LANDOVER — Across the video board, Washington Redskins defensive end Chris Baker held his hand to his ear for a canned promotion. “We can’t hear you” flashed on the screen and Baker leaned in then flapped his arms for encouragement. Almost no one among the despondent FedEx Field crowd answered the urging. They were instead watching the Carolina Panthers trek down the field and the Redskins’ waning postseason hopes leak away.
Depending on where the bet was made, Washington was almost a touchdown favorite coming into Monday night. At 5-8, Carolina had a less than one percent chance to make the playoffs. Its best defender, Luke Kuechly, was not playing. Quarterback Cam Newton was limited in practice during the week because of a shoulder problem. The Redskins could take a significant step toward participating in the playoffs for the second consecutive year by defeating a beaten up and downtrodden team.
Instead, a 26-15 loss on Monday night. An ejection from the playoff picture with two games to play. The Redskins went from in the playoffs to behind the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, each 8-6 and a sliver ahead of the 7-6-1 Redskins.
“Everyone wants to talk about the playoffs, but there’s no point in talking about it if you can’t win the game that you’re supposed to win,” Baker said.
Washington’s playoff chances are slim now. Their loss gives the Packers the playoff edge. Tampa Bay is also in front of the Redskins. If either of those teams win out and reach 10 victories, there’s no chance for the Redskins to make the playoffs.
“We put ourselves in this position,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “We can’t sit here and feel sorry for ourselves. We got a team in Chicago who don’t care about our situation. They want to get a win and we desperately have to get a win. We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves. We have to get up and go.”
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Despite the framework of hype brought by playing Monday Night Football against the former team of Washington cornerback Josh Norman, Washington’s first-half play had little juice. The Redskins trailed 13-9 at halftime. Kicker Dustin Hopkins missed an extra point, Carolina moved the ball with ease and quarterback Kirk Cousins was intercepted to set up a score.
Carolina threw toward Norman early, twice completing passes against him. But they ignored him the rest of the half, finding spots against zone defense for tight end Greg Olsen and holes in the middle for running back Jonathan Stewart. Stewart gained 62 yards in the first half against the Redskins. He had 66 yards the prior week. Stewart finished with 132 rushing yards, out-gaining all Redskins rushers by 103 yards on a night when Cousins led the team in rushing with 11 yards.
With such limited interaction on the field for Norman, his emotions were equally tempered. His marquee play of the night was a near-interception on a deep pass against him. Otherwise, the on-field play did not equal the noise that accompanied the run-up to the game.
“We just didn’t get the job done, so you’ve got to tip your hats off to them,” Norman said.
The Panthers’ first touchdown was a gift from miscommunication. Norman looked at safety Donte Whitner while Ted Ginn Jr. celebrated in the end zone because Ginn was alone when he caught Newton’s 30-yard pass. Carolina followed with a field goal for a 10-3 lead.
A 5-yard rushing touchdown for Robert Kelley pulled the Redskins closer, at 13-9, before Hopkins missed the extra point.
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Cousins struggled in the first half. He was 12-for-20 after two quarters, including an interception that was returned to the Washington 24-yard line and led to a 23-yard field goal from kicker Graham Gano. Still, Cousins passed a personal marker, breaking his own Redskins record for passing yards in a season, set last year. He finished 32-for-47 for 315 yards, though his passer rating was just 77.9.
“I think he was having trouble seeing some of the coverage and when he did see [his reads] I don’t know if he just didn’t have clear throws at them,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said.
The mojo of a woebegone first half carried into the first play of the third quarter. Cousins was hit from behind, fumbled and Carolina recovered at the Washington 1-yard line. A pass to fullback Mike Tolbert put the Panthers in front, 20-9. Gano made another field goal for a 23-9 lead. The Redskins trailed by two touchdowns with 5:07 to play in the third quarter. Little suggested a change in fate was pending.
A long Washington drive dragged into the fourth quarter. It was aided by an overturned incomplete pass call, then impaired by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on tight end Jordan Reed. Reed punched Carolina safety Kurt Coleman in the helmet after Reed held onto Coleman following a play. Coleman chopped at his arm and when the two were separated, Reed threw a quick straight right into Coleman’s helmet. Reed was thrown out. The line of scrimmage lurched back to the Panthers’ 27-yard line from the 10 — Reed was ejected following first-and-goal from the 10 — and Washington scored just three points on the drive.
“I didn’t even see what happened, so I can’t address it,” Gruden said.
Reed was not in the locker room after the game when it was open to reporters.
Gano missed a 38-yard field goal with 5:37 to play. The following Washington drive produced just three points and removed almost two minutes from the clock. Down 23-15 with 3:44 to play, the Redskins’ hopes were faint. They needed to stop the Panthers and receive the ball back. Stewart cut right and gained 34 yards. The Panthers were in field-goal range one play into the drive. Washington was forced to begin using timeouts. Each Carolina snap sapped time from the clock and a chance for a rally from the Redskins. The loss was completed just before midnight.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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