LANDOVER, Md. -- This wasn't an almost was. It was a should have been.
A damaged Patriots team that was duct-taped together and uncertain how it would perform wound up blowing a chance for a galvanizing win against the Redskins yesterday, falling 20-17 at FedEx Field to drop to 2-2.
"This win would have done wonders for our team confidence," said fullback Larry Centers. "There's a lot of guys who are injured, and for us to come out and play and come away with a hard fought win would have put us on a different level in terms of team confidence."
The Pats didn't lose because they missed the myriad players who are injured. They didn't lose because of the failures of their replacements. They lost because of three Tom Brady interceptions, a fumble by Kevin Faulk and (to a lesser degree) a missed field goal by Adam Vinatieri.
The Faulk fumble helped put seven points on the board for Washington early in the third quarter, giving the 'Skins a 13-3 lead. The other miscues cost New England at least nine points. Healthy teams can't fork over 16 points and win. Apparently, sick ones can't either.
"We are fortunate today to get out with the victory," said Redskins coach Steve Spurrier. "They had more yards and more first downs. They probably outplayed us a little bit. But we held them at the end, so we are the winners."
That's about what it amounts to. Despite the Skins' earnest attempts to give the game away, the NFL's most prolific offense survived on a day when it was outgained by 137 yards (387 to 250), went 3-for-11 on third down and backpedaled 15 yards during its final possession when it false-started three times.
The final blow for New England came with 49 seconds left when Brady threw behind Daniel Graham on an intermediate crossing route 20 yards downfield on fourth-and-3. The Patriots, who'd scored 14 unanswered second-half points to get that close, took over at the Redskins' 45 with 1:39 left. Brady threw incomplete to Deion Branch near the sideline, then hit Centers for 5 yards on second down. But then Centers got stacked up on a third-and-5 draw that -- given the fact Brady seemed to be throwing well at the time -- was a bit of a head-scratcher.
In the locker room after the game, Brady dressed silently and alone, then spent about three minutes sitting in a chair staring into his locker. When he finally made his way to the podium to talk about the loss, he beat himself up pretty good.
"Everyone's real disappointed," said Brady, who eventually heated up and finished 25 for 38 for 289 yards and two scores. "This is more disappointed than we've been in a while, just because this is a game we feel we should have won. It comes down on our shoulders. You get the ball with 1:40 left on the 45 and you can't get a first down? That's a pretty bad feeling. And it starts right at the top with me. I've got to make good decisions and make good throws and give our team a chance to win. Those shouldn't happen and I shouldn't allow them to happen."
Brady denied that his sore right elbow was affecting his play and he made enough good throws yesterday to back that up.
The Pats played with three backup offensive linemen -- left guard Russ Hochstein, center Dan Koppen and left tackle Tom Ashworth. They also switched to a 4-3 defense because they were without linebackers Ted Johnson, Rosevelt Colvin and Mike Vrabel and nose tackle Ted Washington.
And none of it seemed to pose a significant problem.
"We're not doing anything different," said linebacker Tedy Bruschi. "You tell the guys, 'You've been here through mini-camp and training camp. We'll run what we run and we need you to step up.' [The replacements] played well, but when you lose a game you still feel like you could have done more."
Both teams kicked field goals on their first possessions and Washington added another early in the second to go ahead 6-3.
Rookie Dan Klecko blocked a 48-yard John Hall field-goal attempt midway through the second quarter and from there, the Pats started rolling.
But on third-and-7 from the 'Skins' 27, Brady tried to throw to Deion Branch in the right corner of the end zone. Branch was open, but only for a second. Washington safety Ifeanyi Ohalete easily made up the difference and intercepted the pass.
The Pats got the ball back with 1:05 left in the half and Brady again was intercepted, this time throwing a semi-fade to David Givens.
Then it got worse. On the third play of the second half, Faulk took a direct snap at the New England 26 and had the ball jarred loose by Bailey. It got boxed around to the Pats' 5 and Redskins safety Matt Bowen finally recovered it at the 1. Running back Ladell Betts took it in from there for a 13-3 advantage.
Vinatieri missed badly from 46 yards on the Pats' next possession and Washington scored again to make it 20-3 as running back Trung Canidate ran counters and cutbacks to move the ball downfield. The key play on the drive was a 20-yard run by Canidate on which Pats corner Tyrone Poole popped the ball loose. Washington receiver Rod Gardner recovered at the Pats' 12 and running back Rock Cartwright scored from 3 yards out to make it 20-3.
Brady hit Givens from 29 yards out on a perfectly thrown pass to make it 20-10 late in the third.
The Patriots scored again with 2:14 left when Brady hit Centers from 7 yards out to make it 20-17.
By then, Washington was in a deep offensive funk. They took over on their own 18 with 2:05 left and soon faced third-and-16. Washington quarterback Patrick Ramsey hit Laveranues Coles for an apparent first down but it was ruled he didn't have control of the ball as Asante Samuel ran him out of bounds. A review upheld the call and a meager Bryan Barker punt gave the Pats the ball at the 45.
But they couldn't convert.
This team has already shown some resiliency, bouncing back from the upsetting release of Lawyer Milloy and a 31-0 loss at Buffalo to win two straight.
In an otherwise gloomy locker room, Harrison was already seeking the silver lining.
"Injuries are part of the game and it's unfortunate we have so many, but guys stepped up," he said. "Winning ultimately boosts confidence, but anytime you can go out and fight, especially with all the adversity we played through this week and today . . . it's very reassuring that guys didn't lay down and that's something you draw a positive out of. You just continue to fight. That's all you can do."
