Domonique Foxworth couldn’t stop his bottom lip from shivering. The right jaw of linebacker D.J. Williams was uncontrollably shaking.
Nothing unusual about this given the rainy and chilly conditions. Except the Broncos’ 21-19 victory against the Washington Redskins had concluded a full 30 minutes earlier. And Foxworth and Williams had already showered and changed into their civilian clothes.
They were still shaking.
“It was c-o-o-ld,” said Foxworth, the Broncos’ rookie cornerback. “Once you get wet, it’s hard to get rid of.”
The rain and cold caused Foxworth to cramp up immediately after he deflected an apparent touchdown pass from Mark Brunell to Santana Moss in the third quarter. Cramps have been the bane of the Broncos’ secondary this year. Lenny Walls and Darrent Williams cramped up because of the heat and humidity in the season-opening loss at Miami.
Cramps also can occur in the rain and cold. They almost cost the Broncos again. With Foxworth out, he was replaced by rookie corner Karl Paymah, whose two final-drive penalties helped the Redskins score a final-minute touchdown.
The game started in a light drizzle and fog and the temperature was 50 degrees. By game’s end, the rain had increased to a near downpour. And never mind the temperature reading. When the uniforms are soaked through, it’s colder than that.
“This was probably one of the worst conditions ever,” said Broncos punter Todd Sauerbrun, an 11-year veteran. “I’ll take the snow any day over this rain. It was brutal, absolutely brutal.”
Sauerbrun goes deep
Among the keys to victory was Sauerbrun’s 59-yard punt from his end zone in the third quarter. It appeared the Redskins had just scored a safety to draw within 14-12, but a replay overturned the score, saying quarterback Jake Plummer had not fumbled, but threw an incomplete pass under the “tuck” rule.
That still left Sauerbrun to punt not once, but twice from his end zone. His first went 50 yards, but an illegal man downfield penalty forced him to reboot. The second one traveled 59 yards and although the Redskins’ Moss returned it 14 yards, Sauerbrun showed that unlike punters from the Broncos’ recent past, he can deliver in the clutch.
“I love it,” Sauerbrun said about kicking from his end zone with the game on the line. “That one was icing on the cake right there. It’s fun. What more to life is there than that?”
One Sauerbrun punt was blocked but the defender, Chris Clemons, was on him before he had a chance.
“I don’t know what happened on that to tell you the truth,” Sauerbrun said.
The blocked punt set up a Redskins field goal.
Champ sidelined again
Weather or not, Broncos star cornerback Champ Bailey was not going to play Sunday because of his strained hamstring. After starting the first 99 games of his career, Bailey has missed two in a row because of his leg injury.
“After testing it out (in pregame), we saw that he couldn’t go full speed, so we went in a different direction,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said.
With Bailey unable to play against his former team, the Broncos started two rookies at cornerback, Darrent Williams and Foxworth.
Besides Bailey, the Broncos also inactivated cornerback Roc Alexander, linebacker Louis Green, center Chris Myers, tight end Nate Jackson and defensive linemen Monsato Pope and Marco Coleman.
Attaboy, Atwater
First there was Goose Gonsoulin, then there was Billy Thompson, then there was Dennis Smith and Sunday there was Steve Atwater.
Atwater, an eight-time Pro Bowl safety from 1989-98, became the 20th member of the Broncos Ring of Fame on Sunday, saying he was proud to keep company with the 19 who preceded him and proud to have been a Bronco for what was perhaps the 10 most glorious seasons of the franchise. “Thanks to the city of Denver, the state of Colorado and all you crazy Broncos fans,” he said.
A fearsome hitter, Atwater also became the fourth safety to be honored, following in the footsteps of Gonsoulin, Thompson and Smith. Atwater played alongside Smith for five seasons, forming what Broncos owner Pat Bowlen declared as “the best pair of safeties in NFL history.”
Only legendary Broncos quarterback John Elway, with nine, made more Pro Bowl appearances then Atwater.
