ASHBURN, Virginia -- The play was dissected and debated, just like any play that fails late in a game -- especially in a loss. Even Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden, the one who called the play, did what many others were doing: second-guessing his call on third-and-1 vs. the New Orleans Saints.

One yard would have ended the game; the handoff to Samaje Perine lost one yard instead, leading to another weekly debate over whether or not it was the right playcall. Before the Redskins could move on to Thursday's game vs. the New York Giants, they had to first put behind them the stinging loss to the Saints.

Multiple plays broke down in the final six minutes, as the Redskins defense blew a 15-point lead. The offensive miscues were fewer, but costly. A week earlier, they failed on a fourth-and-1 run vs. Minnesota at a crucial time.

As a playcaller, you have to live with the results -- and the constant second-guessing. That can mean coping on the way to work or as you try to sleep at night.

"I think about that, yes," Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. "That will stick with me for a very long time."

Just like other failed plays.

"You don't get over it. I remember all the bad calls," he said. "Every loss I've ever had I remember every bad call. You call plays in this league, you're going to have enough."

There isn't a lot of time to overanalyze a call when playing on a short week, especially with a depleted roster. Still, they will meet and discuss the plays from the previous game. The coaches watch the film individually, then meet as a group and go over the plays. They'll discuss why a certain call didn't work -- was it the play's design or execution?

"Or you throw that play out or from a schematic standpoint do other things you're good at or are maybe safer," Gruden said. "Sometimes they change up on you. The big thing is you want to be in the personnel package so you know what they're in and then try to match up, man-on-man and knife through and get physical."

He said the failure of Perine to get the first down Sunday wasn't just about one aspect.

"I think on that one it was a little of both," Gruden said. "We got what we were expecting, but they [forced it] back over more than we thought. You go back and kick yourselves. I'm still kicking myself over that call. It was such an important call."

Gruden also knew the percentages: This season, New Orleans has faced 17 situations of third- or fourth-and-1 and allowed 11 first downs. That percentage ranks 13th-best.

"People think it's so easy to get a yard, but when every gap is covered and they're slanting and knifing and the linebackers are scraping and the safety is on the line of scrimmage ..." Gruden said.

He didn't finish the sentence, but the point was made: It's hard.

Part of the process, too, is deciding if Gurden should have called for a quarterback sneak. The Redskins don't like that play when needing a half-yard or more as much as some other teams, in part because they don't have a big quarterback. At 6-foot-2, 202 pounds Kirk Cousins doesn't generate the push of a bigger quarterback.

Indeed, the teams that lead the NFL on quarterback runs up the middle on third- or fourth-and-1 have big quarterbacks: Philadelphia (Carson Wentz), Arizona (Carson Palmer) and Cleveland (DeShone Kizer) are a combined 15-for-15.

"There's a lot of maybes," Gruden said, before rattling off a few: Vernon Davis' drop in overtime that would have given the Redskins a first down at their own 35-yard line; multiple blown coverages; Preston Smith needing to play the two-point conversion better.

"We all had our hand in it, so we all take responsibility and move on," Gruden said.

They need to move on to Thursday; to the rest of the season. Even though a call might linger, Gruden and the Redskins had to quickly prepare to beat the Giants. He has bigger worries than harping on a play from the previous game. He and the other coaches must do a little more work to get the new players caught up on the playbook. They have nine players who have been added since Oct. 25, including five in the last week.

"In game one of the preseason, guys are more prepared than the guys we have now," Gruden said. "But they're smart kids and can handle it. We still have enough good players in the building. It's hard to win when they're healthy, and even harder when you're not. We still have a full core of receivers. We still have Vernon Davis and Niles Paul and good offensive linemen and Kirk and Samaje. On offense we'll be fine. On defense we've been taking some hits people aren't talking about."

But plenty of talk centered around, as it often does, a failed playcall.

"That's something each week that you do," Gruden said. "You call 70 plays in a game, something will go wrong."