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Too little, too late

By Ryan O'Halloran | Monday, December 22, 2008

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Depth perception gave Jim Zorn the wrong impression after LaRon Landry and Fred Smoot stopped Philadelphia Eagles receiver Reggie Brown near the goal line.

From where he was standing on the Washington Redskins' sideline, Zorn thought it was a no-brainer that Brown was denied from scoring what would have been the game-tying touchdown.

When officials decided to review the call on the field, Zorn needed confirmation.

He got it from Landry.

"No. No way," Landry told the Redskins' coach. "I hit the [crud] out of him."

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Redskins' playoff hopes dashed

The Redskins defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 10-3, but Atlanta's win over Minnesota eliminated Washington from NFC playoff contention.

Landry was right on both accounts - Brown in no way crossed the goal line, and Landry indeed hit the crud out of him to preserve Washington's 10-3 victory on Sunday, which snapped a three-game losing streak.

But while they dealt Philadelphia (8-6-1) a crushing defeat, the Redskins' long-shot postseason aspirations ended when Atlanta beat Minnesota.

"It's nobody else's fault but ours," Zorn said. "There were a couple of games we'll look back on and be very frustrated about for years to come."

This win won't be one of them, partly because it capped a week in which Zorn said he felt like the "worst coach in America" and a few prominent veteran players - and seemingly the entire metropolitan area - speculated on his job status.

Now Zorn and the Redskins (8-7) can travel to San Francisco for the finale without the distraction of another regime change looming. The Redskins, after all, finished 3-3 in the brutal NFC East, which included a sweep of the Eagles.