Redskins defeat Jaguars in Overtime
The Jacksonville Jaguars needed just one more score to win the game. With their play off hopes at stake, Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard…
Threw an interception.
It was a turning point in the game, which the Washington Redskins win 20-17 in overtime. Kevin Barnes intercepted Garrard’s pass in overtime, which allowed Graham Gano to kick the game winning field goal for 31 yards to end the ‘Skins’ four game losing streak.
Barnes said after the game, "I told the defence somebody has to be the hero, and when the chance came I made the play."
Garrard had to do some extra work, after Maurice Jones-Drew was taken out with a knee injury. He failed to accomplish the task however, throwing 22 completions out of 38 attempts for 299 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
His last error was the most costly. Heavily pressurised from all sides, Garrard attempted a pass towards the sideline, but was intercepted by Barnes. Gano kicked the winning field goal on third down through rather gusty conditions, which made up for the
fact that he missed two shorter field goals a fortnight ago against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Garrard said, "In hindsight, you wish you could hold onto it and not throw that pick. But we're just trying to make plays. I was trying to make a play and that's
how the game is."
The 6-9 Redskins barely got away with a win. Quarterback Rex Grossman made one touchdown early in the game, with Ryan Torain running one yard for another touchdown later in the game. However Washington’s defence helped them win this one, even though they
were short several starters including safeties Kareem Moore, Reed Doughty and linebacker Brian Orakpo. They also lost cornerback Carlos Rodgers in the game too.
However for the spectators it didn’t really seem that way. The defence played exceptionally well limiting the Jags’ running game, and pressurising Garrard when they needed to the most. The ‘Skins have now won three of their four overtime games this season. The
Jags on the other hand have lost two games in a row, and need to win against the Houston Texans next week, and hope the Indianapolis Colts lose to the Tennessee Titans in order to win their division.
However Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio had a brief look at Tennessee’s loss on Sunday to the Kansas City Chiefs. Del Rio said, "I did peek up one time and I saw Kansas City was just rolling on Tennessee. The first thing I thought was we can't count on Tennessee
for anything next week in Indianapolis." If the Jags had won last week against the Colts, they would have taken the division title but gave up their chance.
However, they played pretty badly this week as well. They missed a field goal, turned the ball over twice, fumbled two times and allowed their quarterback to be sacked four times. To make things worse they also gave away seven penalties. Add to that the
fact that this was one of the coldest home games in team history, at a frigid 38 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Redskins on the other hand, played much better. Grossman went 19 for 39 for 192 yards for one touchdown and an interception. Torain had 20 carries for 65 yards, while Santana Moss caught five passes for 85 yards.
Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan said, "When you play a game like this, where one team is playing for the playoffs and the other team for pride, you see what type of character you have." The Jags should be happy that the game was close. They did receive both
of the fumbles by Garrard, and were also lucky in three close calls at the end of the second quarter.
"Inconsistent football," Jaguars cornerback Rashean Mathis said. "It's too late in the year to do that, regardless of whether we were already in the playoffs or not fighting for anything. That's not good football to play."
The ‘Skins will now play against the New York Giants at home on Sunday 2 January, while the Jags will need to beat the Texans next week at Reliant Stadium on the same day.
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