Buddy ball lives
In the fist quarter, Denver defensive coordinator Larry Coyer used a “46 defense” to fight the Redskins’ max protection of Brunell. The alignment features four defensive linemen and six defensive backs. Coyer said he used the alignment about 10 times. The alignment became popular in the 1980s when Buddy Ryan used it as defensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears.
“We had to do it to try to get more pressure,” said Coyer, who said it was the first time this year he used that alignment. “I had to go back to Buddy Ryan.”
Denver safety John Lynch said he loves the alignment.
“As a safety, it gives you a chance to really get after it,” Lynch said. “It was a good call by Larry.”
Paymah feels heat
When Foxworth came out of the game on the final drive for a few plays with cramping, Paymah, took his place, playing in only his second NFL game. It was a rough go.
Denver defensive tackle Gerard Warren sacked Brunell on fourth down with 2:37 left to essentially wrap up the game with Denver leading 21-13. But Paymah, a third-round pick from Washington State, was called for defensive holding. Three plays later, after an incomplete pass on third-and-10 from Denver’s 46, Paymah was penalized 15 yards for spearing Moss.
He was then taken out and Foxworth returned.
“I was just trying to finish the play,” Paymah said of his second penalty. “It was tough, but we won the game.”
Shanahan said despite the penalties, he was pleased that Paymah was playing aggressively.
As for Foxworth, he was stunned that he had to leave a game with such chilly conditions because of cramping.
“I didn’t cramp once in Jacksonville or Miami,” Foxworth said. “I guess I didn’t drink enough water.”
Despite missing some action, Foxworth was lauded by Shanahan for his play in his second consecutive start. Foxworth started at cornerback in place of Bailey, who sat out with a hamstring injury.
“He played great,” Shanahan said of the third-round pick from Maryland. “Another great game for him. When he went out of the game, we really missed him.”
Cox back
For the second consecutive week, cornerback Curome Cox was signed to the active roster from the practice squad on the morning of a game. To make room for Cox on the 53-man roster, rookie tight end Wesley Duke was released.
Cox was re-signed because defensive backs Bailey and Alexander were out. Last week at Jacksonville, Cox was signed on the morning of the game. He was cut Tuesday and brought back to the practice squad Wednesday after clearing waivers.
Duke must clear waivers today if the Broncos are to bring him back to the practice squad. It was a surprise for Duke to make the 53-man roster in September. Duke never played college football. He was a basketball star at Mercer.
Deuces gone wild
Except for a couple of two-point plays that didn’t pan out, Washington coach Joe Gibbs might have been able to sleep Sunday night. Everybody understands how maddening the safety on Plummer must have been when it was reversed and taken off the board early in the third quarter, but almost as frustrating for Gibbs was the failed two-point conversion near the end of the game.
“We had it,” Gibbs said. “We had David Patten wide open in the back of the end zone and just as he (quarterback Brunell) let it go, that linebacker (Ian Gold) flashed between them.”
Another homecoming
Clinton Portis wasn’t the only person back on familiar turf Sunday. Bill Musgrave, The Denver Post’s Gold Helmet winner in 1985, who went on to become a star quarterback at Oregon and backup in the NFL for a number of years, is the Redskins new quarterbacks coach this year. He was brought in from Jacksonville to be reunited with Brunell.
Footnotes
Umpire Garth DeFelice returned to the game after hitting his head on the ground after being inadvertently hit by Denver and Washington players … After arguing with Redskins coaches last week, linebacker Lavar Arrington did not play even though he was active … Lynch led all players with eight tackles … Backup defensive end John Engelberger and tackle Demetrin Veal played extensively. Engelberger had five tackles and Veal had three. … Denver tight end Jeb Putzier was fined $5,000 by the NFL for cut blocking against Jacksonville. Putzier will appeal the fine… Denver is 4-1 or better for the seventh time in Shanahan’s 11 seasons in Denver. They’re 4-1 for the fourth consecutive season. … The Broncos are 17-4 under Shanahan against NFC teams at home. … The Broncos are plus-6 in giveaways/takeaways compared to minus-9 in 2004.
Jim Armstrong and Joseph Sanchez contributed to this report.
