It’s not as if Washington doesn’t have anything to play for.
But it didn’t look that way, at least on defense.
After allowing the Vikings to roll up 406 yards and 38 points (including 21 unanswered), members of Washington’s defense said they were a bit to casual about the whole thing.
“We’ve got to find some juice, we’ve got to get going. We were so lackadaisical,” cornerback Josh Norman said, via Rich Tandler of NBC Sports Washington. “We didn’t have crap today, we really didn’t. Three unanswered scores, I was like, wow, what is going on today? We’re capable of doing [the job] week in and week out and that’s what’s the frustrating part about it. It was slack, just real slack, and that’s the most disappointing part about it.”
Even safety D.J. Swearinger, whose two interceptions provided a bit of a spark, noticed it.
“We relaxed as a defense, we didn’t pay attention to the details as we should,”Swearinger said. “I guess we got too high on ourselves, I don’t know the reason why. . . .
“Our Friday practice wasn’t good enough. You practice like you play. I try to set our tone. You can’t just say it, you’ve got to do it.”
It’s rare to hear a player specifically cite a day during the week in which a game was lost, especially when that day is not Sunday.
Perhaps coach Jay Gruden will go a little harder this week to help get their attention, as if their 4-5 record does not.