Redskins quarterback Trent Green, left, reacts with Washington's bench after Arizona's Joe Nedney made the game-winning field goal Sunday. (Rich Lipski - The Post)

By Liz Clarke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 9, 1998; Page A1

TEMPE, Ariz., Nov. 8 – Place kicker Cary Blanchard has been a member of the Washington Redskins less than two months. But with one swift, sure smack of his foot, Blanchard was elevated to Redskins royalty this afternoon.

With 35 seconds remaining, Blanchard kicked a 54-yard field goal to give the Redskins a 27-26 lead over the Arizona Cardinals. As the ball sailed through the uprights, the feeling of relief and joy among the Redskins was palpable. Cornerback Cris Dishman leapt into the arms of offensive tackle Shar Pourdanesh, while half the team thrust their arms in the air in jubilation and the other half rushed onto the field to smother Blanchard in a giant hug.

But 33 seconds later, the Redskins' finest moment of this difficult season had been erased in painful fashion. In that short time span, Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer marched his team downfield to set up Arizona's own field goal. As their place kicker trotted onto the field, the Cardinals players stood shoulder to shoulder in silence, holding hands as a sign of unity. As the Redskins prayed for a sudden stiff breeze, Joe Nedney's 47-yard kick was on target, handing the Redskins a 29-27 defeat before a crowd of 45,950 at Sun Devil Stadium.

Washington's eighth loss of the season, which brought their record to 1-8, stung more than the previous seven.

"It was the first time all year we were in a situation at the end of the game and we had a chance to win," wide receiver Leslie Shepherd said. "It was exciting the last two minutes. Unfortunately we came up on the short end, but that just pretty much sums up our season."

Washington's Albert Connell, left, battles with Arizona's J.B. Brown for a pass Sunday. (AP Photo)

This game featured wild swings of momentum, with Washington bolting to a 17-7 halftime lead then falling behind by nine points in a miserable second half.

Then, just when it seemed a victory was a hopeless cause, the Redskins rallied, pulling within two points on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Shepherd with 1 minute 39 seconds remaining.

Blanchard followed with an onside kick that gave the Redskins another chance to score. He did his part – hitting the field goal that gave Washington the lead that seemed to clinch matters.

But Arizona struck gold in the 33 seconds that remained. And the sparse crowd in the stands (more than 30,000 tickets remained unsold at kickoff) sounded three times its size, with fans standing and screaming for the Cardinals.

Nedney's kick was perfect, and with it died the Redskins' hope of victory.

More than anything, the game seemed a metaphor for the disappointment that the season has brought to Redskins players and fans.

Afterward, Coach Norv Turner refused to become despondent over his team's most wrenching loss yet.

"Listen," Turner told reporters, "as I told our guys, I'm not going to hang my head and I don't want them to hang their heads. This is a tough league, and every week you go out, you're in jeopardy. [Arizona] has been playing great defense, and you know they're talented enough on offense to make plays. They get in a rhythm like they did today, and they can make plays. So you've got to go fight, make the plays you can and play the entire game."

The best news from the Redskins' latest loss was that, at least in the first half, the team showed it could fight back from adversity.

Brian Mitchell, the Redskins' return specialist, opened the game by running the full length of the field for a touchdown. But a holding penalty by a teammate negated the score.

Instead of falling apart in the face of the setback, as had happened more than a few times this season, the Redskins rallied, driving for a field goal and a pair of touchdowns.

Having dominated the first half, however, Washington came out in the third quarter and played their most miserable football of the season, managing just six offensive plays in the measly 2:56 that they controlled the ball in the period.

As Washington's offense sputtered, Arizona's came to life. The Cardinals added a pair of touchdowns, a safety and a field goal to swing the momentum and take a 26-17 lead with 3:09 remaining.

The safety was one of the stranger plays of the game. Pro Bowl punter Matt Turk, whose play has been one of the Redskins' few assets, apparently lost his focus on a snap and the ball slipped through his hands. The fumble in the end zone resulted in two points for Arizona.

Turk left the locker room without comment. "He feels as bad as anybody else," special teams coach LeCharls McDaniel said.

Instead of collapsing under the weight of their nine-point deficit, the Redskins put together one of the most exciting finishes of the season.

After Shepherd's touchdown reception pulled them to 26-24, Blanchard tried an onside kick that took the perfect bounce – squarely into the arms of teammate Stephen Davis, which gave the Redskins another chance to score.

It took quarterback Trent Green barely a minute to get the Redskins within field goal range. That's when Blanchard came out and hit the kick that made him a hero.

With 35 seconds left on the clock, Turner warned his players that Arizona could still come back. And the Redskins' offensive players, relegated to the sideline once again, had nothing to do but pray as Plummer came up with successive big plays – hitting three of his final four passes – to keep his team in the game.

"We're sitting on the sideline – the offensive players – counting the field goal yardage," said Shepherd. "We knew that guy had a strong leg. We were hoping the wind got it."