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News & Notes: Rabach Suffers Broken Hand

Redskins center Casey Rabach suffered a fractured left hand during Sunday's 21-19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The team will evaluate Rabach's injury on Monday and make a determination on his availability.

Rabach is right-handed, so the injury does not impact the hand that he snaps the ball.

Rabach's injury occurred in the fourth quarter and he immediately went into the locker room for X-rays. He was replaced in the lineup by Mike Pucillo, the fourth-year veteran lineman who is in his first year as a Redskin.

It's uncertain whether Rabach would have been able to return to action. He came back out onto the field after the Redskins had pulled within 21-19 on Shaun Suisham's 35-yard field goal with five minutes remaining.

Rabach did not have an opportunity to get back into the game, as the Eagles ran out the clock.

Rabach's absence altered how the team approached goal-line situation late in the game, according to head coach Joe Gibbs. With Rabach in the lineup, Pucillo normally comes in as an extra blocking lineman and eligible receiving tight end. With Pucillo in the game, backup lineman Jim Molinaro saw action.

During a key sequence in the fourth quarter, the Redskins were flagged for having 12 men in the huddle, a 5-yard penalty.

"We had [Molinaro] who has never been in there [in goal-line situations], but he had to play tackle," Gibbs explained. "He wasn't aware that you can come off of the field after you signal that you are in as an ineligible receiver who becomes eligible."

Rabach's fractured hand was the only injury reported by the Redskins after the game.

Tight end Chris Cooley was shaken up on a play during the game, but he returned to action.

"I got a knee in the side of the helmet so I was kind of spinning a little bit," Cooley said. "It ended up being fine."

-- WYNN, RANDLE EL DRAW START

#### -- GIBBS' EVALUATION HAS BEGUN

With the Redskins' playoff chances increasingly remote, head coach Joe Gibbs continues to take a close look at the team, with the intent of evaluating players for next season.

"I am curious to see how we finish because I think that will have a lot to say about the way people look at us and the way we feel about ourselves," Gibbs said. "The first year I was head coach [in 1981], I went 8-8 and we got hot at the end of the year. I felt like the way we finished that portion of the year led us towards the next year [a Super Bowl championship].

"That has happened to me more than once. I want to see how we finish the year. I would say that definitely after last year that we were looking to keep the momentum."

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