Written by Dan Steinberg at Washington Post.com
I can’t believe the Redskins just lost that game.
(Hell yes, we are doing this again. And I don’t blame you at all if you stop reading right now. Go get a beer or something. It’s Thanksgiving week. Washington doesn’t work this week. Maybe make some yams or something. Pretend none of it ever happened.)
No, but really: I can’t believe the Redskins just lost that game. I can’t believe the Redskins just lost that game, despite having a 15-point lead with less than five minutes left and the Saints on their own side of midfield facing a first and 20 while local fans were busy toasting their team for having the sort of resilience and guts few Washington teams in 25 years have had.
Frankly, I still can’t believe the Redskins even had a 15-point lead — on the road, as more than a touchdown underdogs, with leading rusher (and receiver) Chris Thompson having broken his leg, against perhaps the NFL’s hottest team, with just about every major offensive play coming from dudes who were supposed to be backups.
I can’t believe all the moments that helped build that lead: the Redskins successfully running a fake punt from their own 15-yard line, Kirk Cousins throwing a pinpoint touchdown pass (to Ryan Grant!) while getting obliterated by blitzers, clutch plays coming from third-string tight end Niles Paul and fourth-string tight end Jeremy Sprinkle, Samaje Perine churning out Washington’s first 100-yard game in forever, Byron Marshall (who had been on the team for five days) getting a key carry in crunchtime, an entire roster rising up with one of the most improbable efforts of this NFL season, a winning performance that had Joe Buck and Troy Aikman talking about Washington’s steadily rising playoff chances.
I can’t believe Aikman said Washington’s final touchdown was a dagger.
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