ABCDE SPORTS monday, september 20, 2010 PROFOOTBALL


Jets bounce back New York’s offense rebounds from an ugly Week 1 with a win over the rival Patriots. D5


SOCCER


Freedom knocked out Philadelphia scores in OT for a 1-0 win, eliminating Washington from the WPL playoffs. D3


NFLWEEK2 Jets 28, Patriots 14 Packers 34, Bills 7 Eagles 35, Lions 32 Coverage on pages D5-7 Raiders 16, Rams 14


Bengals 15, Ravens 10 Chiefs 16, Browns 14 Steelers 19, Titans 11 Chargers 38, Jaguars 13 Bears 27, Cowboys 20 Falcons 41, Cardinals 7 Broncos 31, ’Hawks 14 Giants at Colts, late Dolphins 14, Vikings 10 Bucs 20, Panthers 7


HOCKEY


Caps’ job race Washington will carry one fewer defenseman on its roster than last year, making for tight competition. D3


We’re obviously talking. We’re going to work something out, I think.” Pending free agent Adam Dunn, expressing confidence he will sign a contract to remain with the Nationals. D3


Texans 30, Redskins 27 (OT) Anatomy of a collapse


HOUSTON RALLIES FROM 17 DOWN


McNabb, Schaub each pass for more than 400 yards, but Washington can’t seal win


BY JASON REID Immediately after Houston Texans


place kicker Neil Rackers made a game- winning 35-yard field goal, many Red- skins players struggled to accept the disappointing developments for themin a 30-27 overtime loss Sunday at FedEx Field. So much had gone well for Washing-


ton throughoutmost of a game in which they collapsed late. “Just to be at home, and having the


JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST


SECOND QUARTER: Redskins 13, Texans 7 Joey Galloway’s 62-yard reception sets up the Redskins first TD, a one-yard run by Clinton Portis to re-take the lead with 12:29 left.


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST


THIRD QUARTER: Redskins 27, Texans 10 Chris Cooley’s 22-yard TD reception caps a nine-play, 92-yard drive that extends the Redskins’ lead with 3:51 left.


JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST


FOURTH QUARTER: Redskins 27, Texans 27 On fourth and 10, Matt Schaub connects with Andre Johnson on a 34-yard TD to tie the score with 2:03 left.


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST


OVERTIME: Redskins 27, Texans 27 Graham Gano misses a 52-yard field goal attempt with 7:18 left after his first successful try was wiped out by a timeout.


crowd behind you and getting up likewe did, you just didn’t expect this,” tight end Fred Davis said. “You feel like you got the win sealed, so it was exhausting. Just emotionally exhausting.” Having squandered an opportunity to


begin CoachMike Shanahan’s time with the team 2-0 was the cruelest blow. “It hurts,” outside linebacker Brian Orakpo said. “It stings, man. We let this one go. We blew it. Could have easily been sitting here 2-0, very happy, regardless of what the score is. But right now, it hurts.We’re 1-1.” Washington squandered a 17-point,


third-quarter lead in losing to Houston (2-0),wasting a 426-yard passing perfor- mance from quarterback Donovan Mc- Nabb, who carried things offensively, with the teamrushing for only 18 yards. Houston Coach Gary Kubiak leaned


on quarterback Matt Schaub (497 yards passing, three touchdowns) and wide receiver Andre Johnson (12 receptions,


redskins continued onD9 D EZ SU


TRACEE HAMILTON


unpredictable, they don’tmiss a beat


T JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST OVERTIME: Texans 30, Redskins 27 Neil Rackers kicks a 35-yard field goal with 3:24 left to complete the Texans’ come-from-behind victory. No. 5 looks as good as ever However, because of oneplayer, THOMAS BOSWELL I


nmany seasons, adefeat like the one theRedskins sufferedinovertime Sunday to theTexans, 30-27, couldbe


awrecking ball thatdamages the foundationof awhole season.Howmany times canyouhave a game inyourhands andstill findaway to lose? “It’snot frustrating thatwe lost, it’s


frustrating thatwehadthe gamewon andthenlost,” saidcornerbackDeAngelo Hall of a blown17-point second-half lead andthe complete shredding of the Redskinsdefense for 497passing yards byMatt Schaub.


DonovanMcNabb, this gamemay actually be a building block, bothfor this seasonandseveralmore to come. Because ofMcNabb’s 426-yardaerial show, the third-largest total ofhis 12-year career, thisdefeatwill, intime, be seenas thedaywhentheRedskins realizedhow muchthey’ve improvedsince last year at the game’smost importantposition. Thisdefeatwas a one-week setback for


a 4-12 teamthat’s trying to become respectable. Suchembarrassmentswill happen.TheRedskins are far froma polishedMike Shanahanoperation.They still clankwhentheywalk. “Wehad chances to seal it,” Shanahansaid. “If you don’tdo it, that’swhathappens.” If yourdefense givesup526 yards of


offense athome, if youcan’t execute a 29- yardfieldgoalwith6minutes 36 seconds


boswell continued onD10


l T.Williams leaves game with knee injury, will haveMRI. D9 l Offense is one-dimensional as running game is stuffed. D11


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST DonovanMcNabb leaves without a win, but he had a stellar, no-turnover showing.


his town wants us dead. I did not come to this conclusion lightly. If the shoveling of 20 feet of snow


didn’t get you last winter, and you survived the hottest summer since Bob Ryan was in short pants, then this Redskins season may finally do the trick. They won’t be boring, the 2010 Redskins. Last season, you could have slept through most of the games. If you were smart, you did. Or you beat your head against the wall until you were unconscious. The Redskins were nearly unwatchable on their way to a 4-12 season. This bunch is hardly unwatchable.


Unwieldy, unpredictable and still largely unknown, but very watchable. If they’re not surprising you with 62-yard completions, they’re blowing 17-point leads to lose in overtime, 30-27, to the Houston Texans. This season will not be for the faint of


hamilton continued onD11 6 washingtonpost.com/sports


More coverage can be found online, including:


6Game Center A new way of looking at the statistics.


6First Things First Jason Reid joins Tracee Hamilton at 9:30 a.m. to chat about the game.


6Hard Hits LaVar Arrington blogs his take on the loss.


When it comes to


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