Santana Moss: “We got to play against the team and the refs”

The Redskins’ 34-27 loss to the New England Patriots came down to the final possession of the game and two key plays to wide receiver Santana Moss. The first resulted in a pass interference call on Moss; the second an interception that bounced out of Moss’s hands.

Afterward, Moss – the Redskins’ offensive captain who went over 9,000 yards receiving for his career Sunday – was adamant that the pass interference call was incorrect. On second and goal from the New England 5, Moss lined up in the right slot across from defensive back Julian Edelman. Moss ran at Edelman. There was contact, and Moss cut to the right pylon at the goal line. He caught what could have been game-tying touchdown. Instead, he was whistled for pass interference.

Here’s what Moss said after the game:

“I’ve been playing this game for a long time, and I still find it hard to believe that it’s all right for somebody to mug us at five yards, but we can’t get the guy off us or they call pass interference on me. How can I get open when a guy puts his hands on me, unless I’m putting my hands back on him. You feel me? It’s stuff that’s been going on for years, but we wrong when we do it, but they’re OK. That’s the rule, I guess.”

On the interception that essentially ended the game: “I didn’t make the play. Plain sight. Didn’t make the play. But that’s football.”

How did the offense respond without suspended players Fred Davis and Trent Williams, who were suspended for the remainder of the season this week?: “We just did what we do, man. There ain’t no moral victories. We lost. It don’t really matter.”

Are they consistent with the pass interference calls?:

“Honestly, to tell you the truth, all day the guy been mugging me. Every time I tried to go around him, I’m getting pulled. So I said, ‘Okay, I’m not going to go around him. I’m going to go at him.’ And if you’re standing still and I’m coming at you, of course we gonna collide. That’s what happened. We collided. He didn’t move, and we collided, and I broke off when we collided.

“Pass interference on me, but if it’s vice versa, it’s a good coverage by them. You could see it all through the game. Every time I just went around him and let him grab me, oh, I’m covered, because he’s going to grab me and they’re not going to call anything because he can do it, and then he’s going to hold on for 10 yards. They’re going to go, ‘Well, you’re not getting the ball, so he’s not holding you.’ But I am. So I mean, it’s just one of those situations.

“I’m [ticked] off right now. I guess you can see that, but it’s been going on. I guess that’s something I should’ve been used to.”

Surprised when you saw the flag?:

“I was surprised, but I was like, I thought they were going to call it on him. I didn’t know what was going on. But man, we don’t get no calls around here. You guys have been covering us for a long time. Y’all see what goes on out there. We blow our breath on one of the doggone guys over there, and it’s a penalty. Our quarterback’s getting killed, and we just almost hit somebody else’s quarterback, and we get flag. So there’s a lot of stuff that goes on, but you know, I guess, hey, we got to play against the team and the refs.”



(washingtonpost.com)