The Defense Fails to Hold Strong

Unheralded Fullback Helps Seal Victory With 32-Yard Run in Fourth Quarter

SEATTLE, Jan. 14 -- The defense that had become the Washington Redskins' signature during an unlikely playoff run was asked to once more keep the season alive, to make yet more game-saving plays in a season full of them.

So it isn't surprising that after the Redskins' season was extinguished, 20-10, on Saturday by the Seattle Seahawks, the key members of the defensive unit didn't focus on holding the league's top-ranked offense to only 20 points but instead on the play they didn't make, the drive they couldn't stop.

The defense played well enough to advance, but proved mortal. Seattle wide receiver Darrell Jackson caught nine passes for 143 yards, the first time since Dec. 11 at Arizona that the defense yielded a 100-yard receiving game. The top Seahawks rusher gained only 49 yards, but, fairly or unfairly, a prideful defense saw the season come down to one stretch, and judged itself accordingly.

Trailing 17-10 and stung by John Hall's missed 36-yard field goal, the defense took the field at the Seattle 27-yard line with 8 minutes 1 second left in the game. The Seahawks to that point had amassed but 71 yards rushing over the previous 52 minutes and were without league MVP Shaun Alexander, who the Redskins had knocked out of the game with a concussion in the first quarter.

After quarterback Matt Hasselbeck hit backup running back Maurice Morris underneath for 16 yards, the defense thwarted two running plays by Morris to set up a third and six at the 48.

The Redskins, in a five defensive back formation, crowded the line to blitz. Defensive end Phillip Daniels watched Hasselbeck and heard him call an audible at the line. Linebacker Marcus Washington heard the audible, too, but couldn't tell if the change was due to something Hasselbeck saw at the line of scrimmage, or if Seattle Coach Mike Holmgren called it from the sideline. The difference was crucial, for if the call came from Holmgren, the Redskins might have called off the blitz.

Instead, the Redskins blitzed. Hasselbeck took the snap and handed it to fullback Mack Strong. Strong, who had carried the ball only once in the game, went right, broke through a tackle by nickel back Omar Stoutmire and found a seam, racing 32 yards to the Redskins 20. Five plays later, Josh Brown made a 31-yard field goal for the game's final margin.

"They got us. They checked to that," Daniels said. "The quarterback said something and they expected the play we were running. He just hit it quick and he was out of there."

For the Redskins, it was the deflating play of the game, both keeping the Seattle drive alive and putting them in field goal position. When the drive was over, the Seattle offense had gone 60 yards and more importantly, had taken 5:07 off the clock. When the Redskins got the ball back, they were down by two scores with just 2:49 remaining.

"We had a chance to win this thing. We were still in the ballgame. We had them third and six and Mack Strong makes a big play. It was a heck of a call," Washington said. "We weren't expecting them to go to Mack Strong. We were thinking maybe Hasselbeck was going to try to make a play. It was a good call right there. Guys stood up in the red zone and held them to a field goal, but we just couldn't get it done today."

That the Redskins would rely on their defense was a given. In meetings during the week, the Redskins were convinced they would be able to punish the West Coast offense of the Seahawks. Washington and the defense had directed their animus toward Alexander, who set an NFL record with 28 touchdowns, 27 rushing. They did not believe in the league's MVP, and with 4:38 left in the first quarter, LaVar Arrington and Cornelius Griffin crushed Alexander trying to cut back to the middle. Alexander, who suffered a concussion, finished with nine yards on six carries, and didn't return.

"Everyone keeps asking me about Shaun Alexander, like he's Superman, but I don't know. When you play against us, you're going to get hit. Even the games we lost, we won the physical part of it," Washington said. "If they're going to rely on a running back to beat us, I like those odds. We shut Tiki [Barber] down [Dec. 24]. He didn't do much against us. The MVP comes out today, the Riddells got to popping. . . . "

The Redskins are well known for being an aggressive defense, but did not blitz Hasselbeck much.

"I think we did the right thing. I think we had a near-perfect game plan," Daniels said. "We didn't blitz them a lot because of what we saw on film, and also because of the situations we were in. We weren't in a lot of second and long or third and longs. I think we played more coverage because I think that's the look that gave him some trouble."

Hasselbeck at times looked confused. Once, he nearly threw an interception in the flat, but cornerback Carlos Rogers couldn't hold it. The Redskins knocked down no fewer than four passes at the line of scrimmage, and on one occasion, Hasselbeck scrambled, did a 360-degree spin and nearly threw a disastrous interception.

"We didn't blitz a whole lot. I think all along he thought it was coming," Daniels said. "He threw some balls up that we should have had. He was dancing a little bit. He couldn't find the receivers. We had the perfect game plan, we just didn't execute it all the way."