Butler Sweeps Redskins Right Out of Playoffs

When the Washington Redskins look back at why they didn’t reach the NFL playoffs, they can point to two wild losses to the Arizona Cardinals.

The Redskins, who started the season 7-1, fell out of contention Sunday when Kevin Butler’s 28-yard field goal with no time left lifted the Cardinals to a 27-26 victory. Butler also finished the job Nov. 10 at Washington, when Boomer Esiason threw for 522 yards in a 37-34 overtime victory.

“That’s what you play for,” said Gus Frerotte, who threw for 258 yards and no interceptions, but also was unable to deliver a touchdown on three drives inside Arizona’s five-yard line. “You want to see how far you can go. You want to try and get in the Super Bowl, and losing by one point is tough.”

The Redskins (8-7) saw their postseason chances evaporate because of clutch play by Kent Graham, Larry Centers, the Arizona defense and special teams.

Butler’s winning kick capped a 15-play, 69-yard drive that consumed the final 7:02. Graham, who got his starting job back from Esiason early last week, was 16 for 40 until he went four for six on the final march.

“There’s been a lot of pressure on me this week to perform and go out there and get a win for us,” said Graham, who passed for 232 yards and three touchdowns.

He got first downs with passes of 16 yards to Rob Moore and 12 yards to Centers to kick-start the final possession after Scott Blanton’s fourth field goal put Washington ahead, 26-24, with 7:14 left. Rich Owens also grabbed Graham’s facemask, and the penalty gave the Cardinals a first down.

Leeland McElroy then set up the winning field goal with a 21-yard sweep to the Redskins 14.

The Redskins were ahead, 23-17, to start the fourth quarter, but the game turned on a special-teams play.

Arizona’s Tommy Bennett tried to block Matt Turk’s punt, but got only his leg. Although James Jenkins recovered for Washington, referee Dale Hamer ruled that Turk had fumbled and the ball could not be advanced, negating Jenkins’ run into Arizona territory for a first down.

“We have a fourth-down fumble rule which says the ball can only be advanced by the fumbling player,” Hamer said.

The Cardinals took over at the Washington 37 and needed only three plays to score on Frank Sanders’ 21-yard touchdown reception.

“I couldn’t see it,” Redskin Coach Norv Turner said. “The only thing I’ve been told--and it looked like it to me from where I was--was that they touched the ball after whatever happened on the punt.”

Earlier, Graham passed six yards to Centers for a score. The Cardinals took a 14-3 lead when Eric Swann recovered a fumble by Gus Frerotte, returned it 11 yards and then lateraled to Jamir Miller, who ran it another 26 yards to score.

“We hadn’t done that in a long time,” Swann said about the team’s first defensive touchdown this season. “It got our guys going, gave us some momentum and the confidence that the defense can get turnovers and score as well.”

But the feeling didn’t last long. Less than two minutes after the Cardinals scored, Scott Turner recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone for Washington, and Blanton kicked two field goals in the final 2:41 to give the Redskins a 16-14 halftime lead.

Butler hit a 22-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Graham hit Sanders, sending Arizona (7-8) ahead 24-23 with 12:38 left. The Cardinals came back after Washington took a 23-14 lead on Terry Allen’s 14-yard run midway through the third quarter.

Blanton’s kicks were from 20, 22, 23 and 35 yards.

The Redskins reached the Arizona two twice in the first half without scoring a touchdown. Swann stopped both drives with behind-the-line tackles, briefly knocking out Washington’s Marc Logan in the first quarter, and throwing Brian Mitchell for a four-yard loss in the second.

Frerotte said he would carry the feeling through the off-season.

“I want to remember the way I felt out there when we were that close,” he said.