Wait...What Just Happened?

Over the last few weeks I've gone on and on about how my football teams season was ostensibly over. I talked in my last post about how I had nothing to look forward to over the next few months in the sports world. Then a funny thing happened: The Washington Redskins backed up two wins that I found unimpressive (and in fact detrimental to our draft spot) with a win Sunday night that put them in the drivers seat for the last playoff spot in the NFL JV, or the NFC.

The Skins played some good ball, and were the benefactors of the greatest "get out of jail free card" plays I've seen in years. While rushing to the line to get a play off, to stop the Vikings from challenging the previous catch, Washington QB Todd Collins fumbled the snap and the Vikings recovered. I was on my knees and elbows in front of the TV saying "Why, Why, Why?" But then Joe Gibbs threw the red challenge flag himself. I was beside myself, thinking the old man was making another one of his trademark "senior moment" mistakes that he has become famous for this year. It was obvious that the Vikings recovered the ball, what was he challenging?

There were 12 Vikings on the field at the time the Skins fumbled. Bam! Just like that, we get the ball back, get a first and 5 and go on to win the game. The win coupled with Green Bay's loss means that if the Skins beet the resting Cow Boys next week they go to the playoffs. How did this happen? This is the team that couldn't sack up and beet Buffalo in the days following the murder of their teammate. The team that won a game over the hapless Bears despite losing their starting QB to a leg injury. Sure they backed that up with a win over the Giants in Jersey, but I thought this is where they would fall apart. In the Dome they would be victims of that vaunted Minnesota rushing game and would drop out of playoff conjecture if not contention.

A funny thing happened, however. They won and now I may have two more weeks to be interested in. Hell, I may have 3 since the Seahawk's are about as big a fraud of an 10-5 team as the Giants are. Crazy man, crazy.