Until he does something significant in the NFL, the Washington Redskins’ Josh Morgan has to live with Sunday’s universally agreed to bonehead play that cost the Redskins a reasonable shot at a game-tying field goal in the final seconds of what turned out to be a 31-28 defeat in St. Louis.
The situation: 3rd and 8 from the Rams’ 38 yard line. Morgan caught a pass from quarterback Robert Griffin III and scrambled for a 7-yard gain. So, kicker Billy Cundiff would have a 47-yard field attempt to force overtime.
Instead, Morgan was shoved by St. Louis’ Cortland Finnegan, one of the most annoying players in the NFL. Instead of getting off the field to allow the field goal attempt, Morgan threw the football at Finnegan. The referee witnessed it and hit Morgan with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. And so, the infraction moved the ball back to force Cundiff’s kick from 62 yards. The league’s record for the longest field goal is 63 yards.
Cundiff missed.
“I should’ve just kept my calm,” Morgan conceded. “We were driving. I should’ve kept my calm.”
There were reports Finnegan provoked Morgan’s ball-throwing by poking him in the eye. Still, Morgan regretted the action almost as soon as he did it.
“[I thought], ‘Oh, they called that one?’ But they called it,” Morgan said to The Washington Post. “Second man gets caught. Coach has been telling me this all week. I should’ve just kept my cool.”
That didn’t happen, obviously, because Finnegan lured Morgan into an emotional reaction. Finnegan is he same player that made mild-mannered wide receiver Andre Johnson of the Houston Texans to go off during a game.
Anyway, the Morgan gaffe did not cost the the Redskins the game — just the chance at a legitimate field goal opportunity to tie it. Cundiff could have missed from 47 yards. Or, if he made it, the Rams still could have won in overtime.
Problem for the Redskins was they wasted another strong effort from Griffin, who accounted for three touchdowns, because their defense was abysmal. That’s the bigger story, the one the team is worrying about more than Morgan’s bad decision.
