WASHINGTON (Reuters) –
The Washington Redskins refused on Monday to throw up the white flag on a season rapidly spiraling out of control.

Washington became the NFL's laughing stock after suffering a 19-14 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, the first time in nearly two years the Lions have won a regular season game.

"We need to get guys to stay together," Redskins two-time Pro Bowl linebacker London Fletcher told reporters. "That is one of the main things you got to do.

"We got to understand that it is the third game of the season.

"It is still early but we can not allow a snowball effect to take place where one loss ends up being two, and then three, and then the next thing you know everything is out of control.

"We definitely need to continue to have great focus and not allow any negativity to creep in amongst us."

Washington's year began with high hopes after acquiring several key players during the off-season, including tackle Albert Haynesworth, one of the league's top defensive players.

But the season that began with unbridled optimism is unraveling amid a sea of penalties, mistakes, and questionable play-calling.

The Redskins lost 23-17 to the New York Giants in their first game, then scraped to a 9-7 victory over the lowly St. Louis Rams the next, sending signals that possible troubles lay ahead.

Those fears were realized with the loss to the Lions, a down trodden team in the midst of a 19-game losing skid.

"We consistently make mistakes," Redskins tight end Chris Cooley said. "They are not big mistakes but we are just not doing enough of the little things right.

"We can't look at plays right now and say 11 guys do things right on every play. Good teams and good offenses do that. We currently are not doing that."

Cornerback Fred Smoot admitted the Redskins are "struggling to find our identity" and they hope to turn things around against the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

"We're not going to point any fingers and say, 'This guy's mind wasn't ready or that guy's mind wasn't ready,' because as a team, we weren't ready.

"We've seen that more than anybody in the NFL here that individuals don't win championships and don't win playoff games -- teams do.

"That's what we've got to do - we've got to become a team. This is a bad time for us and hopefully we let it bring us together instead of split us apart."

(Writing by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Greg Stutchbury; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)