Each week, THN chose their three players of the game at each position. As the Redskins lost to the Seahawks in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, this is the last edition of Players of the Game for the 2005 season.
Offense: Santana Moss
Seattle’s defense rose to the occasion and, due to stacking the box with 8 men or more, held the Redskins to 59 rushing yards. That resulted in Mark Brunell chucking the ball on a very wet day.
In the first half, Brunell passed for only 38 yards, 14 of which were to Moss. However, the Redskins were somehow able to air it out in the second half.
During a crucial 3rd and 20 situation in the third quarter, Moss caught a 23-yard pass, giving the Redskins the first down. The drive, however, ended with a Seattle fumble recovery after a Bryce Fischer sack on Brunell. The Redskins next offensive drive was catapulted by a 52 yard connection from Brunell to Chris Cooley and resulted in an amazing 20-yard touchdown catch by Moss that put the Redskins within 7. The ball was tipped by Seattle defender Andre Dyson on the play and was only inches away from being an interception.
On 4th and 16 late in the 4th quarter, Moss caught a 39-yard pass to put the Redskins in Seattle territory. On the final play of the drive, Brunell launched a prayer to Moss in the corner of the endzone. As the ball came down, Seahawks safety Michael Boulware turned around just in time and batted the ball down away from Moss, ending any hopes of Washington advancing to the NFC Championship game.
Moss finished the game with 103 yards on 7 receptions.
Defense: Phillip Daniels
Daniels and the rest of the defensive linemen came out aggressive as usual and flushed Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck out of the pocket with consistent pressure. The defensive line also had to battle against constant holding throughout the game—most of which went unnoticed by the officials. The only holding penalty called on Seattle’s offensive line came late in the 4th quarter but was offset by an illegal use of the hands call on Redskins’ linebacker Lemar Marshall.
Along with his 5 tackles and 1 forced fumble, Daniels made an amazing play in the first quarter. As Hasselbeck dropped back to pass, Daniels was rushing from the left and was being held by Seattle offensive lineman Sean Locklear, yet he was still able to extend his right arm far enough to bat the pass down. (No holding was called on the play).
Daniels also forced Seattle running back Maurice Morris to fumble late in the second quarter. Morris, however, recovered the fumble.
Special Teams: Ade Jimoh
Jimoh may have played his best game as a Redskin, with 3 special teams tackles and a forced fumble. During Washington’s second punt, Jimoh sprinted towards Seattle returner Jimmy Williams at full speed and jarred the ball loose with a big hit. Williams managed to recover the ball, but Jimoh made almost the exact same play on the next Redskins punt. He blasted past Seattle’s blocking, headed towards the returner, and barreled Williams over for his second tackle of the game. Jimoh also registered a tackle on the kickoff following John Hall’s 26-yard field goal that gave the Redskins a 3-0 lead in the second quarter.
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Jake Russell