The Redskins turn a game to forget into a day to remember Jerry Brewer, The Washington Post, published 26 October 2015 The most improbable victory in franchise history lay on the FedEx Field turf, a fumbled football free for game-clinching recovery. It started bouncing, bouncing away, and Washington Redskins defensive end Chris Baker went crawling after it — one, two, three, four quick movements — in frantic pursuit. An entire crazy game coursed through this one play. For Washington, it had been 3 hours 14 minutes of chasing, on hands and knees, whatever it took. A 24-0 deficit had to be overcome. A season on the brink of a 2-5 record and absolute disorder had to be saved. Finally, with the football and the team’s progress bounding away, Baker needed just one last lunge to restore sanity. He grabbed and secured it. He rose. And then No. 92 hit the Milly Rock, the trendy dance he learned this summer so he could perform it all season. “I’m glad I’ve been stretching after practice,” Baker said, grinning after a 31-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . After Washington’s biggest comeback ever, the sight of a jolly, gyrating, 325-pound man seemed fitting. The week began with Coach Jay Gruden breathlessly declaring this a “code red” game in response to back-to-back losses, and after taking the most difficult route possible, it ended with quarterback Kirk Cousins marching off the field victorious and yelling in the bowels of the stadium, “You like that! You .?.?. like .?.?. that!” Like doesn’t do it justice. Love. Adore. Revere. Grab a thesaurus and shout out every complimentary word that applies. The Redskins’ triumph over the embarrassingly undisciplined Buccaneers (16 penalties for 142 yards) has the potential to be a watershed moment in this rebuilding effort. When it was over, Gruden stood behind a podium and adjusted his hat, revealing sweaty hair underneath. His team had won his self-proclaimed “code red” game in the most dramatic manner possible, revealing the players’ character and providing reassurance that a firm belief system has been established. But the coach didn’t dare take credit. For all the screaming he did to resurrect his team from first-half oblivion, for all the headlines he made with his urgency babble, Gruden wanted the focus on the players. “This isn’t about anything I said before the game or ‘code red’ or halftime adjustments or anything like that,” Gruden said. “It’s about 46 men coming out of the break and stepping up and making some plays.” It’s about Cousins, with no assistance from the run game again, playing his best game of the season. He completed 33 of 40 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns. Cousins ran for another score, an eight-yard touchdown that started the comeback late in the second quarter. He didn’t throw any interceptions despite being put in a 24-0 hole. He completed 12 straight passes at one point in the second half, and he took the ball with 2:24 remaining and led Washington on an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to win the game. Cousins may need to work on his consistency, but he’s a stabilizing influence with his approach to the game. He’s always working to get better. He’s a fighter. And he’s an even-keeled professional who now has led Washington to two victories this season with late-fourth quarter drives. “I don’t hit the panic button when things are going bad,” Cousins said. “And I don’t feel like we’ve got it all figured out when we win. It’s a step in the process.” The Redskins had to take this step to keep the process intact. For this team, the difference between entering the bye at 3-4 instead of 2-5 is enormous. Rampant criticism turns into respect for Washington’s resolve. Questions about the defense’s continuing struggles now become secondary to an appreciation for limiting rookie quarterback Jameis Winston and the Bucs to six second-half points. Scrutiny of poor tackling transforms into praise of cornerback Baushaud Breeland’s effort during a brilliant play to bring down running back Doug Martin at the end of a 49-yard run with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Breeland suffered a hamstring injury on the play, but by stopping Martin at the 5-yard line, he enabled Washington to make a defensive stand and hold the Bucs to a field goal. Trailing 30-24 instead of 34-24 made a huge difference. It gave Cousins one last chance. The offense didn’t disappoint, as Cousins hit tight end Jordan Reed, who had 11 catches, on a six-yard slant with 28 seconds remaining. In the locker room after the game, defensive end Jason Hatcher grabbed Cousins and wrapped him in an embrace. “I know I get emotional,” said Hatcher, who gave a rousing postgame speech to the entire team. “But I believe in you. I believe in you!” It was a telling scene on a day that served as a referendum on Gruden’s coaching. His handling of Cousins had been under fire all week. His “code red” comment after last week’s loss to the New York Jets had been mocked. His team’s third-quarter ineffectiveness had been scrutinized. Whether fair or not, this game would make another impression about Gruden’s ability to motivate his team and keep the locker room together. During his customary Saturday night speech to his team, Gruden addressed his silly “code red” remark in a humorous manner. He channeled actor Jack Nicholson’s Col. Nathan R. Jessup character in “A Few Good Men” and shouted jokingly, “You’re damn right I ordered the code red!” The players laughed, but Gruden also found that most were focused on competing. They weren’t offended that Gruden publicly challenged them. They didn’t feel underappreciated. They just wanted to play. And then they went out and fell behind by 24 points. But maybe they can play that off as joking with the coach. “I overspoke with the ‘code red’ thing,” Gruden said. “But these guys are pros in here, man. At 24-0, it’s easy for a 2-4 team to quit and say, ‘Here we go again.’ But to see them battle back is something that makes me very, very proud to be a coach here.” From Dustin Hopkins’s momentum-swinging onside kick to rookie Jamison Crowder’s highlight-reel 18-yard reception to set up the game-winning score, the Redskins used everything in their repertoire to make their coach proud. “I like the fact that nobody blinked,” Gruden said. “They all came together. They all played together. Nobody stopped believing.” At halftime, they exited to loud boos from the crowd of 72,912. By late in the fourth quarter, the fans cheered like they hadn’t all season, and the Washington players waved their hands and fanned noise. “It’s one of those wins that uplifts you,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “It is one of those losses you get a permanent scar from,” Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David said. It is one of those games that this 83-year-old Washington franchise might not see for another 83 years. And that’s a good thing. The nerves can’t take watching a season teeter like that too many times.