Redskins fumble away the game in frantic final minutes of 19-16 loss to Cowboys

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/redskins-fumble-away-the-game-in-frantic-final-minutes-of-loss-to-dallas/2015/12/08/57ee3b5a-9d31-11e5-bce4-708fe33e3288_story.html

Version 0 of 1.

For weeks, Washington Redskins Coach Jay Gruden had dangled the possibility of having DeSean Jackson return punts as if the infamous speedster were Washington’s ultimate weapon, to be deployed only in must-have, end-game situations.

So with the score knotted with 1 minute 47 seconds remaining in a penalty-marred slugfest against the Dallas Cowboys, Gruden tapped Jackson, who flapped his arms to rouse the crowd of 80,444 at FedEx Field as he awaited the punt.

What followed was a horror show for Redskins faithful, in which a game that seemed irretrievably lost was given new life, only to be lost again.

In the final two minutes, Jackson fumbled the punt, the Cowboys’ Darren McFadden scored a go-ahead touchdown, Jackson atoned with a 28-yard touchdown catch that re-tied it with 44 seconds remaining.

But Dallas had the final say, with place kicker Dan Bailey’s 54-yard attempt creaking over the goal post to seal the Cowboys’ 19-16 victory with nine seconds remaining.

It was a wild installment to the NFC East’s most heated rivalry, in which Dallas now takes a 66-41-2 lead.

And while the Redskins trudged off the field gutted in defeat, now 5-7, they remain atop the NFC East by virtue of the tiebreak they hold over both the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, who are also 5-7.

[D.C. Sports Bog: Best and worst from Redskins-Cowboys]

Played out on the national stage of “Monday Night Football,” the loss continued Washington’s season-long pattern of failing to string together back-to-back victories and did little to build confidence in the Redskins’ offense, which managed just three points off three turnovers forced by the defense.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins was 22 of 31 for 219 yards and one touchdown but failed to make too many important third-down throws, with Washington’s nine penalties not helping the cause.

Meantime, the Cowboys (4-8) got their first victory without quarterback Tony Romo. Quarterback Matt Cassel completed just 16 throws for 222 yards and no touchdowns.

Until the final 74 seconds, field goals accounted for the only points scored by either team. Redskins place kicker Dustin Hopkins hit from 45, 36 and 46 yards but missed, wide right, on a 43-yarder late in the game. And the Bailey hit from 38, 34, 20 and, most importantly, the 54-yarder that clinched the game.

Jackson, who redeemed his fumbled punt return with the touchdown catch that appeared to set up overtime, addressed his blunder head on.

“I laid an egg; I messed up,” Jackson said in the locker room afterward, a horde of reporters and TV cameras circled around him. “I’m a veteran in this league. I know I need to protect the ball. It just got away from me.”

On the opposite side of the locker room, Hopkins berated himself.

“All the blame should fall on me,” Hopkins told a far smaller group of reporters. “I get paid to make kicks, and I didn’t do that tonight. It makes me sick to my stomach — to let the team down, to let Washington down, to let the ownership down.”

Until the frenzied finish, it was an ugly, tedious game in which both teams piled up more penalty yards than actual yards through the first quarter.

The Redskins didn’t manage a first down until their fourth series, after more than 11 minutes of play.

Credit the Cowboys’ defensive front, which confounded Bill Callahan’s offensive line from the start. Cousins was sacked on the opening play and again two plays later, with the ball squirting out. Cousins dove on it to save a turnover.

Redskins safety Dashon Goldson stripped the ball from McFadden on Dallas’s second play. But Washington’s offense couldn’t capitalize. Cousins took a deep shot in the end zone but the throw was beyond Jackson’s reach.

A series of fruitless offensive possessions followed.

Looking for a spark after a scoreless first quarter, Gruden sent Jackson out to return a punt. He called for a fair catch.

A nice gain on a slant to Pierre Garcon went for naught, negated by an illegal block called on fellow wide receiver Ryan Grant.

[The Insider: Latest Redskins team updates]

Dallas scored first, with Bailey drilling a 38-yard field goal to give Dallas a 3-0 lead with 6:36 to play in 1st half.

With the Redskins’ running game stymied, Cousins got a badly needed first down with a completion up the middle to Jordan Reed. On the opposite side of the field, Jackson grew demonstrably frustrated over not being targeted. Two plays later, Cousins found him for a 17-yard completion that carried the Redskins into Dallas territory for a third time. The drive stalled on a dubious pass interference call on Pierre Garcon. Hopkins knotted it with a 45-yard field goal, making it 3-3 at the break.

Washington’s defense forced another fumble by McFadden to open the second half, with linebacker Mason Foster, appearing in his first game as a Redskin, coming up with the ball that Jason Hatcher dislodged.

Taking over on the Dallas 41, the Redskins’ offense settled for a field goal and 6-3 lead

Dallas replied in kind.

The Redskins padded their lead with an eight-play drive capped by Hopkins’s third field goal, from 46 yards.

With Dallas driving, Washington’s defense came up with its third takeaway. Foster forced the ball from receiver Devin Street’s hand, and Will Blackmon recovered

With a gift-wrapped chance to extend the 9-6 lead, Hopkins missed a 43-yard attempt.

The Cowboys’ Dez Bryant was silenced until the fourth quarter, when his 42-yard catch took Dallas to Washington’s 3. The defense denied a touchdown, so Bailey tied it, 9-9, with 4:22 remaining.