Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 1, 1994 TAG: 9401010137
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long
With less than two minutes to play in Friday's 14-9 loss, the Washington Redskins somehow had maneuvered into position to pull a pride-salvaging upset of the playoff-bound Vikings. Trailing by five points, they had the ball at the Vikings' 41.
Mark Rypien took the snap. Barker, who was penalized for jumping the count the play before, this time blew past Redskins right tackle Ray Brown, normally a guard, who was playing despite a broken left hand and out of position because of a knee injury to Ed Simmons in the third quarter.
As Rypien turned away from Barker, the 280-pound rookie from North Carolina slammed into his back like a Mack truck rear-ending a VW.
The football shot out of Rypien's hand and Barker pounced on it to end Washington's misery.
Later, Barker talked about the frustration of dealing with Rypien's short drops and shorter passes. His 10 first-half completions gained a paltry 50 yards.
But the Vikings eventually rolled their secondary in tighter, confident the Redskins couldn't protect Rypien long enough for him to throw deep.
"And sooner or later, you have no place to go," Barker said. "And that's what happened. He didn't see me coming. He was looking downfield and held it a little too long and, bam, I hit him."
The loss left Richie Petitbon with a 4-12 record as first-year coach, the worst the franchise has endured in three decades. The Vikings (9-7) will open the playoffs against the loser of today's New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys game in New York.
"Our biggest problem today was pass protection, especially near the end," Petitbon said. "What can I say. This was another tough loss."
Petitbon likely will have to wait a week or so before learning whether the price he'll pay for his team's record is his job. Most of his players seemed to believe that Petitbon deserves a second chance - and they pointed at Friday's game and another rash of Redskins injuries as a microcosm of a season in which success was made impossible.
"The way the game went today is the way the season has gone," defensive tackle Tim Johnson moaned.
In addition to Simmons' injury, veteran center Jeff Bostic left the game with a knee injury, also in the third quarter. The team's best blocking tight end, Ron Middleton, separated his shoulder making a block on a play that already had been whistled dead because of penalty.
On the Redskins' final drive, just-activated rookie Greg Huntington was at center, recently signed Vernice Smith was at left guard, Moe Elewonibi was at left tackle, Raleigh McKenzie manned right guard and Brown came off the bench to play right tackle. Ray Rowe, a just activated H-back, took Middleton's place at tight end.
"Let's face it, we had guys coming in off the streets playing," Rypien said.
In what may have been his last performance as a Redskin, Rypien displayed determination in the face of incessant pressure from the Vikings defense. He took shot after shot, and got back up. At one point, his right knee appeared caved in by Viking Chris Doleman, but Rypien limped back to the huddle for another snap.
"To get me out of that sucker today would have been like pulling teeth," Rypien said.
He hit 24-of-26 pass attempts for 164 yards. Six of those went to Desmond Howard, who put together a second straight solid game, and six to Earnest Byner, who got what amounted to a courtesy start when H-back James Jenkins was injured this week in practice.
What Rypien didn't do was get the Redskins into the end zone - and they had chances.
Washington's opening drive reached the Vikings 35 before stalling. After Minnesota took a 7-0 lead on Scottie Graham's 1-yard plunge midway through the second quarter, Washington drove to the Viking 36, before running out of steam.
This time, Chip Lohmiller missed a 53-yard field goal.
The frost-bitten crowd of 42,836 - almost 14,000 ticket-holders found something else to do - were loud and angry by the time Monte Coleman intercepted a Jim McMahon pass and returned it 14 yards to the Vikings 25 with 43 seconds left in the half.
They became even hotter when, in succession, Reggie Brooks lost 3 yards on a draw; Rypien was sacked by John Randle, losing 7; and on third-and-20, Byner ran for 15 yards.
Lohmiller's 37-yard field goal was hardly a consolation for a drive they felt was scuttled by the play-calling by offensive coordinator Rod Dowhower.
"We saw a weakness in their defense," Rypien said when asked why Dowhower called so many draws and long-yardage running plays. "The first time we ran it, on third-and-12, [Byner] got 18 yards. It's something they've given up all season.
"But they caught up to us after two or three times and they stopped it."
The second half wasn't much better. Brooks' 45-yard dash helped get the Redskins to the Minnesota 18 - they settled for Lohmiller's 35-yard field goal.
With Darrell Green on the bench after having been kicked in the head by Viking tight end Steve Jordan, McMahon finally mounted a second drive. Converting four-of-four third-down plays, McMahon eventually hit Anthony Carter with an 11-yard scoring bullet that gave the Vikes a 14-6 margin.
Again, the Redskins drove to the Vikings 17 but wound up with a 34-yard field goal by Lohmiller with 9:25 remaining.
Incredibly, Washington would have two more cracks at finishing off the upset. The first chance - Byner up the middle on third-and-7 from the Vikes 20 - led to a 35-yard field goal attempt by Lohmiller.
But Rypien, the holder, was unable to turn the laces of the ball towards the goal post and lean the ball at the proper angle for Lohmiller's foot. The kicked swerved badly to the left with 4:19 to go.
Washington's next possession would be its last of the season.
"Tremendous effort, a lot of things that were really good," Petitbon said when asked to evaluate his own performance this season. "Unfortunately, you're judged on your wins and losses - and that wasn't very good."
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB