Redskins, Broncos Savor Last Drop : Washington Hangs On, When Vikings Can’t, for NFC Title

The Minnesota Vikings left their season on someone else’s doorstep on Sunday, watching a perfectly good pass and playoff adventure slip right through Darrin Nelson’s fingertips on fourth down near Washington’s goal line.

It was over that fast, the emotions of victory and defeat instantly and clearly defined.

With Nelson’s drop went the National Football Conference title, Washington holding on for a 17-10 victory in front of 55,212 at RFK Stadium.

The game had been played sloppily, but ended as title games should, with the weight of a season resting on one man’s pass and one man’s palms.

As the game’s last pass left Wade Wilson’s hand and went spinning toward Nelson, Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs could be found on a knee in prayer.

“It was the right kind of prayer, one where I could live with it either way,” Gibbs said later. “But I wanted it this way.”

Nelson, it can be assumed, didn’t plan it that way.

“The ball hit my hands, and then it was knocked loose,” he said. “Anytime it hits your hands you have a chance to catch it.”

Instead of a possible touchdown, and overtime, and destiny perhaps, the Vikings settled for defeat.

Viking linebacker Jesse Solomon, who had given up a touchdown of his own in the first quarter on a 42-yard pass from Doug Williams to Kelvin Bryant, was one of the first to console Nelson.

“I just said it was OK,” Solomon said. “I mean what can you say? This is football. Some games Darrin has won for us with great performances. So what can you do, cuss him out? I think back to the Dallas game in overtime and his great run. He won the game. Nobody tries to miss balls. It makes me sick, of course. It makes me sick when anyone catches a ball on me for a touchdown. You’re not trying to do it. He’s probably going to waste a whole off-season and replay this week. And he’ll catch the ball.”

Nelson’s drop was climactic and dramatic, a fitting end to a game in which the Redskins and Vikings dropped a lot of passes, more than could be expected for a conference’s showcase teams.

The Vikings, who may have finally felt the playoff squeeze after two convincing playoff victories, dropped seven passes in the second half.

The Vikings were not the good-hands people.

“There were lots of dropped passes, particularly by our backs,” Viking Coach Jerry Burns said. “You can’t do that in championship games.”

One drop in particular they’ll remember longer than others.

The last play, a fourth down and four at the Redskins’ six-yard line with 56 seconds left, was designed for Nelson all the way. So what became of Anthony Carter, the splendid splinter? He was, of all things, a decoy on the play.

Carter was to cut right from the left side and take the defensive heat with him, clearing an opening for Nelson.

It worked, save one minor detail involving Nelson’s hands.

“Well, they just didn’t call my play at all in the second half,” said Carter, who had more than 1,000 total yards in three playoff games. “Not anytime. I don’t know what the deal was. But they coach, and I play.”

Carter will remember that on the game’s biggest play, he was running away from the ball.

So will the Redskins, who hemmed and hawed their way to victory.

Very little of the game was sweet for quarterback Doug Williams and the Redskins, who were most shocked to find themselves locked in a tie, 7-7, at halftime.

For one, they could thank their kicker, Ali Haji-Sheikh, who missed field goals of 38 and 47 yards.

But Williams, too, was to blame, completing only 4 of 14 passes in the first 30 minutes, 2 of those coming on the Redskins’ opening, 98-yard drive for a touchdown.

But then the magic vanished.

The Redskins were lucky their defense had found a direct path to the opposing quarterback, Wilson, who was sacked 8 times in all for 60 yards.

“Our pass rush was the key,” said cornerback Darrell Green, who took an injection of pain-killer for his sore ribs before the kickoff. “We work hand in hand.”

With the defensive front knocking the Wade out of Wilson, the secondary could devote closer attention to Carter.

Carter still finished with 7 catches for 85 yards and a 26-yard punt return, but Washington kept him out of the end zone.

“We didn’t let him go 40 yards for a touchdown,” cornerback Barry Wilburn said.

If that’s stopping a player, then the Redskins shut down Carter.

Still, Washington could not have been proud of the 10-7 lead they carried deep into the third quarter.

“We knew something had to give,” Washington linebacker Mel Kaufman said.

It did. Carter’s 26-yard punt return in the early minutes of the fourth quarter seemed to slap the Vikings in the face.

They charged down the field and had first and goal at the Washington three when the Redskins held, stopping the Vikings on three straight-ahead runs into the middle of the line.

Chuck Nelson’s 18-yard field goal tied the game, 10-10, with 10:06, but it seemed almost a victory.

Williams seized the momentum and led his team to its first first down of the half with nine minutes remaining.

A few plays later, it was Williams throwing 43 yards to Gary Clark, who was dragged down from behind at the Minnesota 11.

Three plays later, Williams hit Clark again for a seven-yard touchdown to put the Redskins ahead for good with 5:15 left.

The drive somewhat vindicated an afternoon for Williams, who carried on his shoulders the pressure of the game and, in the minds of some, his race.

After getting close to the Super Bowl once with Tampa Bay in 1979, Williams, at age 32, after so many frustrations and even a side trip to another league, finally made it to the Super Bowl.

Some expected Williams to appear as the Super Bowl’s first black starting quarterback years ago.

It took a little longer.

“The most important thing for me was to get the Super Bowl,” Williams said. “Whatever comes with it for black America, we can deal with it from this point on. . . . But you can’t go and play against Denver or Cleveland and say I’m black, I’m doing this for black America. I’m doing this for the Redskins and myself.”

What the Redskins did was almost start celebrating too early.

The Vikings started their final drive on their 33 with 5:04 left. Wilson quickly went to Leo Lewis for 14 yards and later threw key passes to Carter (8 yards) and Anthony Allen.

With 1:05 left, the Vikings were on the Redskins’ six, but wouldn’t get any closer.

Wilson threw two incomplete passes, forcing Minnesota to fourth down. The Vikings called their final timeout.

With 56 seconds left, Wilson dropped back and looked for Nelson.

“The whole season was wrapped up in that one play,” Kaufman said later.

Wilson: “I thought it was a touchdown. I thought he had it. I didn’t see much after that.”

Minnesota linebacker Solomon did, and he wishes to soon forget.

“I thought we had it, but my dream didn’t come true,” he said. “I just said that’s it, it’s time to go home. I don’t like games like that, I’d rather have lost this game by 30 points than to lose like that. That’s too many sleepless nights. I believe I’ll be thinking about this for a while.”

Don’t forget Darrin Nelson.