Redskins, Bengals Battle to 27-27 Tie in London

If you saw Washington head coach Jay Gruden in his three seasons as the Bengals offensive coordinator, then this is what you saw.

The first-ever game for the Washington Redskins in London ended with a franchise result not experienced in almost 20 years, though a common outcome in European sports.

“I don’t know how to react”. After Washington’s underrated quarterback, Kirk Cousins, left them fit to be tied on 458 passing yards, the Bengals went back over the pond with an abiding respect for both. “We’ve just to learn and put them away if we can”.

So while the Raiders blew hot and cold, this can not be disputed – they are very much alive in the AFC West race and have six wins and just two losses to their name. But we need to rack up some wins. Whatever is said during Tuesday’s practice, the lone one of the week before the players hit the road, you can bet there will be plenty of chatter about the flags. The crowd’s loyalties were divided, as they usually are in London, but most of all it seemed that nobody was quite ready to see this game end.

While those ties were packed with drama, they weren’t necessarily filled with strong play.

Playing such a grueling, hard-hitting game wears you down and by the end can be detrimental. “I can say that”. “He sucked. Just to be honest with you”. It is not one guy. “That’s something we all have to do better”. “Tie? Whatever. I just feel like we lost”.

RUNNING FREE: The Redskins’ ground game ain’t broken without leading rusher Matt Jones, sidelined Sunday with a knee injury picked up midweek.

Cincinnati, the official “home” team for Sunday’s London game, emerged from a specially constructed tunnel featuring city landmarks -Big Ben, Parliament, the Eye ferris wheel and Tower Bridge – painted in Bengals orange and black and entwined in a green jungle vine. The Redskins are represented by ex-quarterback Joe Theismann and linebacker LaVar Arrington, the Bengals by ex-running back Stanford Jennings and tackle Anthony Munoz. They just don’t have a kicker who can be trusted to hit it when it counts.

The Redskins drove from their 22-yard line to the Cincinnati 16 and Gruden called for Hopkins on third down with 2:13 remaining in overtime.

Hopkins kicked a field goal to send the game to overtime, but neither side could find a game winning score in the additional 15 minutes. Kelley’s vision and cutting ability allowed him to turn likely losses into gains. Whether the team scores or fails after four downs, the other squad gets the ball at midfield with a fresh set of downs. But those three forfeited points came back to haunt the Redskins.

Wide receiver Jamison Crowder, who recorded nine catches for 107 yards and a touchdown against Cincinnati, has never been involved in a tie game before.

It was billed as Norman vs Green, the gliding, tenacious cornerback against the graceful, gazelle-like receiver. The Bengals’ Mike Nugent had a chance to tie at 10, but his low-trajectory 51-yarder spun wide left. But the offense began to sputter: incomplete pass, run for a loss of four, and a Cousins interception followed. He could have had Hopkins try a reasonable field goal. On the next drive, Dalton fumbled while attempting a quarterback sneak, and the ball was recovered by Washington rookie Anthony Lanier with a minute left in overtime. He scored the first touchdown of the game, which was the first rushing touchdown of his career, on a four-yard run up the middle.

Redskins players preferred not to dwell on the missed opportunities of the first half.

“We missed a PAT, we missed a field goal, and those things eventually came back to hurt us”, Lewis said. “Hindsight is 20/20. You can’t really live in that world, especially in the professional football world, because you’ll drive yourself insane”.

“We’ve been doing a lot of talking over these last few weeks, and not a lot of results”, Hill said.

“Defensively, we’ve got to do a better job of understanding and getting our jobs done”, Lewis told reporters after the game, “particularly on the perimeter, in coverage”.