I have higher hopes for this team than any other team I’ve been on in the (15 years) I’ve been here. -- Mack Strong

What a game that was!!! It looked to be a rout, then things fell apart and Washington clearly had the momentum, and then we took the game back!! It was a heart stopper - a thriller - a nerveracking game but we prevailed!!!

We walked away with a 21 point victory (which eerily is the magic number this season for the Redskins following the murder of their #21, Taylor.)

It’s a cloudy and gray day in Seattle, with a forecast of rain and gusty wind. The views of the city are unspectacular, although the sun is shining and there are some blue skies midst the clouds!

The Seahawks will be kicking off to the ‘skins. Herring made an awesome tackle on the return. The crowd is LOUD. This is a GREAT HD picture.

1st and 10 for the Redskins – Portis to run for a decent gain.
2nd and 7 – Portis to run again and he doesn’t get much – they’re saying no gain. Bernard on the tackle.
3rd and7 – The crowd ROARS!!!! Weird shadows play on the field. Collins to pass and it’s way off the mark and goes out of bounds. Must be hard to play in the sun and shadows. It’s 3 and out for the ‘skins.
4th and 7 – The Redskins will punt. Burleson to field the punt and is tackled shortly after the reception.

1st and 10 for the Seahawks – Hass to Burleson for a first down. Burleson avoided a tackle and slipped forward for 11 yards.
1st and 10 – Love the green shoes on our guys. Hass, pressure, throws just before he’s sacked to Engram who catches it for a first down. It was ugly and beautiful at the same time!
1st and 10 – Hass is changing the play. And again. Time out. Things were not working on that play. Better to take the time out than have something disastrous happen right off the bat. The aerial views of the stadium are BEAUTIFUL! Oh how I love Seattle! Hass to line up now after the commercial break. He hands off to Shaun who gets a nice run on the draw. He had some nice speed on that play. Good job, Shaun.
2nd and 3 – Hass to pass. Pressured. Spins. Runs. Throws it out of bounds.
3rd and4 – (Don’t ask me how we lost a yard!) Hass to throw. Has time. Ohhhh, throws to a wide open Obomanu! Springs was in coverage and he’d slipped and fallen down, and the pass was no good. RATS! RATS! I suppose they’ll blame Obomanu for that.
4th and 4 – WOOOO HOOOO SEAHAWKS! Special teams pinned them deep! They’re inside the 5. Very good special teams play!

1st and 10 for the Redskins – Portis to run for a short gain.
2nd and 9 – The sun is shining brilliantly on parts of the field, making for interesting camera shots. Short passing play.
3rd and3 – The crowd is absolutely screaming! He had all day. Collins just stood there and no one was coming at him at all. Complete pass.
1st and 10 – Randle-el (sp?) to run a reverse (or an end around?) for a 2 yard gain. Looked like it might be a lot more than that.
2nd and 8 – Quick pass to Moss. Russell did a good job to get the tackle in the open field.
3rd and1 – WOOOOO DEFENSE!!! We stopped him! Tapp and the line formed a brick wall! I LOVE IT!! Sweeeeeeetttt!!!! What a defense!! Love it! Love it!
4th and 1 – Redskins to punt; we let it go. Flags. Illegal touching. 5 yard penalty. The player had stepped out of bounds and then was the first one who touched the ball when it accidentally bounced up against him. They’ll have to rekick.
4th and 6 – MUCH better return! We’re across mid-field! They are calling it 18 yards on the return! Nice job again for special teams!

1st and 10 for the Seahawks – Oh my! The Line Judge was injured on the play. He’s out of the game. Hass to Hackett and it’s near the first down. They’re calling it 8 yards.
2nd and 2 – Hass is audibling. Throws quick to Burleson for no gain. Oops, they call it 1.
3rd and1 – Mo to bust through on a second attempt and gets 6 yards when we only needed one!
1st and 10 – Pass to Weaver for no gain. Our former Shawn Springs was the one who made the tackle.
2nd and 10 – Shaun to run, breaks through, fumbles, Redskins recover. Shaun says he was down but the whistles did not blow. He’s on the field DURING the play pointing to the ground saying he was down. Oh good grief. On replay it’s perfectly clear that he was down. No question. I can’t believe the officials didn’t blow it dead. We are challenging the play. We’re going to commercial breaks. I like the “Changing” song played on the Coors commercials.
1st and 10 – Weaver to run for a TOUCHDOWN!! 17 yards on the play!! PAT is good.

