After getting an early turnover at the Rams' three yard line, RB Clinton Portis punched his way into the end zone and the rout was on, or so it seemed. After the Rams connected on a long 51 yard field goal, the Redskins opened up the passing attack and moved the down field quickly until an uncharacteristic fumble by TE Chris Cooley setting the tone for a long day.
The defense played strong again stifling the Rams' offense for most of the game, but the Redskins offense was determined to keep this a close and low scoring game. Two drives in a row, the Redskins drove down the field only to fumble the ball away in St. Louis territory. Finally, the Redskins drove the ball again to the Rams' 16 yard line right before the half when the play of the game occurred. QB Jason Campbell had a pass batted in the air and was caught by LG Pete Kendall. Not knowing how to run with a football, Kendall bumbled his way for a few steps before having the ball knocked out of his hands and returned 75 yards for a touchdown with 9 seconds left in the half giving the Rams the momentum, which they would carry through the rest of the game.
In the second half, the Redskins finally stopped turning the ball over and their offense was on the move again. Early in the 4th quarter, they marched down the field, but were stopped at the St. Louis 21 yard line and had to settle for a field goal. After the defense held once again, the Redskins finally got back to smash mouth Hog football and moved down field. With 3:53 left in the game, RB Clinton Portis ran it in from 2 yards out and it looked as if the Redskins would be able to pull out a victory despite multiple turnovers in the first half. But it was not to be.
At 3rd down and 13, QB Marc Bulger reached back and heaved a last ditch effort hail mary pass to WR Donnie Avery that connected for 43 yards putting the Rams in range for a field goal to win the game. Despite an absurd 15 yard Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty on Rams RG Richie Incognito that he has undoubtedly received multiple verbal lashings from his teammates and coaching staff, Rams' PK Josh Brown drilled a 49 yard field goal to end the game and send the Redskins their locker room utterly bewildered.
The Redskins were clearly the better football team on both offense and defense. QB Jason Campbell completed 18/26 passes, but yet again totaled only 208 yards and while he did not throw an interception, he also did not throw for a touchdown for the second game in a row. WR Santana Moss was also ineffective for the second game in a row catching only 2 passes for 22 yards.
The defense played strong and stifled the Rams for the majority of the game only giving up the one big pass play at the end of the game. They held RB Stephen Jackson to 79 yards for a 3.6 average and limited QB Marc Bulger to only 136 yards. However, the defense again struggled to get to the quarterback. They managed to end their sackless game streak and did sack Marc Bulger 2 times, but had to blitz CB Sean Springs to get one of them, which they clearly cannot depend on in the future.
Now, the Redskins have to get back on track and prepare for the rejuvinated Cleveland Browns that just hammered the New York Giants and suddenly look like the contender most people thought they would be. The Redskins must beat Cleveland at home in Washington. After Cleveland, they have games at Detroit and home against an always tough Pittsburgh Steelers. If the Redskins lose to the Browns, they could easily find themselves at disappointing 5-4 going into their week 10 bye week. After such a great start to the season, that would be a severe blow to the team's confidence going into the second half of the season.
Final Score: Washington 17, St. Louis 19
Highlights of the Redskins' Week 6 Loss to the St. Louis RamsJacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog
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