LANDOVER, Md. – Since construction began on FedEx Field more than nine years ago, nearly $400 million have been put into the Washington, D.C.-area stadium.
You’ll forgive the Seattle Seahawks if they aren’t impressed.
The Washington Redskins’ home stadium remains a Bermuda Triangle of sorts for the Seahawks, who have yet to win a game there. Seattle’s two trips to FedEx Field, in 2001 and 2003, have resulted in a pair of humbling defeats.
The Seahawks (2-1) hope today’s visit will be a different story.
“It’s always loud and a tough place to play,” Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “If you’re going to be good in this league, you have to be able to go into those types of places and win. We’re going to try not to be distracted by that stuff and just go run our (offense).”
The past two trips to Washington, D.C., have left some bad memories.
In 2001, Hasselbeck was so turnover-prone that he was benched at halftime. Backup Trent Dilfer was only mildly better in his second-half appearance, completing 8 of 18 passes with one touchdown and one interception during a 27-13 loss.
The Seahawks got off to a better start in their next visit, in 2003, but – literally – couldn’t hang on in the end.
A 14-3 Seattle lead looked like it could turn into a blowout when safety Damien Robinson intercepted a pass and had a clear path toward the end zone. But Robinson got hit at the Washington 1-yard line, fumbled the ball back to the Redskins, and momentum took a major turn.
Still, the Redskins needed a trick play in the final two minutes to score the go-ahead touchdown, with receiver Rod Gardner hitting running back Trung Canidate for a 10-yard TD pass and 27-20 lead. Seattle’s final drive ended when Hasselbeck’s pass bounced off the chest of receiver Darrell Jackson – his third drop of the game – and was intercepted.
“We haven’t played our best football,” said Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, who is 0-3 all-time against the Redskins. “As to why? That’s a tough one to answer. It’s one of our two-day trips, but we’ve got to win there. You’ve got to go and handle that to be champions.”
The Seahawks haven’t had much luck traveling east of the Mississippi, where they have lost eight of their last nine, and 10 of their last 12, games. They are 1-4 in road games against NFC East teams since Holmgren arrived in 1999.
“It has nothing to do with the travel,” Seahawks safety Ken Hamlin said. “I don’t mind going to D.C. I don’t mind going anywhere. They can put us in Japan, and I’ll be ready to play. It has nothing to do with that.”
Tight end Itula Mili admitted that playing in D.C., where the home team has sold out every home game for 37 years, has a certain allure.
“It’s loud and everything there,” he said. “(Some players) just kind of go out there like, wow. It takes people out of their game. It’s always sold out, packed. It kind of has that same effect as Lambeau Field.”
Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs has gotten used to FedEx Field, which he now calls home, but he remembers the cross-country trips as a shock to the system. Springs spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Seahawks, losing in his only two visits to the stadium as an opposing player.
“It was so tough for me because when we’d get the (Sunday morning) wakeup calls, it was 8:00, and it would be 5:00 West Coast time,” Springs said. “We wouldn’t really get started until the second quarter because it was so early for us. It was always a tough trip.”
The Seahawks toyed with Saturday departures last season, but decided to go back to Friday flights this year so that the players could get used to the time change. It seemed to work in Jacksonville, where the Seahawks played a solid first half before losing 26-14.
But the Seahawks are less concerned with departure times, airplane flights and time zones than they are the Washington Redskins. Despite what has happened at FedEx Field over the years, Seattle doesn’t believe in any long-distance jinxes.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with travel,” fullback Mack Strong said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with time zones, or any of that. It has everything to do with how we play.
“The times that we’ve not played well against them, whether it was over there or here, it was because of turnovers. We’ve given up big plays, and we haven’t made enough big plays. That’s been the difference.”
So maybe this time will be different.
“It is a challenge going back there,” Holmgren said. “It is a big challenge for our team, but we are looking forward to it. We have to play absolutely our best football.”
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