Before taking down Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford on three different occasions Saturday evening in the Washington Redskins' division-clinching 38-24 victory, rookie linebacker Preston Smith received news that his cousin passed away after a long battle with cancer earlier in the day.
“She lost her battle to cancer, and I believe this game she was looking over me,” said Smith, who received a text that she had passed away around 5 a.m. “She died this morning to cancer, and I prayed and I asked her to look over me and be with me and the team today and win this game.