But Canidate was stopped after a two-yard gain on first down. Ramsey avoided a Dolphins rush but threw incomplete on second down. He wasn't as fortunate on third down. Ramsey was grabbed by Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, who beat Samuels on the play. Ramsey stayed on his feet, only to be rewarded by receiving a jarring hit by defensive end Jay Williams. Ramsey managed to release an underhanded throw, but officials ruled that he had been down first. He had his right shoulder rammed to the ground and his neck twisted, and he remained on the turf as head trainer Dean Kleinschmidt rushed to his side.
Redskins officials said Ramsey merely had been shaken up and possibly could return to the game. Hasselbeck soon made that unnecessary, though. He is on his fourth NFL team. He never has made an NFL start and, before this game, he had thrown three regular season passes -- all at Dallas three weeks ago in his Redskins debut. But the Redskins liked what they saw in practices from the former undrafted free agent, and Spurrier said during the week that he thought Hasselbeck would perform "admirably" if he had to play.
It's crunch time for Washington Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey, who gets knocked out of the game by Miami defensive end Jason Taylor.
(John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)
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"I've always believed in myself," said Hasselbeck, who completed 15 of 30 passes for 150 yards. "I've always believed I can play this game. . . . I've had a lot of people tell me I'm not good enough. If this gives me another chance to play, I'm happy for that. But I really am not happy. . . . There are too many plays I don't feel good about in the second half."
Hall followed the sack of Ramsey with a 28-yard field goal that got the Redskins to within 7-3. The Miami offense went three plays and out, with Smith equaling Reggie White's record when he combined with fellow defensive end Renaldo Wynn on a sack of Griese. Then Hasselbeck went to work proving Spurrier right.
He zipped a throw to wide receiver Rod Gardner for a 13-yard gain. He stepped up to avoid a rush to slip a pass to Canidate for five yards. But he had a throw batted down at the line on a third-and-three play from the Miami 13, and the Redskins had to settle for Hall's 31-yard field goal.
On the Redskins' next possession, Hasselbeck began with a completion to Coles for 12 yards, and got six yards on a third-and-four connection with wide receiver Patrick Johnson. That gave the Redskins a first down at the Miami 37. Coles got behind cornerback Patrick Surtain on a pump-and-go, and Hasselbeck put his throw on target for his first NFL touchdown pass.
The Dolphins again had to punt, and the Redskins moved 80 yards to make it 20-7. Reserve running back Chad Morton had a 27-yard romp -- the Redskins' longest run from scrimmage this season -- for a first down at the Dolphins 17. Hasselbeck showed some athletic skills with an 11-yard scramble to the 5. Samuels was hurt on the next play, but a personal foul on cornerback Terrell Buckley gave the Redskins a first down at the 3. On second down from the 2, Canidate took and pitchout to the right and got into the end zone untouched.
Place kicker Olindo Mare drilled a 51-yard field goal seven seconds before the break to get Miami to 20-10. The Dolphins moved to the Redskins 25 on their initial possession of the third quarter. But Griese tried to force a pass to wideout Chris Chambers and had it intercepted by Bauman, playing for the first time since the loss at Buffalo on Oct. 19.
The Redskins moved from their 3 to the Miami 41 before being halted. But Kendall Newson dropped Bryan Barker's punt, and the Redskins' Zeron Flemister fell on the ball at the Dolphins 16. Hall's 22-yard field goal upped the advantage to 23-10. That prompted Dolphins Coach Dave Wannstedt to bench Griese in favor of Fiedler, who had sidelined the previous four games by a sprained knee. He jogged on the field to cheers and provided an immediate spark with a strike to Chambers for a 31-yard gain. A pass-interference penalty on Redskins safety Ifeanyi Ohalete in the end zone gave the Dolphins a first down at the 1. They needed four plays to score, but Williams finally jumped into the end zone on fourth down.
"Guys are competing their butts off," Hasselbeck said. "To have a lead and lose it . . . it stinks."
