Despite QB switch, offense remains beached

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan made a surprise move Sunday, benching former Ravens backup John Beck and returning to Rex Grossman as the team's starting quarterback in an attempt to spark his struggling offense and end a four-game losing streak.

Washington managed to move the ball a little better but still could not score touchdowns and fell, 20-9, to the Dolphins, giving Shanahan the first five-game losing streak of his coaching career and the Redskins their first such streak since 2001.

"It's the same thing each and every week," wide receiver Jabar Gaffney lamented. "That's what's really like frustrating. We work on it, think we have it controlled and figured out. Then we come back out and we still have the same problems."

Grossman, who was benched in Week 6 after a four-interception performance against the Philadelphia Eagles but split first-team snaps with Beck in practice this week, threw two more interceptions to a Miami defense that entered the game with only two picks all year. He completed 21 of 32 passes for 215 yards, and the Redskins managed only 225 total yards on offense.

The Dolphins picked up their second consecutive win for the first time since the beginning of the 2010 season. Paced by two rushing touchdowns from Reggie Bush, Miami topped Washington in every statistical category and improved to 2-7. The Dolphins became the fourth one-win team to defeat the Redskins this season.

The first missed opportunity came late in the first quarter. Washington's Graham Gano, another former Raven, had missed a 50-yard field goal wide left, giving Miami the ball at the 40-yard line. But three plays later, Redskins defensive back Kevin Barnes picked off Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore's third-and-31 pass and returned it to the 5-yard line.

But the offense actually went backward from there. A 1-yard touchdown run by Ryan Torain was called back by a holding penalty on tight end Logan Paulsen and, after they were backed up to the 11-yard line, the Redskins only made it back to the 8 before they had to settle for a field goal.

On the second play of the third quarter, rookie outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan got to Moore for his second sack and forced fumble of the game, and defensive end Stephen Bowen recovered at the Dolphins' 24-yard line.

The Redskins picked up 4 yards on a reception by Torain, but on the next play another holding penalty — this time on left tackle Trent Williams — pushed Washington back to the 30. Grossman completed three straight passes to move the team to the 5-yard line, but his fade route to Fred Davis in the corner of the end zone led the tight end out of bounds, and on came Gano for another field goal, making the score 10-9.

After the loss, Shanahan said he believed Grossman did well despite his two interceptions, the first of which came when rookie Leonard Hankerson slipped on a pass route. But the coach wouldn't say whether Grossman would remain the starting quarterback.