Seahawks 7 - Redskins 0

Seahawks kick off to the Redskins. They get a decent run back.

1st and 10 for the Redskins – Collins to pass to midfield – 20 yards on the play. Eeks!
1st and 10 – Pressure, near sack, Collins throws it and it goes up like a jump ball. Falls incomplete. Kerney has blood on his nose. Madden would love that!
2nd and 10 – Flag. The announcers said they took a time out before the flag. Commercial break. Boo. Peterson is calling for the fans to roar and they respond accordingly! Collins to hand off and Portis is tackled for a loss. NICE.
3rd and13 – The crowd is SO loud! INCOMPLETE pass to Moss in triple coverage! It bounced in and out of the hands of Moss. Awesome!
4th and 13 – Burleson fielded the ball after the bounce. 8 yard return. The announcers are saying the wind held the ball up.

1st and 10 for the Seahawks – Hass to pass. Fires to Hackett for a first down.
1st and 10 – Hass to pass, goes too far to Hackett.
2nd and 10 – Mo to run but hit immediately for a loss.
3rd and13 – They’re saying the weather has moved in and out all day, with heavy downpours and gusty winds. Right now it’s still very nice, although the sunlight and shadows I mentioned earlier are gone. Pass to Weaver but he’s well short of the first down.
4th and 5 – Seahawks punt. Plack is down looking injured. Flag. Did they nail him? The ball went out on the 2. Running into the kicker. We’re declining the penalty.

1st and 10 for the Redskins from the 2 yard line – There’s the blood on Kerney’s nose again! It makes him look so tough! ? Flags. Off-sides Redskins? Nope, neutral zone infraction on us. Bummer.
1st and 5 – Incomplete pass to the tight end. Rats, would have been nice to intercept that and run it in for a TD!
2nd and 5 – Portis to run for a first down. Nice effort. Previously to that play he only had 2 yards on 5 carries.
1st and 10 – FUMBLE! Collins was going to pass but we knocked it out of their hands and Tapp made a flying leap to recover it. Gibbs is challenging the play. While we wait for the call I want to go on record as saying how much I admire Joe Gibbs. I liked him when he coached the first time around. Whoa, now the official says it was an incomplete pass, not a fumble. Nothing for Gibbs to challenge. Holmgren is FUMING! Collinsworth says we can’t challenge the call. Redskins maintain possession.
2nd and 10 – NICE defense by Peterson to tackle Portis for a loss. Sweet!
3rd and13 – Collins to pass. Throws to a wide open Randle-el. First down. Boo! Hiss!
1st and 10 – The crowd is screaming. Collins to pass, nearly sacked, gets it off and it’s complete.
2nd and 3 – Portis to run and should have hit a wall but squirted through. Nice effort on his part.
1st and 10 – Screen pass and we had that one covered right off the bat.
2nd and 12 – Collins to pass and he’s hit has he tries to pass. He’s getting up slow. The ball didn’t have the oomph it needed and it falls incomplete.
3rd and12 – What was that? Collins wanted a time out, the ball was snapped, it fell incomplete and … ??? They’re saying delay of game.
3rd and17 – Screen pass to Portis for a very short gain. That was one seriously ugly series.
4th and 17 – Burleson to field the pun and gets a nice return. They’re not saying how many yards he got but it was pretty sweet.

1st and 10 for the Seahawks – hass to pass. Has time. Goes to Burleson. Nice!
1st and 10 – Springs to run for a very short gain.
2nd and 9 – Passes to Hackett near the first down marker.
3rd and 2 – We’re throwing to Springs often and so far we’re beating him. Pass to Morris but it’s too high.
4th and 2 – 50 yard field goal attempt. It’s good. Reliable Josh Brown comes through for us again!

Seahawks 10 - Redskins 0

Seahawks kick off to the Redskins. Nice defensive coverage on the kick.

1st and 10 for the Redskins – Portis to get his first good run of the day. I didn’t hear the yardage but I’m guessing about 15 yards.
1st and 10 – Portis to run and Tatupu gets him shortly after the hand off.
2nd and 8 – Peterson got a sack! Loss of 6 yards! Collins just held that one too long.
3rd and14 – Incomplete pass to Caldwell near the 1st down marker.
4th and 14 – Redskins to punt – Burleson to field the punt, gets a 12 yard return. Flag. No foul for unnecessary roughness. Hmmm.

