The odyssey that is the 2010 Redskins road to reality takes another turn with an underwhelming 17-13 loss to Minnesota. An afternoon of limitations and missed opportunities... a day of costly penalties and a running game that never got in gear plus a defense that played well until they needed to make a crucial fourth quarter stop. One week after an emotional victory on the road, the pendulum swings back the other way as playoff hopes are dealt a major blow-- they trail the division co-leaders by two games...and are two games behind three 7-4 teams for the final playoff spot in the NFC. Not that Redskins Nation ever thinks accelerates expectations regarding postseason play.
Donovan and Distance-- Mr. McNabb threw for 211 yards and a touchdown plus an interception that hit Santana Moss's hands and chest...and that's not including the other passes dropped. #5 must be more accurate in the future.
Began with a Bang only to end with a whimper-- if you saw the opening drive, there's no way you would have thought that would be the only touchdown of the day... McNabb hit 8 of 8 passes for for 84 yards and a 10-yard scoring toss to Fred Davis. So much for setting the tone.
Running aground-- 13 carries for 29 yards... so not what you dream about in the Haven of the Hogs. No Portis or Torain means James Davis and Keiland Williams were front and center-- and the tandem tallied less than two yards a carry.
Second half? You can have it-- with dropped passes and lack of holes up front... it's no surprise the offense spent 70% of the second half on the sidelines. The Vikings had the ball for 21 minutes after intermission as the Skins offense gained just 66 yrds after scores and highlights from around the league. How bad was the third quarter? The Skins were outscored 10-0 and outgained 99-3 as the near-knockout blow... it's a credit to this team that they bounced back and didn't let things get ugly.
Scheduling Snafu-- Shame on you FOX. As it stands next Sunday's 4:15 national games will be Indianapolis-Dallas and Tampa Bay-Atlanta. The Buccaneers-Falcons clash will be for the NFC South lead while the Colts-Cowboys battle will be a drama-filled duel... I wish they'd move one or the other to 1pm to give both the huge audiences they deserve (more than Skins-Giants).
Hold the Line-- not only did the Skins have issues running the ball, the offensive line gave up four sacks... opponents are averaging just under three sacks a game against this makeshift unit.
Third and not so forever-- after having problems moving the chains all season, the Redskins converted 7 of 15 third downs against the Vikings... but just 1 for 6 after halftime. Defensively the Skins held Minnesota to 6 of 15 on third down-- but when they needed to get the ball back in the fourth quarter allowed an 8 yard pass on third and five, and a ten yard scramble (with Brett Favre it looked more like a stagger) on third and eight.
Dissecting the Division-- Despite Philadelphia's loss, the Eagles remain atop the NFC East standings due to their win over the Giants (thanks, Washington Post for going alphabetical instead of by tiebreakers-- I expect better from the paper of Woodward & Bernstein)... currently owning the #3 seed while the Giants are 6th as of this moment due to better conference record and strength of victory than Tampa Bay and Green Bay. The Skins are currently 9th in the NFC-- and wasted an early-season advantage with three straight conference losses. Dallas? The Cowboys are 12th if San Francisco beats Arizona in Monday Night Football, 13th if the Cardinals prevail.
Want excitement? Banks on it-- Brandon Banks returned one kickoff back 65 yrds to help set up a Redskin score... and had a punt return go for a touchdown that was called back. After years of almost expecting nothing from the return game it's nice to have a difference maker back there.
What's a Haynesworth-- one tackle and half a sack for the 100 million dollar man...upping his total to 16 stops and 2.5 QB drops over eight games.
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