they ever took the field, the Washington Redskins somehow steeled their fragile emotions and played to honor their fallen teammate in front of 85,000 fans waving their No. 21 towels.
Their resolve was shattered, replaced by more tears and disbelief, when former Washington State kicker Rian Lindell booted a 36-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to give the Buffalo Bills a 17-16 victory.
“It makes your heart drop all the way to your feet,” quarterback Jason Campbell said. “We wanted to come out here and win one for Sean.”
Five days after Taylor died from a gunshot wound in Florida, the Redskins defense did Taylor proud by not allowing a touchdown. Buffalo’s points came on five field goals and a safety.
But, on this of all days, a major gaffe by Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs played a key role in leaving Washington’s players disconsolate at the final whistle.
Lindell made a 51-yard attempt that didn’t count because Gibbs called timeout just as the ball was snapped. Gibbs then called another timeout as Lindell lined up a second time, but consecutive timeouts aren’t allowed in the NFL – and they result in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when specifically called to freeze the kicker.
The penalty gave Lindell a much easier kick in the rain. His game-winner extended his streak to 17 consecutive made field goals, tying the franchise record.
Gibbs said he asked an official if it was OK to call a second timeout, and the coach thought the official said yes. Still, the harried moments of a game’s final seconds are hardly a good time to be learning the rule book.
Afterward, players spilled their emotions in a room in which Taylor’s locker was sealed in Plexiglas, just as it is at Redskins Park, the team’s headquarters. They tried to exonerate Gibbs, saying that any number of mistakes and blown plays could have cost them the game.
More than anything, though, they were emotionally spent.
“I didn’t show up to play this game,” said Smoot, the Washington cornerback. “I showed up for a tribute for my friend, to send him out right, and we found a way to mess it up.”
On Wednesday, Taylor’s father, Pedro Taylor, addressed the Redskins and urged them to win five games in a row and make the playoffs. But Washington (5-7) has now lost four straight and is fading quickly from the postseason picture. The Redskins will fly to Taylor’s funeral today, then must try to find a way to focus for a Thursday night game against Chicago.
“I just hope as a team we can get down to Miami for the funeral and get some closure so that we can move forward,” defensive end Phillip Daniels said. “It’s been tough for everybody. … It wasn’t easy to get out there and play today.”