Wide left

Four times in August, there was no panic, no concern and no urgency in the Washington Redskins’ locker room after each loss. The players weren’t worried, and the assistant coaches weren’t concerned. It’s only the preseason, they preached. The games don’t count, they stressed. The real games will bring out the real Redskins, they promised.

But in front of a FedEx Field record crowd of 90,608 and a national television audience, the Redskins showed last night that most of the time, the preseason does matter, even if the scores don’t.

Unable to sustain an offensive rhythm or make third-down stops on defense, the Redskins lost on opening day for the first time in five years, a 19-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Ryan Longwell’s 31-yard field goal with one minute left was the difference. The Redskins drove to the Vikings 30, but John Hall’s 48-yard field with 12 seconds left was wide left.

“It was one of those games that went back and forth, and we probably had chances to win it in a number of places,” coach Joe Gibbs said. “But they made the last play and the one that counted.”

The Redskins (0-1) now head to Dallas (0-1) for a key NFC East game. In a division as tough as the Redskins’, no team wants to start in a 0-2 hole.

And for the first time since training camp opened, a general sense of concern was on the faces of the players, who know that giving away home games is what almost cost them a playoff spot last season.

“An opportunity lost,” defensive end Phillip Daniels said.

“Not consistent enough,” receiver Antwaan Randle El said.

“Very disappointing to know and feel that we’re a lot better than how we played tonight,” linebacker Lemar Marshall said.

Even with the return of Clinton Portis (10 carries, 39 yards) and a solid performance by Randle El (five catches for 34 yards, three punt returns for a 9.3-yard average), the Redskins’ offense sputtered when it counted.

Quarterback Mark Brunell was 17-for-28 for 163 yards. He didn’t have any interceptions but didn’t take any shots downfield, either. The longest completion was 37 yards to Santana Moss late in the first half. Other than that, the dink-and-dunk show was out in full force. The Redskins also struggled to sustain drives, failing to convert 11 times on third down.

“We didn’t play as sharply or as crisply as we wanted,” associate head coach Al Saunders said.

The defense also showed signs of weakness. Minnesota quarterback Brad Johnson, formerly of the Redskins, was 16-for-30 for 223 yards and one touchdown. The Vikings consistently kept drives alive with third-and-long conversions against a Redskins secondary that played without injured cornerback Shawn Springs and safety Pierson Prioleau, who injured his right left leg on the opening kickoff.

On Minnesota’s game-winning drive, the Vikings converted a third-and-9 when Johnson hit Troy Williamson for 13 yards (plus 15 for a face mask penalty by Sean Taylor). Johnson used quick throws all over the field to avoid a Redskins rush that didn’t feature many blitzes.

“We had plenty of chances to win, but penalties killed us more than anything, and those kept drives alive,” Daniels said. “One of the things we’re supposed to be good at — getting off the field on third down. We can’t have that.”

Minnesota started the game with a 10-play, 80-yard drive to lead 6-0 on Chester Taylor’s 4-yard run less than five minutes into the game.

The Redskins answered right back, though. The starting offense scored zero points in 13 preseason possessions but scored on its first regular season drive — moving 66 yards on 13 plays, capped by Hall’s 27-yard field goal.

Portis’ 5-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave the Redskins a 10-6 lead, but the offense had to settle for three Hall field goals (a 27-yarder late in the first half and a 22-yarder late in the third quarter) on their other three trips inside the 20.

Hall’s 22-yard field goal was particularly frustrating. The Redskins had second-and-3 from the Vikings 4, but Portis was stopped for no gain, and Brunell threw incomplete.

“It was a game that we wanted to show what we’re going to be about this year,” right tackle Jon Jansen said. “We didn’t capitalize on opportunities, and in a big game like this and a team like that, you have to take advantage when you can.”

Said Randle El: “We got into the red zone a bunch of times and basically left 11 points out there. You can’t do that. When you get chances like that, you have to score seven every time.”

Hall’s 22-yard field goal tied the game at 16-16 after Johnson’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Robinson, who beat cornerback Carlos Rogers when the second-year player bit on Johnson’s pump fake.

Aside from their last drive, the Redskins’ best chance to score came early in the fourth quarter. Longwell missed a 54-yard field goal, giving the Redskins possession at their own 44. They moved to the Vikings 42 before Brunell’s pass to Cooley lost 9 yards.

“Certainly, there are things offensively we need to work on,” Gibbs said.

The Redskins don’t have much time to work out the kinks. They have today off before getting ready for Dallas.

“There’s no panic,” Daniels said. “I think we have a good team. We have to be smarter about what we do as far as penalties and other little things. But there are two other division teams that lost, too.”