PRO FOOTBALL : NFL PLAYOFF NOTES : NFC : Lions Look to the Future After Loss

The Detroit Lions were not expected to get as far as the NFC championship game and did not sound particularly devastated by their loss.

“This is our first time here,” Lion wide receiver Mike Farr said. “Washington has been there, and they know what it takes to go to the Super Bowl.

“This will force us to pick it up another notch and play every game harder, because they are all important.

“You ask anyone if the Lions would make it to the final four, they would have said no. We want to get back, and we will get back.”

Added linebacker Chris Spielman: “You never want to use circumstances as excuses, and we never did. That shows the character of this team and the fight and the will of this team. We tried.”

Although the Redskins won easily, they weren’t about to forget the first-quarter play that took a touchdown away.

On the play, with Washington ahead, 10-0, Lion quarterback Erik Kramer was sacked by linebacker Wilber Marshall and lost the ball. While it rolled around, a Detroit linemen jumped into the pile, causing the referee to blow the whistle and kill the play.

“But the ball was still rolling,” Redskin defensive end Charles Mann said. “The referees, they just lost control out there. They didn’t know where the ball was.”

The ball rolled into the hands of cornerback Alvoid Mayes, who was well on his way toward the end zone by the time the play was whistled.

A touchdown would have made the score 17-0.

“You bet it should’ve been a touchdown,” Mann said. “We were screaming, ‘Look, the ball’s down there, we’ve got it, it’s a touchdown.’ But they just lost control, and when they look at the tape of the play, I’m sure the referees will realize it.”