The Co-host of the Redskins Capital Connection podcast, Mark Phillips doesn’t put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) very often, but when he does it’s always worth sitting up and taking notice. Here is his first article for the 2015 season.
We don’t get these much. Think about it; how often do the Redskins have that drive late in the game to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? Since 2012 the Redskins have had four of these. Wins in games that came down to one drive by the offense with 7 minutes or less left in the 4th quarter.
The first was in 2012 where the Redskins beat Tampa Bay in Tampa by driving down for a game winning field goal. There was the game against Chicago in 2013. The third was last year with a drive to beat Tennessee with a field goal.
The fourth was today.
That means this is the only game since 2012 that the Redskins scored a touchdown on a late drive that made the difference between winning and losing. In fact today Fox showed a graphic that indicated that Kirk Cousins has one 4th quarter or overtime comeback in his career. For those of you that don’t remember all of Cousins wins that comeback was the 2012 game against the Ravens. So that means his previous best comeback consisted of one nice throw and centering the ball after a strong Richard Crawford punt return.
For those of you that look to correct these things; yes, the Ravens game in 2012 consisted of a drive to tie the game then win so there was no drive that meant you won or lost. The Chargers game in 2013 was a touchdown drive in a tie game, and the same is true of the Dallas game last year except it was a field goal. We almost never get these.
To be fair the defense did screw one of them up in 2012 by letting Victor Cruz run 77 yards basically untouched and we were a 2 point conversion away of pulling one off against Atlanta in 2013. The Redskins couldn’t do it in multiple tries over the past 4 years and that doesn’t include the opportunities the team had to tie a game with a touchdown. As Redskins fans we should enjoy any win we can get but I am going to soak this one in longer than usual.
For one it’s the Eagles. There is no team I despise more than the Cowboys but the Eagles are a close second. The Buddy Ryan years made me hate this team at a level that nearly matched our most hated rival. Chip Kelly is a different kind of jerk but a jerk nonetheless. Another reason is that it will silence the negative noise for another week.
But the main reason is that we almost never get these kind of comeback wins.
How many defeat snatched from the jaws of victory moments have we as fans had over the years. This was perfectly set up to be another one of those moments. Blowing a double digit lead, watching the team’s best players let us down with Chris Culliver running like me, Ryan Kerrigan uncharacteristically whiffing twice on sacks, with one costing us a touchdown, and Jordan Reed having maybe his worst game as a pro. The defense making enough stops to allow the offense that one more chance when they couldn’t make the stops needed to keep the lead. A penalty negating a phenomenal Cousins escape and first down scramble. This was the signature Redskins loss…. until they didn’t.
Alfred Morris set the tone and Pierre Garcon punctuated the final drive making three huge catches, two of them man sized catches where he took a big hit afterwards, and the other setting up first and goal.
Then with the Eagles still having three timeouts trailing only by three, the marginal NFL player that made plays made them for us for once. Trent Murphy had more impact in the clutch on three plays than Brian Orakpo ever did in those situations (OK, other than drawing the holding call to win the Dallas game in 2010).
So Redskins fans my advice to you is this. Don’t worry if we can build on this one. Stop thinking about what momentum this gives the team. Enjoy this win. Soak it in. Lower your long term expectations and live in the moment.
Which Cowboys win do you remember more the home win in 2012 for the division title of the 2005 Santana Moss two lightning strike game? I’d bet for most of you it is the Moss game because it was a late comeback to win over a division rival.
The 2012 game was more important but the 2005 game was more memorable. Wins for the Redskins are rare enough in recent years but comeback division wins are something the Cowboys, Giants and Eagles have done to us in recent years. We finally got one back. Soak it in folks and HTTR.
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