Redskins hope to bury memories of close losses to Bucs [AP]

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Redskins hope to bury memories of close losses to Bucs
By FRED GOODALL, AP Sports Writer
January 6, 2006

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Jon Jansen has tried his best to forget the last time the Washington Redskins visited Tampa Bay for a playoff game.

But just as he and his teammates haven't been able to erase the memory of a disappointing 1-point loss to the Buccaneers earlier this season, six years hasn't changed the offensive tackle's recollection of how the team's most recent postseason trip ended.

The Redskins blew a 13-point second-half lead and lost 14-13 to Tampa Bay in the 1999 NFC divisional round. Dan Turk's errant snap foiled a potential winning 52-yard field-goal attempt by Brett Conway with a little more than a minute remaining.

"It was exciting because it was my rookie year," Jansen recalled. "We obviously had a terrific season and won the division and things seemed to be going real well. Just to have things fall apart like that in the second half, you realize to some extent what home-field advantage means."

The Redskins (10-6) will get another crack at the Bucs (11-5) on Saturday in the wild-card round at Raymond James Stadium, where Washington also came up a point short in a memorable game on Nov. 13.

Tampa Bay won that day, 36-35, on Mike Alstott's 2-point conversion run with 58 seconds left.

The Redskins still don't believe Alstott got into the end zone on the play, but have moved on.

After losing their next two games to fall to 5-6, they've put together a five-game winning streak to earn a postseason berth for the first time since make that last trip to Tampa as NFC East champs.

"I don't necessarily look at the 2-point conversion. I look at the opportunity that we gave them to have the 2-point conversion," Jansen said. "If we get a first down when we have the ball, we're able to take a knee later in the game and end it on our terms. As an offensive line, we didn't provide that opportunity. That's what sticks with me."

The victory was a turning point in Tampa Bay's season, sparking the team's second-half surge to the NFC South title at 11-5.

Coach Jon Gruden followed instinct rather conventional football wisdom to go for the win instead of trying to send the game into overtime after the Redskins blocked an extra-point attempt but were called for offside.

"I don't know if it was a no-brainer," Gruden said. "I've never done that before, and you don't see it done very often, where a team goes for it. But we did get a penalty, and the ball wasn't at the 2, it was at the 1.

"We had previous success on the goal line, and they had been moving the ball quite well, honestly. We felt that was our best chance to win the game. ... Looking back on it, I feel like it was a logical decision more than anything."

The day after the game, Washington coach Joe Gibbs said he had video to support his claim that Alstott was tackled short of the end zone. Nevertheless, he feels Gruden made a heady call to hand the ball to the 250-pound fullback from the 1.

"It was smart on his part, but it still took guts," Gibbs said. "I kind of admire him for doing that."

The victory stopped a two-game losing streak for the Bucs, and even more importantly bolstered the confidence of third-year quarterback Chris Simms, who struggled in losses to San Francisco and Carolina the previous two weeks.

"It was probably two steps forward," Simms said of his development.

Washington, meanwhile, rebounded from its midseason skid and enter the playoffs as one of the NFL's hottest teams.

Jansen said earning a postseason berth this season seems sweeter than six years ago. He remembers thinking then that the Redskins were well on their way to becoming perennial playoff contenders again.

"You make some assumptions that you're a part of a good team, and you're a part of something that's starting to be good," Jansen said.

"I don't necessarily know that if you make it every year that they're not sweet. But if you've got to work six years to get to one, there's a lot more built up in it."

The Bucs can appreciate that sentiment. They're back in the playoffs after a two-year hiatus that seemed longer.

Young players such as rookie Carnell "Cadillac" Williams are eager for their first taste of action.

"A lot of veterans on this team have been through a lot," Williams said. "There have been some down times, so they're telling the young players to take advantage of this opportunity. I think as a whole we're doing that. We're just fired up and ready to play."

Updated on Friday, Jan 6, 2006 2:28 am EST