1st and 10 for the Seahawks – Hass to pass. Flags. Could be pass interference on us. Yep. 10 yard penalty on the Seahawks. Oops. Got Shawn Springs on that one! Hasselbeck hit Shaun Alexander on that play and came up grimacing.
1st and 20 – Shaun to run.
2nd and 15 – Hass to throw off target – too short. Hmmm, is his wrist hurting. 3rd and 15 – SACK. Ball pops loose. There’s a big pile of players on the ground. Officials say we got it back.
4th and long – We had to punt.

1st and 10 for the Redskins – Incomplete pass – hit him in the hands and it popped out.
2nd and 10 – The crowd is screaming again. Collins goes long and it hits the hands of Trufant and falls incomplete. Ohhh, that was SO close!
3rd and10 – SACK! Hill got him that time!
4th and 18 – Punt and we called for a fair catch.

1st and 10 for the Seahawks – Shaun to run for a short gain.
2nd and 6 – Shaun to run again. Not sure if there’s a gain. Nope, doesn’t look like it.
3rd and6 – Pass to Pollard and it’s incomplete. Hasselbeck is not on target anymore. I suspect his wrist is hurting.
4th and 6 – NICE punt! Fair catch.

1st and 10 for the Redskins – The sun has come out again and is shining on half of the stadium. Collins in the shotgun. Portis to run. Babineaux lost his helmet.
2nd and 4 – Pass to Moss. Complete for a first down.
1st and 10 – Pass to Randle-el. Complete near the 1st down marker.

*** TWO MINUTE WARNING ***

2nd and 1 – Portis to run and he does not get it.
3rd and1 – Pass was batted down by Grant. NICE defense.
4th and 1 – The crowd is roaring again. Sellers to run with it and I think we held him! There’s a huge pile of players on the ground. They’re going to measure but it definitely looks short. Yes, it’s short and the Seahawks are celebrating! Now they’re reviewing the spot. Ruling on the field stands.

1st and 10 for the Seahawks. Mo Morris to run. Gets just shy of the 50 yard line.
2nd and 3 – Pass is dropped by Engram. That doesn’t happen very often. Springs in coverage.
3rd and3 – Hass throws quickly under pressure, it’s incomplete to Burleson, too low.
4th and 4 – We lost another yard apparently! Redskins call for a fair catch at the 9.

1st and 10 for the Redskins with :47 left – ‘skins to run.
2nd and 9 from the 10 yard line. Redskins to run. Short gain.

*** END OF FIRST HALF ***

Nope, hold that thought. We apparently called a timeout! Holmgren wants 7 seconds left on the clock.

:06 left. We got shorted a second!

3rd and9 for the Redskins. We called a timeout with :01 left. Now they’ve put an extra second on the clock. :02 left in the second half.
4th and 2 – Redskins run. NOW the half is over!

*** REALLY THE END OF THE FIRST HALF ***

The Redskins kick off to the Seahawks. Burleson fields it and gets a short run.

1st and 10 for the Seahawks – Shaun to run for a yard.
2nd and 9 – NICE pass in the middle to Engram! Awesome! Matt threw that one perfectly.
1st and 10 – Matt is audibling. Shaun to run to the left and it looked like he might pull around the corner but no go.
2nd and 7 – Pass wide to Shaun and no one was surprised by that play.
3rd and7 – Near interception. Torrance has the position in front of Engram. Somehow it fell incomplete.
4th and 7 – Fair catch called.

1st and 10 for the Redskins – Portis to run.
2nd and 8 – Pass to Randleel (I still don’t know how to spell his name)
1st and 10 – Ah, Randle el. They just showed the back of his jersey! Portis to run, gets a few – they call it one yard.
2nd and 9 – Cool! Collingsworth calls this a whipping by the Seahawks! I like hearing that! Hee hee! Collins to throw. He runs. Slides forward. Gets 2 yards.
3rd and7 – I LOVE our green shoes! The crowd is still screaming their lungs out. Pressure. Collins has to throw it away.
4th and 7 – Burleson to field the punt, runs backwards hoping to turn the corner and he does! Nice job. A little bit scary but fun!

