Message to all you New Englanders at Brown: the Patriots aren't the only team in the NFL. There are 31 other ... No, scratch that. There's really just one other team that matters. The Washington Redskins.
Those of you who have been so absorbed in the accolades of Tom Brady and Tedy Bruschi probably haven't heard much about the goings-on down in D.C. So let me fill you in.
It has been one crazy roller -coaster ride for Skins fans this year. Nothing symbolizes this wild ride better than last Sunday's thrilling, bizarre, gut-wrenching, ridiculous game against that team we all love to hate - the Dallas Cowboys. But I'll get to that later.
First, let's go back to the end of the 2005 NFL season. Despite a mediocre start to the year, the Redskins finished the season strong, winning their last five games and sneaking into the playoffs. The Redskins beat Tampa Bay before falling to eventual Super Bowl runner-up Seattle.
The conventional wisdom in D.C. following the Redskins' successful finish was that they were ready to make a Super Bowl push in 2006. Just one or two more threats at the wide receiver position to complement superstar wideout Santana Moss, we all thought, would be enough to take this team to the promised land.
Soon enough, the prayers of every Skins fan were answered when Washington acquired Antwaan Randle El from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Brandon Lloyd from the San Francisco 49ers. The Redskins' receiving corps was now complete. Head Coach Joe Gibbs also added free agent strong safety Adam Archuleta from the St. Louis Rams to improve its already stingy secondary. Arguably the Redskins' most important off-season acquisition, however, wasn't even a player. It was offensive guru Al Saunders, who for the past five seasons led the Kansas City Chiefs' offense, which was ranked number one in the NFL from 2002-2005.
Entering August, expectations inside the beltway were soaring. Given the incredible talent the Skins had added in the off-season, anything short of the Super Bowl would be a major disappointment to everyone. The team's dismal performance in the preseason, however, soon tempered those expectations. The Redskins went 0-4 and scored the fewest points of any team in the NFL. To avoid despair, we clung to the hope that Saunders was telling the truth when he said he was using only 2 percent of his notorious 700-page playbook in the preseason. Saunders, we hoped, was saving all of his magic for Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Unfortunately, our optimism proved largely unwarranted. The Skins started out the season 2-5. The offense was wildly inconsistent, showing only very brief flashes of Saunders' supposed genius. For largely inexplicable reasons, the defense had turned from one of the best in the NFL to one of the worst. Archuleta was so ineffective that he is no longer a starter and Lloyd and Randle El were rarely heard from. After losses to the Indianapolis Colts and the then-winless Tennessee Titans in October, the season was slipping away, if not already lost.
Which finally brings us to Washington's game against the Cowboys on Sunday. Redskins-Cowboys games are always a big deal, but this one was huge. A loss for the Skins would essentially end their season, while a win would provide a smidgen of hope. They couldn't be as bad as their record.
Games between these two squads - who have one of the NFL's most bitter rivalries - have a knack for being thrillers, but this contest put all others to shame. From the start, the game was emblematic of the Redskins' fortunes throughout the season. Washington began the game with a great drive, but was unable to put any points on the board after failing to score on seven consecutive plays from inside the 5-yard-line. But just as I was resigning myself to yet another loss, the Redskins' defense forced a safety, tackling running back Julius Jones in his own end zone. Just over two minutes later, the Skins' offense tacked on a field goal to make it 5-0. Things were looking good.
Then the defense turned into its usual self and let the Cowboys drive down the field with ease. Dallas put points on the board on each of its next four possessions.
One minute into the fourth quarter, the Redskins managed to tie it at 19-19 thanks to a dazzling, one-handed touchdown catch by tight end Chris Cooley in the corner of the end zone. The game was relatively tame for the next 11 minutes or so.
But then the madness began. With less than one minute to go, the Skins turned to vagabond kicker Nick Novak - who, just weeks earlier, had been unemployed and living with his parents - to win the game for them. Novak's career long was only 40 yards, but he lined up from 49 yards with 35 seconds remaining. The game, and perhaps a salvaged season, was within the Redskins' grasp. His kick never had a prayer, missing wide to the right. With the NFL's most accurate kicker, Mike Vanderjagt, waiting on the sideline to put an end to the Redskins' misery, the Cowboys still had 31 seconds left to drive down into field goal range.
And, sure enough, they did. Dallas quarterback Tony Romo's 28-yard completion down the middle to tight end Jason Witten, which put the Cowboys just 17 yards from the Washington end zone, was a dagger in the heart of every Skins fan. I was about to turn off the TV - Vanderjagt just doesn't miss from 35 yards; it's a chip-shot by his standards. With six seconds left on the clock, the ball was snapped, Vanderjagt wound up, and all of a sudden, a flash of white entered from the left side of the screen. It was the Redskins' Troy Vincent, who swooped in virtually untouched and blocked Vanderjagt's kick. Redskins safety Sean Taylor scooped up the ball but time had expired. It would have to be decided in overtime.
But we weren't going to overtime just yet. By rule, games cannot end on defensive penalties. Thanks to Dallas' Kyle Kosier, who grabbed Taylor's facemask during the return (a 15-yard penalty), Novak would have another chance to win it for the Skins.
From 47 yards this time and with the clock at 0:00, Novak's kick appeared to be following in the footsteps of its predecessor - wide right. But at the last second, it hooked left, and scraped inside the upright by a matter of inches. Along with Skins and Cowboys fans across the country, I let out a gasp of stunned disbelief over what had just happened.
It was, without a doubt, one of the craziest, most exciting finishes in the history of the NFL. And while I'm realistic enough to know that the odds of the Redskins making the playoffs still aren't the best, this game, this ending, just might be enough to lead the Burgundy and Gold to another stellar second half of the season.
Alex Mazerov '10 was also unemployed and living with his parents a few months ago.
