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鈥?Allowing 68 points over the past two games was just what the Washington Redskins’ defense needed to get fired up.Motivated after two consecutive efforts players called embarrassing , the Redskins kept the Arizona Cardinals out of the end zone in a 20-15 victory on Sunday.Linebacker Preston Smith and second-year defensive lineman Anthony Lanier led the defensive effort by bothering Arizona quarterback Blaine Gabbert with sacks, forced fumbles and interceptions.“We all were going extra hard because we were so disappointed,” said Lanier, who sacked Gabbert twice and batted down three passes.“Everybody has been talking about it all year about how we have to come together. Today we came together and we overcame the odds of everybody thinking we were out of it.”Gabbert was 16 of 41 for 189 yards with the interception and a fumble he recovered himself in the fourth quarter.Arizona (6-8), which got all its points on field goals by Phil Dawson, went 0 for 6 in the red zone and 4 for 19 on third down as it was eliminated from playoff contention.“It was just a game of missed opportunities,” Gabbert said. “That falls on me. The lack of execution from me all day, that just can’t happen. We were inches away on a bunch of plays, but at the end of the day I have to make those. We have to score touchdowns in the red zone. We can’t come away with field goals like that.”Quarterback Kirk Cousins was 18 of 26 for 196 yards with touchdown passes to Jamison Crowder and new running back Kapri Bibbs as Washington (6-8) ended its two-game skid. Coach Jay Gruden said Cousins was fine after talking a few hard hits late.The Redskins’ defense delivered big hits on Gabbert all game long. Smith recovered Gabbert’s fumble and had an interception in what was a redemptive performance after losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams.“The Dallas game and the L.A. game were both pretty darn bad defensively,” linebacker Ryan Kerrigan said. “We didn’t hardly see their punter till the second half last week. This week was much-needed. Good on us for not allowing them in the end zone.”DRIVE FOR FIVEDawson made all five of his field goal attempts, connecting from 40 , 35, 19, 34 and 32 yards. Dawson has scored the Cardinals’ past 30 points going back to their Dec. 3 game against the Rams.“That is a lot,” Dawson said. “I didn’t realize that. But that’s life.”RECOVERED KICKEven though coach Bruce Arians didn’t call for an onside kick to start the second half, the Cardinals got the ball back in excellent field position. Dawson’s kickoff bounced deep in Washington territory and when no Redskins player fielded it, Budda Baker recovered at the 22.“Uh, I mean, it’s not that good of odds,” Baker said. “But Phil’s a great kicker, and that’s a great kick. So initially we were just going to lob it to the left and see if they catch it. But they didn’t catch it.”Gruden said special teams ace Niles Paul thought the ball would bounce to him, but went the other way.SACKMASTER JONESArizona linebacker Chandler Jones earned his NFL-leading 15th sack of the season during the first half as he continued to make a case to be NFL Defensive Player of the Year. With two games remaining , he’s two shy of setting the franchise record for sacks in a season.INJURIESCardinals: WR Brittan Golden broke his right arm on a punt return. … DL Robert Nkemdiche left with a wrist injury. … LB Karlos Dansby suffered a calf injury. … DL Josh Mauro was inactive with an ankle injury.Redskins: Rookie LB Ryan Anderson suffered a sprained knee in punt coverage. Anderson came in dealing with an ankle injury. … LT Trent Williams missed his fourth game of the season with a knee injury. … LB Zach Brown, who came in leading the league with 127 tackles, was inactive with toe, hip and Achilles tendon injuries.QUOTABLECardinals coach Bruce Arians: “We’re not playing for the playoffs, we’re playing for each other.”Gruden: “I never really want to use 8-8 as motivation.”UP NEXTCardinals: Host the New York Giants next Sunday.Redskins: Host the Denver Broncos next Sunday. Mike Vrabel played 14 years in the NFL and the first-year Tennessee Titans coach is more than willing to pick up a pad for drills to get his point across.

And if someone knocks off his sunglasses during the process, not a problem.

"Yes, that's fun," Vrabel said Thursday after the Titans' first day of training camp. "That's when you know it was a good punch. I use that as a barometer when the sunglasses go flying off. But, they're doing it the right way. They're delivering a blow and trying to transfer power to stop a guy's charge, in that case, the punt team and get out and cover."

The Titans' season opener and Vrabel's debut as a head coach in a regular-season game is just 45 days away on Sept. 9 in Miami. His preseason debut comes Aug. 9 in Green Bay , and Vrabel was starting to drive his wife and son crazy being at home waiting for the start of training camp.

"You wake up in the middle of the night thinking about should I call a time-out in this situation? Then I'm like, I'm really losing my mind. It's just good to have the players back," Vrabel said.

Not only did Vrabel play in the NFL and win three Super Bowl rings, he's been an assistant at Ohio State and with the Houston Texans. That means he got to watch some of football's best make crucial decisions during games, including Bill Belichick, Urban Meyer and Bill O'Brien.

Now it'll be Vrabel's turn to decide, and he's been doing his best to prepare for kickoff by doing what he did so much of as a player: watch tape to help figure out what he can and can't challenge, figuring out how to use his timeouts, defending an opponent trying to run clock at the end of a game.

"We've got a library of 10 years," Vrabel said. "You can go back and pretty much get whatever game we want and pull up a scenario and play it out."

For now, Vrabel is trying to improve a Titans team that is coming off consecutive 9-7 seasons and the franchise's first playoff victory since January 2004 鈥?all of which wasn't good enough to keep Mike Mularkey on the job . Music plays throughout practice to help simulate game-day noise , and his assistants spent parts of Thursday's session working on fundamentals like tip drills.

The Titans saw their coach throw himself into camp with the same participation and intensity he displayed during offseason organized team activities.

"Oh man, that feels good all the time when you get to hit the coach a little bit," three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jurrell Casey said. "It just shows you know the stuff that he was doing OTAs wasn't a fluke. He's continued to do it."

Rookie linebacker Rashaan Evans joked that going up against a coach could be a way to work out some frustration. He said it was impressive to see Vrabel working in the trenches, and his new head coach already has given him a tip on how to play better.

"He's always told me not to think so much but just to play ball," Evans said. "He says you're going to make mistakes. But you play fast and aggressive, everything else goes that'll get corrected."

NOTES: Two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan reported for training camp Wednesday with his agents talking with the Titans about a contract extension past this season . Lewan did not take part in team drills, and he said that might be the Titans waiting until the new deal is done. Vrabel disagreed, noting Lewan already is under contract but missed the team's mandatory minicamp in June . The coach said the left tackle will rejoin team drills when the Titans feel he's ready.
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