Six Turnovers!? SIX!?

Coach Joe and his staff have gotten a lot of heat over the course of the season. After this game, the focus likely will (and should) shift to the performance of the players. The Redskins turned the ball over on 6 different occasions, with 4 fumbles and 2 interceptions. QB Jason Campbell was responsible for 3 of those turnovers as he again played very well, but overshadowed his own performance by giving the ball away, particularly with 2 late egregious interceptions. His wide receivers continued to drop passes at an alarming rate, with at least 4 drops throughout the game, the worst coming on a drop by Keenan McCardell, that would have given the Skins a first down at inside the red zone, which, instead, resulted in a Suisham field goal. Coach Joe departed from some of this conservative tendencies as he twice elected to go for it on 4th downs, with the Skins failing to convert on the more crucial of the two at the Bucs 2 yard line.

Shockingly, at 5-6, the Skins are still in the playoff race in the putrid NFC. They join the Saints, the Cardinals (who were very 'Zona like in losing to the Trent Dilfer led 49ers in a shootout), Vikings (how do the Giants lose to this one dimensional team? Oh yeah, Eli provides the aerial attack FOR the Vikings.), Bears (DON'T KICK IT TO HESTER!), and, likely, the Eagles (and, on the first pass for Feeley...Asante Samuel to the house.) after they get blasted by the Patriots. One game ahead, at 6-5, are the rapidly decelerating Lions. The Saints are the only team of the group with a winning record in the conference, giving them a lead in the tiebreaker department.
Even if the Skins get into the playoffs, will it really matter? I still hold hope that it could, with the battle tested Gibbs at the helm and an improving offense and capable defense, particularly once S Sean Taylor returns from injury. The Redskins continue to give games away while demonstrating glimpses of a team that can compete with the best that the NFC has to offer. But, unless they can develop some sort of killer instinct and eliminate the mistakes that have plagued this team for the last 3 years, they're likely to spend the offseason ruminating about what went wrong.

Whoops. I meant to say Seven Turnovers!? SEVEN! Forgot the turnover on downs. Nicely done.