Redskins Putting It Together Too Late

Five victories in seven games would leave most NFL teams smiling. Not the Washington Redskins.

An 0-7 start means that no matter how strong the Redskins finish, they’ll be playing for nothing more than pride as they close out their schedule. That point was reinforced Sunday when they won their third consecutive game, 28-25, over the self-destructive Carolina Panthers.

“Now that we’re playing well, it’s hard not to look back and realize there were like four or five games we could have won,” said Skip Hicks, who rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns. “You can really beat yourself up if you spend too much time thinking about it, so we’re just trying to focus on doing the best we can the rest of the way.”

Hicks helped the Redskins (5-9) to a season-high 160 rushing yards against one of the NFL’s worst defenses against the run, even though Terry Allen missed most of the game because of continuing ankle problems.

Trent Green, meanwhile, threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns.

“We’re making plays when we need to,” Coach Norv Turner said. “We still have our deficiencies, but now we’re working around them.”

Carolina (2-12) fell to 1-9 in games decided by seven points or less.

Washington went 82, 80 and 79 yards for touchdowns on its first three possessions.

Carolina had a chance to overcome the three-point deficit, driving to the Washington 19 before Steve Beuerlein underthrew a sideline pass intended for Mark Carrier, and Stanley Richard intercepted it.

“Whether it’s one play or 20 plays, if you make the bad play at the wrong time it affects everybody,” Beuerlein said. “I feel terrible about it.”

The Panthers got the ball back once more, but Darrell Green ended that possession with another interception, prompting a cascade of boos from those left in the crowd of 46,940, the smallest at Ericsson Stadium since it opened in 1996.

Carolina’s first-half troubles included a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Michael Bates that was called back by a holding penalty on Winslow Oliver. Wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad cost the Panthers another score when he was run down from behind two yards short of the goal line by Cris Dishman, who knocked the ball out of Muhammad’s hands and through the end zone for a touchback instead of what would have been a 65-yard touchdown pass play.