LANDOVER, Md. -- Sometime during the weekend, Warren Sapp missed a meeting, but neither he nor his coach, Tony Dungy, were saying why Sapp stood along the sidelines for the first quarter of Sunday's 20-17 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins.

Particularly in light of the distractions Keyshawn Johnson caused by negative comments about the Jets before last Sunday's loss, Dungy, an easy-going but no-nonsense coach, wasn't going to let his best player set a bad example for his teammates. So for the first quarter, Sapp stood on the sidelines.

Dungy deferred his comments about the one-quarter suspension until Monday, even though word leaked out that a missed meeting was the reason.

"I'd rather not talk about that now," Dungy said. "It was a decision we made, and we'll talk about it Monday."

Sapp also deflected questions about the incident by saying "Next question" to inquiries about his benching. Safe to say, though, Sapp played the next three quarters with a fury. He blew past double- and sometimes triple-team blocking to knock down Redskins quarterback Brad Johnson.

If his plays on defense weren't enough, Sapp contributed on special teams. Quarterback Shaun King turned a fluke play into an incredible comeback. Defensive end Bruce Smith batted a fumble from his hands, but King picked it up and tossed a 46-yard touchdown pass to Reidel Anthony with two minutes left in regulation to cut a 10-point Redskins lead to 17-14.

"Shaun told me on the sidelines if I got the ball back to him, he'd take it down one more time," Sapp said.

Five plays after the Redskins recovered an onside kick, kicker Michael Husted lined up for a 35-yard attempt. Sapp zeroed in for the block.

"Mike had been here before and has always kicked the ball low in practice because I've blocked a couple before," Sapp said. "I knew that coming in. So I got my hand up on the field goal."

King did his part and drove the Bucs 51 yards in four plays to set up Martin Gramatica's game-tying, 42-yard field goal that sent the game into overtime. Deion Sanders broke to the outside for a 57-yard punt return that set up Husted's game-winning field goal in overtime.

"Special teams let the cat out of the bag with Deion, but if you let a good team hang around, you are going to find a way to make some plays," Sapp said. "We didn't play well as a unit. We played hard, but we're not playing well enough to win these games."

Without Sapp in the first quarter, the Bucs rallied. Mike Alstott converted a Brad Johnson forced fumble on a sack with a 2-yard touchdown run, and the Bucs escaped the Sapp-less first quarter with a 7-0 lead. The Redskins gained only 15 yards on 14 plays. Halfback Stephen Davis was held to 15 yards on five carries. Johnson had minus-2 yards in net passing.

Sapp returned and dominated the game, but missed tackles by his teammates killed the Bucs. By the fourth quarter, Bucs defenders had accumulated 15 missed tackles. Davis finished the game with 141 yards on 28 carries, including a 50-yard touchdown run.

"We didn't play well as a unit," Sapp said. "We didn't stop a good running back today. They got their running game going and put some points on the board."

The Bucs' locker room was a morgue after the game. Receiver Keyshawn Johnson lamented over what he called the first fumble of his NFL career. "I don't fumble but I fumbled," he said. Linebacker Derrick Brooks was amazed that they were beaten for a 50-yard touchdown run.

"We don't like to give up the big play," Brooks said.

After two last-second losses, the Bucs, who looked invincible during a 3-0 start, will start regrouping Monday for a crucial road trip to Minnesota.

"This team is built on a lot of heart and desire," Sapp said. It almost survived for a quarter without its best player.

John Clayton is the senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.