*Redskins have little time to prepare for Bears*
Chicago (5-7) at Washington (5-7) Thursday, 8:15 pm EST
LANDOVER, Maryland (Ticker) -- Still reeling from the death of star Sean Taylor, the Washington Redskins face the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.
While both teams have had to endure short weeks, the Redskins have had more to deal with after the team flew to Miami on Monday to attend Taylor's funeral. Taylor died of a gunshot wound on November 27 at age 24.
"We've got to keep pushing for Sean," Redskins tackle Chris Samuels said. "We miss him, we love him and we know Sean would lay it on the line for us, so we're going to have do that for the rest of the season."
Last week, Bears coach Lovie Smith said that he would not have been opposed to the NFL moving this game to another date if the Redskins had petitioned the league to do so.
Taking the field for the first time since Taylor's tragic death, the Redskins squandered a fourth-quarter lead in a 17-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills last week. The Redskins honored Taylor before the game, then started the contest with only 10 men on the field.
Washington seemed in position to pick up an emotional victory. However, Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs made a gaffe, calling consecutive timeouts which led to a penalty, turning a long field goal into a 36-yard attempt for Buffalo's Rian Lindell in the waning seconds.
The loss dropped the Redskins one game behind Minnesota and Arizona for the NFC's final wild card spot. The Bears and Redskins are two of five 5-7 teams in the weak NFC.
Like the Redskins, the Bears also squandered a fourth-quarter lead en route to a 21-16 loss to the New York Giants last week. Chicago had held a 16-7 advantage entering the final period.
Against the Giants, the Bears did receive a mistake-free performance from Rex Grossman, who completed 25-of-46 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown.
