In a second half where the Redskins could seemingly only stop the Colts from scoring by virtue of a convenient fumble or a missed Adam Vinatieri field goal, the Redskins defense came up huge when they had to, giving the offense one last chance to tie or win the game.
When the Redskins offense took an agonizing six minutes to score the touchdown to pull the team within three points, it left the Colts with about 2:45 to burn to win the game. With Joseph Addai out on an injury, the Colts elected to pass three times, none of which were completed. On 3rd down, Redskins corner Phillip Buchanan made perfect coverage of Reggie Wayne to force a punt, setting the Redskins up with the ball with three timeouts and the two-minute warning, plus about two and a half minutes with which to work.
Of course, the 'Skins offense wasn't quite up to the task. Nowhere near it, actually. Needing only a field goal to tie the game, the Redskins couldn't get a single first down. After gaining five yards on first down, Donovan McNabb was sacked on second down. From there followed two incomplete passes to close out a decisive drive, the second of which was an attempted bomb to Anthony Armstrong that was way off the mark.
With the Redskins still having timeouts, the Colts ran the ball three times to run the clock to about 40 seconds. The Redskins, after plodding on offense most of the night, would need a huge strike to have a chance to win or tie. They almost got it with a deep shot intended for Joey Galloway, but caught on a leaping tipped catch by Aaron Francisco.