Redskins open exhibition season with 20-17 win

The Associated Press

CANTON, Ohio -- Joe Gibbs came back for this?

While his Washington Redskins beat the Denver Broncos 20-17 on a last-second 39-yard field goal by Ola Kimrin on Monday night in the Hall of Fame game, the Hall of Fame coach saw enough mistakes to fill an entire preseason. And then some.

Still, the Redskins marched efficiently to the winning kick behind third-string quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, offsetting a long night of general inefficiency.

The Broncos were even worse for most of the game, although that franchise's only Hall of Famer, John Elway, certainly couldn't complain. His weekend was made on Sunday, when he was inducted into the shrine along with Barry Sanders, Carl Eller and Bob Brown.

Fourth-string quarterback Mike Quinn led Denver's 13-play, 58-yard drive that was capped by a 2-yard TD pass to Jeb Putzier and drew the Broncos to 17-15. Quinn hit Charlie Adams for the 2-point conversion to tie it.

Back came Washington, with a 35-yard pass from Hasselbeck to Darnerien McCants sparking the winning march. Backup kicker Kimrin didn't flinch on his attempt, and Gibbs was a winner again.

"It was big for us," Gibbs said. "Denver has a veteran group and we were just trying to come back."

Many Broncos fans who filled Fawcett Stadium for the ceremony Sunday were back in their No. 7 jerseys and they saluted their hero with loud cheers when he was introduced before the game and at halftime. But there were no Hall of Fame quality performances on the field, only the usual collection of errors for an opening exhibition game. Penalties galore, fumbles, interceptions, drops and poor timing slowed matters to a crawl.

Safety Sean Taylor, Washington's first-round selection (fifth overall), had a strong debut, though. He picked off fellow rookie Matt Mauck twice, scoring from the 3 on the second interception.

Taylor stepped in front of Putzier, grabbed the pass and sauntered into the end zone for a 10-9 lead in the third quarter.

Taylor's work was one of the few things Gibbs could be pleased with, along with the final drive. It's too early in his return from a dozen years away from football to anticipate much more.

Still, watching the Redskins and Broncos in this game had to remind Gibbs of seeing his NASCAR drivers, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart, getting flat tires.

Worst of all, Redskins right tackle Jon Jansen ruptured his left Achilles' tendon in the first quarter and likely will miss the season.

"We might have lost one of our best players," Gibbs said. "It looks like it's bad."

Washington appeared to put the game away on Hasselbeck's 33-yard TD pass to Gari Scott with 6:54 to go. But Quinn had other ideas.

Although each team was sloppy from the outset, there were enough big plays by the regulars to produce some early points -- field goals.

Shawn Springs, signed to replace cornerback Champ Bailey after Bailey was traded to Denver for Clinton Portis, intercepted Jake Plummer's pass on the Broncos' first series. Starting from the Denver 40, Washington got to the 21 before Bailey's sticky coverage of Laveranues Coles forced an incompletion and the Redskins settled for John Hall's 39-yard field goal.

Jason Elam tied it with his own 39-yarder on the next series after Quentin Griffin, Portis' successor as Denver's starting tailback, had runs of 27 and 16 yards. Griffin finished with 46 yards on six carries.

Elam added a 40-yarder after a holding penalty cost the Broncos a 4-yard touchdown run by Griffin. He made a 47-yarder late in the first half after Washington's Rock Cartwright fumbled.

Otherwise, it was a melange of mistakes for both sides. For much of the game, Gibbs and counterpart Mike Shanahan stood with their arms folded or paced their sidelines, watching the flow of yellow flags.

In all, there were 22 penalties for 189 yards. Dozens of other infractions either were declined or offset each other.

Gibbs became the second man already enshrined to coach in the Hall of Fame game. Paul Brown did it in 1975.