Where Were You When Sean Taylor Led the Redskins to Victory Against Da

This week at SB Nation www.officialredskinsfootballstore.com , we are talking about great moments in our team’s history that were so amazing that you remember where you were and what you were doing when they happened. For Redskins fans, this is somewhat difficult. I mean, I could go all the way back and talk about “4th and 1” or Darryl Grant running a tipped ball into the end zone, but I wanted something more recent. I could go negative with a memory we can’t get out of our minds like the double timeout or game-winners caught over Reed Doughty (whom I love).No, today I am asking you about one of the more improbably wins we have ever witnessed in this more modern age of Redskins fandom. It was an early November game in 2006, and the Dallas Cowboys were in town to collect a win that everyone seemed to think was theirs without the game even being played. I was in my seat at FedEx enjoying an awesome weather day—sunny and cool, making for an epic November tailgate.Bill Parcells had led the Cowboys to the edge of victory despite all of his carefully calculated errors—Dallas gave up a safety in their first drive, and missed a 2-point conversion that people argued over whether he should have attempted. It was Tony Romo’s second start and he had played halfway decently, certainly well enough for Dallas to leave Washington with a 5-3 record instead of a 4-4 record.With 31 seconds to go and the game tied 19-19, Nick Novak (local Maryland product) came out to attempt a game-winner from 49 yards out. The miss left the stadium gutted, as we desperately wanted to beat our rival, but the Skins were also in the midst of a three-game losing streak. When the Washington special teams unit left the field, we weren’t feeling very optimistic, but the stadium stayed uncharacteristically full in the closing seconds of a tied game. Tony Romo managed to get the Cowboys into position for them to try a game-winner and none other than Mike Vanderjagt trotted out for the 35-yarder with SIX seconds left. Vanderjagt was money at that point and was 5-for-5 on fourth quarter attempts that season. Recently signed Troy Vincent got around the corner and blocked the kick, which sent the crowd into a frenzy as the ball kind of jumped around in the backfield. Seemingly out of NOWHERE Cheap Washington Redskins T-Shirt , Sean Taylor becomes the guy closest to the ball, scoops it up and starts running like he is playing in abackyard game. I mean, he is fast enough to beat pretty much everyone down the field, but what I remember was that he seemed to face contact right away as he picked up the ball. He weaved more than he bee-lined, and it felt like he had guys trying to tackle him the whole way. One of those guy was Dallas’ Kyle Kosier who made the play memorialized in today’s lead image. The facemark pull was seen by everyone in the stadium and there was an audible response to it happening, even though Sean wasn’t quite tackled yet. His return was ultimately not good enough to end the game, but the yellow flag was making us all nuts.As the referees conferred, I was doing the math: the 15-yard penalty was going to set up what could be a 47-yard attempt for Nick Novak. Only problem was...there was no time left on the clock. All you could hear at FedEx in that moment was, “THE GAME CAN’T END ON A DEFENSIVE PENALTY!!!!”We at least knew that. Hahah.The referee announced that there would be one more play, untimed. You would have thought FedEx was the site of the Super Bowl. Nick Novak goes back onto the field and squeaks one through...really just narrowly tucking the ball inside the goalpost. He turned and ran all the way down the field, getting caught and tackled by the entire Redskins bench. we in the stands couldn’t control ourselves. We didn’t get to see many wins period, much less wins over a team we despised.It was an absolutely amazing feeling that I won’t ever forget, and though Nick Novak got crazy love, it was quintessential Sean Taylor magic that we all witnessed. He did what he always did—he got to the ball. When he got there, he scooped it at full speed. After he had the ball Cheap Washington Redskins Hats , he actually turned and ran in the opposite direction for a second, kind of picking his lane to turn and charge before violently making his way down the field. He was the kind of football player that you paid whatever the ticket cost to see him. If he was going to be on the field, you were going to see something special. On this day, what we saw was a win stolen from the Cowboys by a team that probably shouldn’t have been able to do that.Where were you?Mason/Brennan Preseason Hype! Awards: Who’s got the hype heading into week 3 of the Redskins preseason? The Mason/Brennan Preseason Hype! Award has been given out unofficially by the fans for years to each preseason's most hyped players, but now we've made it official, and will bring it to a vote. This week's vote counts the hype heading into the Redskins preseason Week 3 game against the Broncos. Place your vote for who you feel has been the most hyped player up to this point, whether the hype is deserved or not.The Rules:1. Player must have been drafted late or signed by the Redskins as an undrafted free agent. Players that have only been on other teams practice squads that are signed by the team are also eligible.2. A player that has been on the team for several years is still eligible if most of that time has been spent on the practice squad, inactive, or with very limited productivity/timeHow have past Mason/Brennan winners done in thr NFL after receiving this glorious award?Offseason Mason/Brennan Winner: WR Trey Quinn (49%)Week 1 Mason/Brennan Winner: CB Danny Johnson (27%)The Candidates:RB Kapri BibbsBibbs keeps making plays, and more importantly, staying healthy in the preseason. Three more RBs went down against the Jets last week(sorry Martez Carter, you were definitely making the list this week). Bibbs keeps scrapping for a spot, even with the arrival of Adrian Peterson.OG Isaiah WilliamsWhat is the easiest way to get nominated for gor the Mason/Brennan Preseason Hype! Awards besides being a 6'5" WR? Play a position that fans want to see the projected starter replaced. Shawn Lauvao returned to the field with the starters last week, but Isaiah Williams has many fans hoping he makes the team over some of the other retreads from last year.CB Greg StromanStroman is still riding a hype wave from being part of the reason we were able to get rid of former Cowboys CB Orlando Scandrick. DB Adonis AlexanderI'm just going to leave what I wrote about Adonis last week here until he actually plays in a game. Alexander has been injured, hasn’t done much of note in camp Cheap Washington Redskins Hoodie , and didn’t play against the Patriots(or the Jets). Has that stopped his hype, and Jay Gruden from mentioning him following the Scrandrick release? Absolutely not! You can’t spend a 6th round pick next year, and just give up on a physical specimen like Adonis can you?WR Maurice HarrisMaurice Harris should be the starter! He just needs more chances! Did you see that one catch last year! Mo has earned some legit hype in camp and preseason this year, but injuries keep on catching up to him and he won't be on the field in the Broncos game, a big week for the Mason/BrennansOLB Pete RobertsonPetey didn't make the cut last week, but he's back and still trying to get you to remember his name.ILB Jerod Fernandez If you get two sacks in a single preseason game, you're pretty much a lock to be nominated here. WR Cam SimsCams Sims is officially a Hype! STUD, and has already been compared to Julio Jones after two preseason games in the NFL. He won't play tonight but does he even have to, some fans already have him replacing Josh Doctson as the starter. Sims is "raw as can be" according to Jay Gruden but he makes big catches against little defenders that get people excited!WR Trey QuinnHe’s back, but he never really left did he? Mr. Irrelevant got his own video package from the Monday Night Football crew on Thursday night, and a feature on the Bleacher. He also did that whole catching the ball thing that WRs get paid for. Quinn’s nomination this week tests the heights of the Cam Sims hype.