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A Half-Off Deal
Ladell Betts stands with his hands on his hips after failing to get in the end zone on fourth down. Betts picked up no yardage on two straight carries to end the game and had nine yards on seven carries for the day.
(John McDonnell - The Washington Post)
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Manning threw an ugly interception on his next drive -- one of three New York turnovers -- then engineered an 11-play march to the end zone to tie the game early in the fourth quarter, with reserve tailback Derrick Ward (26 rushes for 94 yards) busting through for six yards to the 5 on third and five and Droughns again scoring from a yard out. "It was just kind of slipping away from us," linebacker Marcus Washington said.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell (16 for 34, 190 yards, one touchdown) fumbled a handoff to tailback Clinton Portis that former Redskin Antonio Pierce recovered. "Another communication problem," said Campbell, who fumbled three times and lost one. New York took over at the Washington 44 and Williams gambled on third and nine from the 33; he called for "cover-0" -- an all-out blitz with an empty secondary -- and corner Carlos Rogers failed to wrap up Burress at the 30, allowing him to scamper into the end zone with 5:32 to play.
"That's one I wish I would have played less aggressive," Williams said.
"I need to make the tackle there," Rogers said.
Washington's defense finally forced a three-and-out, however, Antwaan Randle El's nifty punt return put the ball on the New York 35 and 2:19 remained to play. So much went askew: Center Casey Rabach's holding penalty wiped out Randle El's 25-yard gain; Rabach then had a false start; and Campbell fumbled another snap. But the young passer delivered a 15-yard pass to Santana Moss on fourth and eight, and Randle El leaped for a 20-yard gain on third and 13 to the 1 with a minute to play.
The Redskins appeared harried in the crunch -- a not infrequent problem during Coach Joe Gibbs's second tenure -- and fell just short. Twice they opted to pierce the left side of New York's defense -- a vulnerability exploited early in the game -- and Portis (14 rushes for 60 yards), who leads the team with three touchdowns, was on the bench as Betts finished his turn in the rotation.
"We feel like either one of our backs are capable of being in there," Gibbs said.
All of Washington's first-half good fortune was wasted. New middle linebacker London Fletcher intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble -- the Redskins did not have an interception all season and had just six a year ago -- and the Redskins seemed to be on the verge of the rout. Fletcher's turnovers led directly to 10 points and place kicker Shaun Suisham was good from 47 yards as the half expired to provide a 14-point lead that ultimately wasn't big enough.
