It was a disheartening week at Redskins Park as the team and fans deal with the tragic loss of Sean Taylor.
And yet, when it becomes appropriate, there will be occasion to celebrate Sean Taylor's life and his career as a star athlete in the Nation's Capital.
When that time comes, we can say that during his four seasons with the Redskins, Taylor produced any number of big hits and key interceptions.
Who can forget when he picked up the blocked field goal try and rumbled 46 yards to set up the game-winning field goal in the stunning 22-19 win over Dallas last year at FedExField?
Or his two interceptions this year against Brett Favre at Green Bay?
How about the time in the playoffs at Tampa Bay when Taylor scooped up a fumble and dashed 51 yards for a score in a 17-10 Redskins win?
Or the time he intercepted Carolina's Jake Delhomme in the end zone to settle a 17-13 game in Washington's favor exactly a year ago this week?
Big hits? Consider the one at Pittsburgh in 2004, the one that made the "Jacked Up" lists. Or the hit on Dallas's Patrick Crayton on 3rd-and-4 to break up a pass late in a 14-13 win. Or the hit on Oakland's Jerry Porter at FedExField in 2005.
For all of that, though, Sean Taylor's finest moment as a Redskin player may have come on New Year's Day of 2006 at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field.
Late in a typically hard-fought NFC East affair, the Redskins were in front 24-20 but Philadelphia had designs on a come-from-behind win.
Phillip Daniels rushed quarterback Koy Detmer from the blind side and forced a turnover.
Taylor was quickly on the loose ball. He raced 39 yards to the end zone, then took a head-first leap over the goal line. He started his leap at the 5-yard line, an example of his remarkable athleticism.
The Redskins sidelined erupted in glory. That's the sequence that put the Redskins into the playoff for the first time since 1999 and the play that represents Sean Taylor's signature statement in the burgundy and gold.
Said Taylor after that game: "It's not the Sean Taylor show, it's the Redskins' show. It was the Redskins' defense, the Redskins' offense and the Redskins' special teams. There are a lot of guys out there playing their best football right now, that's all I can tell you."
For the foreseeable future we mourn the death of Sean Taylor. Off in the distance, when Redskins fans reflect upon his career, New Year's Day of 2006 should top the list.
