The Washington Redskins fell to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, putting together a valiant fourth quarter effort that ultimately fell short, 24-16.
In the final minute of the game, the offense had an opportunity to tie the game with a third touchdown and two-point conversion, but an Eagles interception in the end zone canceled those plans.
Despite the implications of the final play, Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan discussed the missed opportunities throughout the game in his postgame comments.
"I thought we had a couple of missed opportunities in the first half on third downs," he said, as the team finished 8-for-17. "We had some opportunities to keep some drives going and we didn't get it done.
"I feel we ran the ball well. Obviously, we didn't pass the ball very well. It took us until the fourth quarter to make a couple plays and we had our opportunity at the end and we didn't take advantage of it."
The Redskins passing attack was anemic through the first three quarters, as Griffin III passed for only 60 yards in the first 45 minutes.
Part of the issue was the absence of receivers Leonard Hankerson and Jordan Reed, who have each provided steady, reliable production this season, particularly on third downs.
Each player was removed from the game with injuries, leaving Griffin III with a shortage of playmakers.
"I thought when we lost Hankerson and you lose a guy like Jordan [Reed], I thought our guys came back and filled in a couple of pieces," Shanahan said. "You lose Hankerson early, you lose Jordan at halftime, the guys that came in I though fought and did some great things.
"They were able to keep it going, we had a throw there on third down and we made some plays and left some out on the field."
It was in the fourth quarter that the Redskins came alive, passing for 204 yards through the air and scoring on two long touchdown plays that brought them within one score.
One of the themes throughout the season has been putting together a full 60 minutes of football and Shanahan lamented the inability to do that in Philadelphia.
"To win on the road we got to play a full sixty minuets and we didn't play good enough to win," he said succinctly. "Our guys had a great week of practice obviously we didn't get it going until the fourth quarter, a little bit in the third quarter that was disappointing.
"It just takes maybe a missed tackle here, you have a missed third down, dropped ball. It doesn't take a whole lot, I was pleased with how our guys fought in the fourth quarter especially taking a look at halftime where we were at and we fought very hard in that second half."
With the big fourth quarter performance, the Redskins went over 400 yards of total offense (455) for the third week in a row. Despite the deficit, the team remained balanced, running 38 times for 191 yards and passing 35 times for 264 yards.
But following a common thread with the rest of the season, the Redskins piled on yards without finding the end zone enough.
"We moved the ball well running the football but you've got to score points," Shanahan said. "That's discouraging when you're working down the field. You got a second down from the 5, obviously you're disappointed you don't get a touchdown.
"We needed points there and you've got to make those plays and we didn't make those plays. You don't make those plays, you don't win."
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