Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, left, celebrates a first-quarter touchdown against the Redskins with center Dan Koppen.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

FOXBORO — When something completely unexpected happens, there’s always a brief period of disbelief, a time to look for answers.

In the moments after the Washington Redskins walked off the field at Gillette Stadium in near silence on Sunday, they spoke about their loss to the Patriots as if they had been completely blindsided by what had just occurred.

“It is hard to come up with an answer for what just happened out there,” center Casey Rabach said. “It is obvious we did not do what we needed to do in any aspect of the game. We just need to go back and find out who we are.”

Clearly, who the Redskins believed themselves to be before Sunday’s kickoff and who they think they are now are two very different things. They came into Foxboro with a 4-2 record and the fifth-ranked defense in the NFL. Their offense was suspect, but the defense had held the high-octane Lions to just three points three games earlier.

And despite Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs declaring his team to be the biggest underdog in the sport’s history in the days before the game, his players believed they could be the ones to bring New England back to football earth.

“We were actually convinced when we came in here that we were going to win the game,” right tackle Todd Wade said. “We were really confident about it, but we didn’t execute the game plan well.”

It was hard to tell what that game plan was. Quarterback Jason Campbell had some success moving the ball on Washington’s first drive, throwing short, quick passes. But the drive stalled just inside Patriots territory.

Defensively, the Redskins tried to play to their strength, loading up the secondary from the get-go — all New England did then was dismantle a run defense that came into the game allowing only 76 yards per game. Once Washington had to abandon the run, it opened things up for Tom Brady to find his receivers.

“Going into the game, we felt we matched up well against them, and unfortunately we just didn’t go out and perform the way we felt we were capable of playing,” said defensive tackle Ryan Boschetti.

Gibbs acknowledged that any evaluation of his team — which looked to be an NFC up-and-comer — starts with a hard look at him. New England’s Bill Belichick said yesterday that it was obviously not Washington’s best game, that it’s a good football team with good wins behind it and ahead of it still.

But you get the feeling that even if the Skins had had their best day they wouldn’t have had many answers for the New England juggernaut.

“I don’t know of a weakness that they have,” Gibbs said after absorbing the worst loss of his distinguished head coaching career.

As New England has left team after team in its wake, excuses have been offered — San Diego’s Norv Turner, wary of the Pats’ spying history, gave his team its game plan just hours before kickoff of their Week Two game — and chests have been pounded — Dallas receiver Patrick Crayton said the Patriots’ defense wasn’t all that impressive. Outsiders have jumped onto the pile from all sides, with thinly-veiled accusations of wrong-doing that ultimately proved empty, and now the charge that New England is running up scores, further illustrating one writer’s recent contention that Sunday’s matchup against the Colts is the battle of good vs. evil.

But until someone can find a way to score more than a couple of touchdowns on the defense or knock Tom Brady off his otherworldly game, the Washington Redskins won’t be the only team trying to regroup after taking one on the chin.

“They were a machine all day,” Wade said. “They really are as good as advertised.”

smanza@projo.com