1st and 10 – Pass to Burleson for a nice gain.
2nd and 3 – Nice pass to Engram for a first down! Sweeet!
1st and 10 – Shaun to run and he gets hammered.
2nd and 10 – Nice long pass to Hackett with Springs in coverage! 35 yards they’re calling it! Nice PASS, nice catch!
1st and 10 – Pass to Alexander near the sidelines. One yard loss. Bummer.
2nd and 11 – Shaun to run, pauses when he gets wrapped up but then he gets a second burst for a short gain. Nice effort.
3rd and7 – Hasselbeck runs and he doesn’t slide. He takes a hit, loses the ball, stumbles getting back up!
4th and something – 33 yard field goal attempt by Josh Brown and it’s good.

Seahawks 13 - Redskins 0

Seahawks kick off to the Redskins. He gets a return to mid-field but there’s a flag. Hope it’s on them! Low block on the ‘skins, 15 yard personal foul penalty on Campbell. We’ll take it! ?

1st and 10 for the Redskins – Portis to run.
2nd and 8 – What a beautiful one hand catch by the Redskins! That was awesome!
1st and 10 – Collins had all day to throw; went to Portis; Babs tackled him.
2nd and 5 – Pass to Randle el for a first down.
1st and 10 –

Aaauuugghh, my computer locked up and I lost part of the game report! Why did it do that? NO FAIR!!! It locked up on me one other time today. Grrrrr!

Anyway, the Redskins still have possession. And a Seahawk is down. No idea who it is yet. Grant. He walked off.

4th and 1 – The Redskins are going for it. Collins to pass. Incomplete. Flag. Pass interference? Looks like it. Yes, they’re calling it.
1st and 10 – Collins passes to Sellers. Again, he has all day to make the pass. Where is our rush?
2nd and 7 – Nearly intercepted in the end zone! Grant leaped up for that pass and Grant knocked it away. Nice defense!

*** END OF THIRD QUARTER ***

3rd and6 – I guess they gave them a yard with that incomplete pass! ? Collins has time. Randle el gets the touchdown.

Seahawks 13 - Redskins 7

Redskins to kick off to the Seahawks. Burleson fields the kick, makes it out to the 25 yard line.

1st and 10 for the Seahawks – The weather is still holding out. Looks like a beautiful day despite the gray day earlier. Pass that was bobbled by Burleson but he ended up with it.
2nd and 6 – OH no! Bad pass by Hasselbeck and the ‘skins came up with it.

1st and 10 for the Redskins – Portis to run close to the first down.
2nd and 1 – First down pass to Moss.
1st and 10 – Touchdown Redskins. For the first time today, the Redskins are in the lead. Moss just took it in. PAT is good.

Seahawks 13 - Redskins 14

Redskins kick off to the Seahawks. Oh my gosh, the wind caught the ball and we lost it. The Redskins recovered it, like an on-side kick according to Collinsworth, and the Redskins get their own kickoff at the 13 or 14 yard line. Oh dear, oh dear. This is embarrassing.

1st and 10 for the Redskins – Incomplete pass.
2nd and 10 – Portis to run. Short gain.
3rd and8 – The Fans are still doing their thing. They’re screaming. Time out Redskins. Collins to pass. I don’t know what happened but the ball bobbled out pathetically. Incomplete.
4th and 8 – NO GOOD!!! The ball went wide! I don’t think there is much wind – at least the flags on the end zone poles weren’t blowing much. Whew. We lucked out so much there. 30 yard field goal attempt and it didn’t go through. Wheeeeew! GOOD JOB Seahawks for holding them out of the end zone.

1st and 10 for the Seahawks from the 20 – Pass to Engram for a 19 yard gain.
1st and 10 – Hass to Hackett for another big gain. We’re across mid-field already.
1st and 10 – Draw play to Shaun Alexander and he gets a nice run. Sweeet!
2nd and 2 – Interception. Hass was under pressure, scrambling, and it was just a poor pass. It was to Obomanu but he was tangled up with a defender.

1st and 10 for the Seahawks – 9:42 left in the game. Flags. False start Redskins.
1st and 14 – Running play. Short gain.
2nd and 12 – Portis to run. Bernard is slow to get up.
3rd and10 – We have GOT to hold them here. INCOMPLETE pass with Trufant in coverage on Moss. NICE!!!
4th and 10 – The ball took a bounce in our favor. Frost’s punt was good for 32 yards. We’ll start in good field position and we need a touchdown now!

