
After Graham Gano missed two chip-shot field goals in the first half, Redskins fans understandably were nervous when a late touchdown pass from quarterback Donovan McNabb to receiver Santana Moss pulled the ‘Skins to within one point, with nine seconds to play.
Eschewing an opportunity to go for two and the win, coach Mike Shanahan sent Gano back to the field.
The good news? Gano didn’t miss.
The bad news? He didn’t get a chance.
The snap squirted through the hands of punter Hunter Smith like a greased gourd. Game over.
For a while, it appeared that the league lucked out with the Redskins winning. The play-by-play at NFL.com initially revealed that, the Redskins got a fifth down from the Tampa Bay six yard line, 20 years after Colorado received five downs to beat Missouri.
The play-by-play on NFL.com has since been changed to show that what was believed to be second-down and one from the Tampa two was actually first and goal. So when it appeared to be fifth down for the Redskins, it actually was fourth down.
Either way, it doesn’t matter, thanks to Hunter Smith’s popcorn hands.