Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan has praised his side's fighting spirit despite falling to their sixth consecutive defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons last night.

The Redskins committed seven turnovers in the defeat but still had a chance to win late on when Santana Moss's touchdown brought them to within one point of the Falcons.

Kirk Cousins went for the two-point conversion but his pass to Pierre Garcon was incomplete, allowing the Falcons to see out a 27-26 victory.

However, Shanahan believes that the fact they still had the opportunity to win despite making so many errors was a good sign for his side.

"You can't win with turnovers, yet we still had an opportunity to win and that shows you how hard they fought. Those guys normally are great with ball security and don't turn it over," Shanahan told The AP.

"I thought if we had the right defence and the right play, we're going to stay with it. We thought we did and unfortunately it didn't work out."

The defeat saw the Redskins fall to 3-11 for the season, giving them the second worst record in the entire league.