Well, that was a punch in the face. While we all grab our metaphorical freezer steaks to slap onto swelling eye sockets (ours is booze), here's a rundown of what went right -- and what went wrong -- in the Redskins' crushing overtime loss to Houston.
The Good
* Donovan McNabb. 426 yards and a 119 QB rating? This is still Washington, right? He may not have been able to sustain it through the fourth quarter and overtime, but McNabb was thrillingly accurate downfield and had the Redskins in a position to win.
* LaRon Landry. It was as if someone fed him after midnight and he spawned 14 other LaRon Landries, and no one exposed any of them to sunlight. “It looks like there’s more than one No. 30 out there," said Dan Fouts.
But is was, in fact, just one No. 30, and he finished the night with a sack, and interception assist, eight solo tackles (one for loss), a pass deflected, and three quarterback hits. Perhaps Mike Shanahan should spill a glass of water on him, just in case.
* The Redskins might've lost, but the universe retained its sense of humor. Gary Kubiak is the ultimate Icing Bro.
* Pretty much everyone eligible to catch. Chris Cooley had 64 yards and a TD. Joey Galloway and Fred Davis each notched 62-yard receptions. Santana Moss was good for 10 grabs and 89 yards. Perhaps this should be Kyle Shanahan's star: it's nice to have an working offense, isn't it?
Sports
* Clinton Portis. Not so much because he ran particularly well, because he rarely had anywhere to go. Or because he scored twice, though that was helpful and fun. But like SBN DC points out, it's the little things. Like a huge downfield block that other running backs rarely, if ever, do. Boosh!
The Bad
* Are the Redskins trying for a record of consecutive weeks botching crucial field goals? Here's guessing Danny Smith is carefully combing through his laptop today, pulling out personal files just in case.
* Scoring 27 points will mask the fact that the Redskins only converted two of 10 third-down attempts. But not forever.
* Perhaps that has something to do with the Redskins gaining only 18 yards on the ground the entire game. No wonder McNabb petered out -- Larry Johnson actually scrambled his way into a 10-yard loss at one point. In fact, everyone not named Clinton Portis managed negative 15 yards. That's not good.
* Sometimes the call is coming from inside the house. Via Dan Steinberg:
Some sort of intern or temporary employee wearing a Redskins Public Relations polo shirt was openly rooting for the Cowboys in the press box during the 1 p.m. games. I suggested that was a strange move, and the employee expressed open dislike for the home team.
It was probably Albert Haynesworth.
The Ugly
* There...there was a defense, right? Matt Schaub was able to throw for 468 yards against the Redskins. FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT. There's only so much a team can do against Andre Johnson, but allowing the Texans receiver to enjoy a career-high 12 catches is still embarassing.
* There is nothing new under the sun: the Redskins coughed up a 17-point lead and lost despite having possession in a tie at the end of regulation and in overtime. McNabb overthrew Joey Galloway with four minutes left, allowing the Texans to score on their final possession of regular time.
* Albert Hanyesworth was out with a sprained ankle. Oh, sure, it's not like he twisted it on purpose. But now he's big, disgruntled, ineffective AND unable to play. He's the everything bagel of a bad front office. He was also noticeably absent from the sideline, where several other injured players were cheering on their teammates.
