Redskins are ‘basically done’ for season

CINCINNATI | When their losing streak reached two games last week, frustration filled the Washington Redskins’ locker room. Players knew time was running out, they no longer controlled their playoff fate and their surprising start - which featured six wins in the first half of the season - had been wasted.

Late Sunday afternoon inside Paul Brown Stadium after their 20-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the mood was radically different, the anger replaced by resignation.

“We’re basically done,” tight end Chris Cooley said. “I guess some crazy stuff could happen, and we could win two games and get in. But we need a ton of help. It’s going to be tough to get back to work.”

The Redskins’ third consecutive loss dropped them to .500 (7-7) for the first time since Week 2 and to 1-5 in the second half. They sit 10th in the NFC.

“We didn’t execute, and you can’t put that on the coaches,” said running back Clinton Portis, who began the week by ripping coach Jim Zorn in a radio interview. “It was us on the field.”

As speculation is sure to intensify about his job status should the Redskins finish 7-9, Zorn said it will be easy to put the blinders on for games against Philadelphia and San Francisco. But he can’t completely block it out. For the first time this season, team owner Dan Snyder’s personal public relations chief, Karl Swanson, attended Zorn’s postgame press conference, which was uncharacteristically halted after nine minutes.

“One of the reasons I can [remain focused] is that even though I’m frustrated - and believe me, it’s heartfelt and I can sense the emotion welling up in me to have all these things going wrong - I’m also objective to know we have a long way to go, and I’m confident in my abilities to stand strong and stand firm,” Zorn said. “[But] the speculation and ideas and conversation and criticisms - they’ll be there.”

Where Zorn opened himself up to second-guessing also represented the game’s turning point.

A 10-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss and a 23-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham carved into the Bengals’ 17-0 lead. After forcing a punt, the Redskins began their first drive of the third quarter at their own 12.

Nine plays and 87 yards later, the Redskins had first-and-goal from the Cincinnati 1.

Jason Campbell threw the ball away on first down.

On second down, Zorn called a quick handoff to fullback Mike Sellers. He appeared to be stopped, but officials ruled it a touchdown. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis successfully challenged the call, and referee Bill Leahy spotted the ball at “the quarter-yard mark.”

Zorn used Sellers again up the middle. But the Bengals stuffed him, and linebacker Corey Mays forced a fumble, which Cincinnati recovered for a touchback. Zorn challenged the play to no avail.

“I called for Sellers [on second down], and they stopped us a little bit, and we said: ’Let’s do this again. Just ram it right in,’” Zorn said. “I thought that was a great call. … That play created a major flip.”

Said Sellers: “It’s one of those things. They’ve got some guys on the other side that are strong, and they got a good push.”

Portis (25 carries, 77 yards) certainly was an option on third down. But the outspoken back did not question Zorn’s decision.

“They made the call, and everyone had confidence in Mike to get in, and we came up short,” he said.

The sequence clearly deflated the Redskins’ offense, which sputtered on its next two possessions. When the Redskins got it back with 2:20 remaining, the deficit was 10 points after the Bengals burned 7:13 of the clock to run 16 plays and add a 45-yard field goal by Shayne Graham. Suisham kicked a 36-yard field goal with 1:43 remaining, but the Redskins did not recover his ensuing onside kick.

Without starting tackles Jon Jansen and Chris Samuels, the scoring chances were few for a Redskins offense that has gone six straight games without scoring more than 20 points.

But the Redskins’ defense can’t shed blame either. It allowed the league’s worst offense to pile up 310 yards, 76 more than the Bengals’ average. A whopping 155 yards came in the first quarter. And less than four minutes into the second quarter, the Bengals led 17-0.

“Those are all points the defense gave up,” linebacker London Fletcher said. “The offense battled back. But as I look at it, the defense lost the football game.”

For the third straight week, the Redskins fell behind in the first quarter.

Their first drive ended in a fumble by Cooley that turned into a 1-yard quarterback bootleg touchdown by Ryan Fitzpatrick. A 79-yard screen catch and run by Cedric Benson - the longest play allowed by the Redskins this year - led to a 12-yard touchdown pass to Chris Henry. And Graham’s 32-yard field goal extended the lead.

The Redskins, whose initial first down didn’t come until halfway through the second quarter, have been outscored a combined 38-0 in their past three first quarters.

“We’re going to face adversity, and believe it or not it’s because of us,” Moss said. “Therefore, we have to know how to respond. Stuff happens during a game, and you don’t know for what reason. But just because you put yourself in a situation [where you’re not] in the lead doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know how to climb back out of it. Until we get that solved, we’ll keep facing days like this.”

Most likely, there are only two more game days for the Redskins to get that figured out - a reality that, only a few weeks ago, most considered unfathomable.

“It’s like we’re reviewing the same things every week,” Cooley said. “No one could have imagined this.”