The Redskins weren't sure how to respond to their tie with the Bengals on Sunday but admitted that they must put the game in the past as they advance through the second half of the season.
How did the Washington Redskins react to their 27-27 tie – a rarity in today's NFL – with the Cincinnati Bengals at Wembley Stadium? The common refrain was an uncommon feeling.
Take cornerback Quinton Dunbar for example.
"It sucks, man," Dunbar admitted after the game. "Feels like a loss to me because we didn't get the 'W.' It feels like a loss."
Chris Baker didn't really know how to feel either.
"It's not a win but it's not a loss," the defensive end said. "So I don't really know how to feel. I think the NFL should get rid of that rule with ties to figure out a winner and a loser."
The Redskins started the game by jumping out to a 7-0 on a 15-play opening drive touchdown that was capped by Robert Kelley's first NFL rushing touchdown.
Cincinnati would respond quickly, though, with a touchdown of their own on their opening drive.
From there, it was a back and forth contest in which neither team could pull ahead by the time the final whistle blew on overtime.
"It feels weird," said tight end Jordan Reed, who returned from a two game absence to haul in nine receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown. "I've never been in this situation. We've just got to...I, me, myself, I'm just going to try and take the positives out of the game and move forward."
After the Bengals took over the lead in the third quarter and then extended it to as many as 10 points, the Redskins came back, first with Reed's touchdown reception and then a 33-yard connection between quarterback Kirk Cousins and wide receiver Jamison Crowder.
The Bengals jumped back out to a three-point lead with less than seven minutes before Dustin Hopkins hit a game-tying 40-yard field goal with a little more than one minute left in the fourth quarter.
It would be the last points scored on the afternoon as neither Washington nor Cincinnati would score in the extra frame, pushing the Redskins' record to 4-3-1 heading into their Bye Week.
The tie was also the Redskins' first since the 1997 season.
It appeared the Redskins had the game in-hand when Hopkins came out for a 34-yard field goal just before the two-minute warning.
But Hopkins missed his attempt – pulling it left – just seconds after making one with ease that was negated by a timeout.
"Bottom line is I didn't hit the one I needed to," Hopkins said after the game. "I'll have to go watch the film, see what happened. I felt comfortable before the kick, it wasn't like a nervous thing. I'll just have to see what technically happened with the whole operation."
The Redskins won't have a chance to get back on the field again for two weeks, as they'll be idle next Sunday before facing the Minnesota Vikings in two weeks at FedExField.
"It's definitely a difficult situation, but you just got to take the positives out and go to the Bye Week and take advantage of those days and fix the negatives and keep moving forward," Reed said. "Can't stay in the past."
