LANDOVER, Md. -- The message was perfectly clear: Sean Taylor is gone forever, and he is not forgotten.
For all of the No. 21 jerseys, twirling white towels and handwritten signs in the stands Sunday, for all of the red-and-yellow flowers and burning candles at a makeshift memorial outside the stadium, for all of the pregame tributes to the Pro Bowl safety, the most stark reminder of Taylor's plight came when the Washington Redskins lined up on defense for the first time since he was killed.
Instead of 11 Redskins on the field, as rules allow, there were 10.
When the visiting Buffalo Bills prepared to run their first play on offense midway through the opening quarter, the man who replaced Taylor in Washington's lineup, Reed Doughty, stood near coaches on the sideline. After watching while Bills running back Fred Jackson gained 22 yards, Doughty entered for the next play -- and made the tackle.
The 24-year-old Taylor died Tuesday, a day after being shot at his home in Florida during a burglary; four men have been charged. The shock has yet to dissipate for Taylor's teammates and the Redskins' fans, and the grieving process continued on game day, from the cloudy, chilly hours before the kickoff until the rain-soaked end of what turned out to be a 17-16 comeback victory for Buffalo over Washington.
During a pregame video shown in Taylor's memory, Redskins defensive end Phillip Daniels said: "The only way we can honor him right now is to go out there on the field and play. Go out and play football."
Before entering the stadium, some spectators talked about Taylor in the present tense, as though it all hasn't quite registered.
"I just love the way he plays," said Joshua Skeen of Manchester, Md., wearing a white jersey with Taylor's No. 21.
Skeen's brother, Jason, wore No. 36, Taylor's uniform as a Redskins rookie.
Not surprisingly, those numbers were everywhere Sunday, including on black versions of the jersey, on handmade T-shirts, on hats, on wristbands. A trio of teenagers each wrote "RIP #21" on a cheek.
While tailgating did carry on in the parking lots before the game -- with beer and grilled food, with chips and salsa -- things were somewhat more subdued than usual. Stereos didn't blare. People spoke instead of screamed.
"Oh, yeah, it's quiet," said Adrian Moore of Springfield, Va., who was wearing a long-sleeve white shirt with a yellow candle drawn between the numbers 2 and 1. "It's a lot more somber than normal."
One fan, Joe Yang of Chantilly, Va., painted "Sean Taylor, Go Skins, R.I.P 21" on two of his black SUV's windows, and "We Miss You Sean Taylor" on the rear window.
cmurphy 