National Football League

Loser's lament? Jay Gruden claims 3-6 Redskins 'just so close to being 7-2'

Published Nov. 12, 2014 3:04 p.m. ET

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Jay Gruden believes his Washington Redskins are way better than they actually are.

The Redskins are 3-6 and last in the NFC East coming off a bye week, but the coach prefers to see the silver lining in the situation.

“When you go back and you look at what’s going on, being 3-6, you look at the six losses and there’s a play here and a play there and we’re just so close to being 7-2 as opposed to being 3-6,” Gruden said, via CSN Washington. “That’s the way the NFL is right now.”

That’s certainly one way to look at it.

It’s true that the ‘Skins lost to the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles by a field goal, but the rest of Washington’s defeats this season have been by 10 points or more. In true coach fashion, Gruden shifted the focus to what his team could do to improve its record down the stretch.

“I think the big thing is we have to continue focusing on situational football, whether it’s third downs, whether it’s two-minute drill, whether it’s we’ve got the ball at the plus-40 and we need 10 yards to get a field goal for overtime or a touchdown,” Gruden said.

Keep focusing on scoring more points and stopping opposing offenses, Gruden, because close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

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