GIMME A BREAK!
Redskins’ Smith goes down just like Theismann, 33 years to the day
ONE by one they winced.
Washington quarterback Alex Smith was down, his right leg fractured on his home field early Sunday afternoon.
Smith had felt the pressure from the snap of the football, but he was not quick enough in retreating to elude the Texans in pursuit, and his leg could not withstand the hits.
First, it was defensive back Kareem Jackson, who got two hands on Smith, on a blitz. Smith braced for contact and protected the ball. Houston pass rusher J.J. Watt finished the job and Smith’s season, ramming the quarterback in the back as he wrapped his arms around him. Smith’s right leg got caught in the turf before he was rolled to the ground. His tibia and fibula were broken as the Texans tackled him.
It was a horrific revival of a violent play, 33 years to the day that Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor did the same thing to Joe Theismann. Both plays took place on the 40-yard line. Both games ended with a score of 23-21. The Redskins beat the Giants back then. The Texans took the win Sunday.
“I feel so bad for him,” Theismann wrote on Twitter. He noted that Smith’s break looked “exactly” like his.
So it goes in the NFC East. The Redskins were off to a 6-3 start and in first place in Smith’s first season leading the way. Now the job goes to Colt McCoy, a 32-year-old backup who had not taken a game snap since 2015. He will be charged with staving off the Cowboys, who collected a second straight victory, 22-19, over the Falcons behind 121 yards from tailback Ezekiel Elliott and a 42-yard field goal from Brett Maher at the buzzer.
Washington can look in the rearview mirror or turn on the game film the next few days. Next up is a Thanksgiving business trip to Dallas with the division lead on the line. When asked where his mind turned after the loss, Washington coach Jay Gruden said, “To Dallas.”
Washington will rely on McCoy’s arm and Adrian Peterson’s 33-year-old legs the remainder of the season. For McCoy, he finished the game passing 6-of-12 for 54 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed five times for 35 yards.
For Peterson, it was another week, another rush up the annals as he moved into sixth place all-time in rushing yards and within a touchdown of Jim Brown on the all-time rushing touchdown chart.
Gruden absorbed the loss of his starting quarterback afterward. He announced Smith needed surgery “right away.”
“Knowing the type of guy he is, I think he’ll bounce back,” he said.
For now, all eyes will be on McCoy and whether or not he can keep Washington on track after a promising start was interrupted by a horrific snap of Smith’s right leg.
FOUR-TEAM PILE-UP
For all you rubberneckers out there, the most intriguing traffic pileup in professional football is on the AFC side of the road.
While the Patriots, Steelers and Texans appear to be favorites to lock up their divisions, and the Chiefs lead the Chargers by two games, attention must be paid to the contenders for the wild cards.
The Dolphins, Ravens, Colts and Titans are all 5-5 with six games to be played.
Lamar Jackson earned his first career start and rushed for 117 yards Sunday to boost Baltimore’s chances of making a backstretch dash. “It keeps us alive, honestly,” Ravens safety Eric
Weddle said. “Just to see what the offense did and the way Lamar fought. The composure he showed.”
The Titans, meanwhile, failed to build on the momentum of beating the Patriots as they were blown out by the Colts, who looked electric with
Andrew Luck feeling better each week. Quarterback Marcus Mariota went down with an elbow injury in the second quarter, and did not return to the game. Head coach Mike Vrabel did not have an update on his status afterward.
To rely on the Dolphins to do the right thing is to go out on a limb, but they enjoyed a bye this week.
PLAY OF THE DAY
Pittsburgh tailback James Conner has done an admirable job standing in for Le’Veon Bell, but the toughest Steeler to bring down made the biggest rush of the season when the Steelers needed a yard in the final seconds Sunday.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had thrown three interceptions and Pittsburgh fell behind 16-0, but he gained the yard that brought about victory when he took off for the end zone on third-andgoal from the 1 with f ive seconds remaining at Jacksonville.
Roethlisberger rolled right, cut back left to elude linebacker Myles Jack, who had gotten two hands on him. Big Ben dove headfirst and crashed his helmet into right tackle Matt Feiler (right) as Feiler attempted to get out of his way. Roethlisberger
reached for the goal line and the ball broke the plane. He was 27-of-47 for 314 yards, 170 of them in the fourth quarter, but that yard was most crucial.
“I wasn’t one of the f irst four options,” he said. “It almost looked like they knew what was coming. They took our f irst couple of options away, but it just appeared and opened up.”
POST PATTERNS
Even Rocky would have called off this fight in New Orleans. Down after down, the Saints pummeled the Eagles. If it wasn’t tailback Mark Ingram breaking off a 14-yard run for a score,
it was Drew Brees connecting with Austin
Carr, Tre’Quan Smith, Michael Thomas or Alvin Kamara for a touchdown pass. Philadelphia continued its fade from Super Bowl glory to a 4-6 hangover as the Saints sped toward home-f ield advantage for the playoffs with a 48-7 victory. … The Chargers absorbed their first jolt in seven weeks with a last-second loss to the woeful Broncos, 23-22. Philip Rivers threw for another 401 yards, but he was sacked three times and threw a pair of picks, including one pass that was intercepted by linebacker Vonn Miller, who returned it 42 yards. … Riverboat Ron rolled the dice with a two-point conversion attempt, but Lady Luck proved elusive. After scoring a touchdown with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter to close within one point of the Lions, the Panthers went for two. Quarterback Cam Newton threw the ball over the head of wide receiver Jarius Wright in the end zone. Carolina kicker Graham Gano had missed a 34-yard f ield-goal attempt and an extra-point attempt earlier in the game.