Perhaps the most-talked about play of the Redskins' loss to a team that hadn't won in 15 attempts (just in case you haven't heard that mentioned as many times) was Clinton Portis' sliding self-tackle on a 27-yard run.
Did he trip? Try to avoid contact? Need a nap?
According to Portis, he went down untouched on purpose. Saith the running back on 106.7 The Fan today:
"I did fall on purpose. ...All week long we were coached to sacrifice yardage for the ball...I wasn't going to risk somebody grabbing my arm, snatching my arm."
And here we thought there were some things a football player would never admit.
To be fair, coach Mike Shanahan said earlier that Portis' hand was bothering him, and he didn't feel like the ball was secure enough to sustain contact.
"I've been carrying the ball with two hands in practice," Portis explained later. "Sunday in the game was the first time I carried with one hand."
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This, of course, doesn't do much to refute opinions that the Redskins are soft, though that argument is mostly about the interior lines.
According to Portis, one needs only look at his resume to know that's not his particular problem, nor is sharing snaps with Ryan Torrain.
"People can believe what they want to believe," he said. "My film will tell you enough...When it comes to competition, I feel I'll outplay anybody. I feel with what I've done the last nine years you can tell the difference whether I'm in or out."
(Somewhere, John Riggins snorts in his underwear, because the thing between them will never die.)
Unfortunately for Portis, there isn't much film from the second half of Sunday's game. Asked if he could explain his limited role post-slide, CP went particularly Portisian:
"There's a lot about life you don't understand," he said. "Welcome to my world."
