Graham Gano craves the pressure of late-game kicks.
But with an opportunity to end the Washington Redskins’ five-game losing streak Sunday, the kicker slipped a 52-yard field goal wide right in overtime.
The kick was one of two Gano missed against the Dallas Cowboys and upped his misses to 19 field goals over the past two seasons.
“I love those opportunities,” Gano said. “Not to pull through is very disappointing. … There are no excuses. I just missed it.”
Two weeks ago, Gano sank a franchise-record 59-yard field goal against the San Francisco 49ers. On Sunday, Gano made a 40-yarder but missed a 49-yard kick he believed he couldn’t hit any better.
But the kick that lingered in his mind was the errant 52-yarder. The snap felt good. So did the kick. Everything seemed to work. The ball just didn’t go through the uprights.
“It is very frustrating,” Gano said. ” I don’t feel any pressure out there whatsoever. … I just missed a kick. There’s no better way to explain it.”
Williams injures knee
The Redskins’ banged-up offensive line took another shot when left tackle Trent Williams injured his left knee in overtime. Blocking for Gano’s missed 52-yard field goal attempt, Williams lay on the ground in pain long after the ball sailed wide right.
During the play, a Cowboys defender appeared to fall into Williams’ left knee while it was planted. Williams eventually walked off the field, but he limped heavily on the left leg.
Coach Mike Shanahan said Williams’ medial collateral ligament “didn’t look very good.”
“I’m not sure what that means right now,” Shanahan said, “but he did look quite sore.”
Williams didn’t feel a pop when the player fell into his leg but confirmed his MCL was injured. He won’t know the severity until undergoing an MRI.
The line is already without left guard Kory Lichtensteiger, who tore his right anterior cruciate ligament last month against the Philadelphia Eagles. Williams also missed two games because of a high ankle sprain and right tackle Jamaal Brown battled a hip injury.
Polumbus, Choice debut
Eleven days after Tyler Polumbus signed with the Redskins became the latest part of the team’s ever-shuffling offensive line. Normally a tackle, Polumbus started at left guard in place of rookie Maurice Hurt.
Polumbus played 51 games since 2008 with the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, including 15 starts, all at tackle. His outing Sunday wasn’t memorable, including being beaten by the Cowboys’ Jason Hatcher to sack Rex Grossman in the second quarter and being called for a hold on the next series.
Running back Tashard Choice, claimed off waivers from the Cowboys last month, also made his first Redskins appearance.
Choice ran six times for seven yards, as he shared time in the backfield with Ryan Torain and Roy Helu.
“I’ll do whatever they ask me to,” Choice said. “They see me in practice, but it’s always different in the game. … With the opportunities you get, you’ve got to make the most of them.”
Rich Campbell contributed to this report.
• Nathan Fenno can be reached at nfenno@washingtontimes.com.
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