Washington Redskins: 8 Players Who Contributed Most in Sunday's Loss

Another week and another loss for the Washington Redskins, who fell to the San Francisco 49ers 19-11. With their record at 3-5 and their losing streak at four straight, the Redskins have to look for whatever bright spots they can in such a demoralizing loss.

Though they lost, the Redskins are finally getting more players involved out of pure necessity more than anything else.

In their current desperation, Washington needs all the help they can get out of any player able to do so. Moral victories mean nothing in a loss, and the Redskins should not look for any here. However, several players deserve credit despite failing to alter the game enough to swing momentum Washington's way.

Here are some of the players who made the biggest contributions in the loss to the 49ers.

Leonard Hankerson, Receiver

The Redskins took their time getting rookie Leonard Hankerson into the mix on offense, but he looked solid against San Francisco. He finished with just four catches for 34 yards, but grabbed the late two-point conversion after the Jabar Gaffney touchdown.

Hankerson got his first start of the season, and showed a bit of what the Redskins saw in him when they drafted him.

Though the offense has yet to put Hankerson in position to fully utilize his size and athleticism, he has already shown his value as a third down target. His 3rd-and-8 catch for 23 yards extended what could have been another doomed offensive effort.

Graham Gano, Kicker

There were times last season where Graham Gano couldn't hit the broad side of a barn when the Redskins needed points the most. He missed two kicks between 20 and 29 yards, three kicks between 30 and 39 yards, three kicks between 40 and 49, as well as all three of his attempts of 50 or more yards.

This season Gano has hit on all four of his attempts from 50 yards and out, as well as limited opposing kick returners to an average of 18.8 yards per return.

Though part of his kickoff success is due to solid coverage and a lack of scoring on offense, Gano has only seen eight of his kicks returned this season. The 59-yard field goal against the 49ers was huge for the Redskins in terms of getting on the board, but bigger for Gano who has struggled under pressure in the past.

In the process, Gano set a team record with his first and only field goal attempt on the day.

London Fletcher, Inside Linebacker

The consummate leader and professional, London Fletcher played his tail off against the 49ers. Despite continued frustration with the lack of offense and missed assignments by fellow defenders, Fletcher followed his 20 tackle performance last week with seven tackles against San Francisco this week.

Maybe it is the lackadaisical performances from Rocky McIntosh and DeAngelo Hall in recent weeks, but Fletcher seems to be getting better as the Redskins secondary wilts under pressure.

On yet another overly soft, or simply blown, coverage, Fletcher laid out to try to get a hand on a pass that resulted in a first down for San Francisco. He didn't get to the pass in time, but it was another example of how every Redskins player can and should follow Fletcher's example.

Brian Orakpo, Outside Linebacker

Brian Orakpo may have finished the day with just three tackles and a sack, but he made his blocker look like a chump on the lone sack. Along with Ryan Kerrigan, Orakpo applied great pressure on Alex Smith, forcing him up into a collapsing pocket and out on the edge.

If the Redskins hadn't given the 49ers receivers so much cushion in coverage, they could have spared a safety near the line to stop Smith from running for extra yards.

Orakpo has been frustrated by a shortage of sacks this season, but let his frustration loose in his pass rushes. It seemed like he spent more time in Smith's face than any other Redskin other than Kerrigan.

Ryan Kerrigan, Outside Linebacker

Ryan Kerrigan started the game with a bang and did his best to keep the pressure on 49ers quarterback Alex Smith. While it may have been a losing battle on the scoreboard, Kerrigan lived up to his billing as a player who keeps fighting to the whistle.

Smith was forced out of the pocket on numerous occasions by the pressure provided by Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo.

Kerrigan finished the day with a sack and three tackles, but also made himself at home in the 49ers backfield. Though the Redskins failed to capitalize on the pressure applied from the pass rush, Kerrigan made every effort to put his personal stamp on the game.

Roy Helu, Running Back

Roy Helu got his first start of the season against San Francisco and he proved his versatility and flashed his potential as a key offensive player. The Redskins would do well to make Helu a bigger part of the offense given his success against the stout Niners defense.

In a game where you could almost forgive players for quitting near the end, Helu did his best to help the Redskins out of their funk.

Helu did lose one fumble, his first since high school, but it pales in comparison to the 105 receiving yards and 41 rushing yards he had on the day. With the backfield finding little in the way of consistency, Helu's promotion seems long overdue.

He lost his footing on a couple of plays, and failed to look some passes into his hands, but he was by far the best weapon on an otherwise inert offense.

Sav Rocca, Punter

At this point in the season, no one would fault the Redskins for electing punter Sav Rocca as the midseason MVP. Prior to Sunday's game against San Francisco, Redskins opponents had mustered just 90 yards in total punt returns.

The 49ers posted 67 return yards, but the blame rests on punt coverage more than Rocca's kicking.

Given that the offense wasn't moving the ball much throughout the game, Rocca was tasked with pinning the 49ers in their own territory. He averaged 48.8 yards per punt, with a long of 54 yards. Rocca has done his best to give the defense a fighting chance at stopping opposing offenses, but he can only do so much with what the offense has, or rather has not, done.