It’s a fine line in the NFL between success and failure. On this Monday we were almost talking about a Redskins collapse–a familiar story line around these parts.
Instead, we got a 23-20 victory over the Eagles, highlighted by a 15-play 90 yard scoring drive punctuated by a four-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Pierre Garcon with 26 seconds left. The Redskins, like the Giants and Cowboys, are now 2-2 and there is hope.
Oh, it could have been different. The Redskins controlled the ball in the first half, but twice settled for field goals instead of touchdowns. They blew a 13-0 lead and committed ten penalties—all recipes for defeat.
But maybe it was a sign these are not the Redskins of old as they scored their first touchdown on a broken play. On second and goal from the Eagles’ one-yard line, Cousins fumbled the snap, but recovered and was pushed in to the end zone. Surely in days gone by that sequence would have ended up in a deflating turnover.
On the game winning drive offensive Redskins’ lineman Trent Williams said inside the huddle it was like “practice,” because Cousins was so calm. The words “calm” and “Redskins” never used to appear in the same sentence.
Apparently these Redskins, regardless of the circumstances, believe. And maybe we should, too.