1st and 10 – 8:03 left in the game. That ball was wobbly, it was a pass to Pollard. It didn’t come out clean so I’m not sure if it was tipped or if Hass was hit when he threw or what. Incomplete.
2nd and 10 – Mo to run with a full head of steam. Short gain.
3rd and6 – Pass to Burleson in coverage by Springs. NICE job by Burleson and Hasselbeck!
1st and 10 – Shaun to run for a yard or so.
2nd and 7 – TOUCHDOWN HACKETT!!! Nice pass from Hass to Hackett in the end zone I didn’t see that one coming! Hackett was wide open! We’re going for 2 points. Sweeeeeet!!!! 2-point conversion – It’s GOOD!!! Pass to Pollard who slam dunks it over the goal post after he makes the catch.

Seahawks 21 - Redskins 14

Seahawks kick off to the Redskins. Where’s the flag? He got a good run back but there was an illegal block in the back on the Redskins. Yep, that’s it. They’ll still be in great field position. Brown was in on the tackle again.

1st and 10 for the Redskins from the 46. Shotgun. Collins goes long. Picked off by Trufant WHO RUNS IT IN FOR A TOUCHDOWN!!! SWEEEEEEEEEEET! Oh my gosh! He had blockers for him! The ball floated on Collins and came right down in the hands of Trufant! 78 yards, they say!!!! The pass was for Moss. Dodges two tackles, got some good blocks and was escorted in by Big Play Babs! How awesome!!!! I’ve gotta tell you that I was a bit nervous when the ‘skins took the lead.

Meanwhile, Heyer is down with an injury. He runs off the field under his own power.

The announcers are bagging on Moss for quitting on the play.

PAT is good.

Seahawks 28 - Redskins 14

HOLMGREN SMILED!!! DID YOU SEE IT??? I think he said “Oh #$%@” and he smiled!!!! It wasn’t exactly an Eddie Murphy smile but he smiled! I saw it! You saw it! It was captured on national television! And I’m loving it!!

1st and 10 for the Redskins – Screen pass to Portis and that one worked well. Looked like we might get a sack but they got it off.
1st and 10 – Pass to Cooley just past mid-field.
1st and 10 – The sun is setting in Seattle. There is 4:35 left in the game. SACK! Terrill, the guy who just signed a 3 year extension got the sack.
2nd and 18 – Pass to Portis. He came down hard on his knee and is writhing in pain. He tried to get up and went back down. No one wants this. He’s getting up and hobbling off the field, now jogging. He looks to be OK, well, he’s still limping and he went straight to the bench.
3rd and8 – Complete pass to Moss for a first down and more.
1st and 10 – Collins to pass. It’s complete but short.
2nd and 8 – Incomplete pass to Randle el. He comes up smiling. Likeable guy.
3rd and8 – Nice pass defense by Jennings.
4th and 8 – Redskins will go for it. They’re at the 32 yard line. Joe Gibbs has done this all year. It’s incomplete. Trufant had coverage on Moss. Collinsworth is suggesting Trufant is the MVP of the game.

1st and 10 for the Seahawks as we take over on downs. Shaun to run for a short gain. Redskins take their second time out.
2nd and 8 – Shaun to run for next to nothing. Time out Redskins.
3rd and8 – Shaun to run for a loss. I really hate it when we do this … Shaun for a yard, Shaun for a yard, Shaun for a loss, run time off the clock. Today I don’t mind it as much as usual because it looks like we’ve got this game wrapped up but I wish we’d get a little more creative when we try to burn the clock.

*** TWO MINUTE WARNING ***

4th and 11 – Fair catch for the Redskins.

1st and 10 for the Redskins – Pass to Cooley and he was tackled in bounds.
2nd and 6 – Pass to Caldwell and he got out of bounds this time after the first down.
1st and 10 – Bad snap, Collins fumbles, recovers and moves forward.
2nd and 10 – Collins to Betts in the middle of the field. That was a little silly.
3rd and3 – INT! Interception by Babineaux and he wants a touchdown! He gets it! He walks slowly into the end zone! Big play Babs got it! PAT is good.

Seahawks 35 - Redskins 14

:27 left in the game. We did a squib kick? That’s a little odd.

1st and 10 for the Redskins with :18 left in the game. Pass to Betts. The Fans are counting down 3 … 2 … 1 … BIG CHEER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!