Redskins rally, but lose RGIII
MRI shows no major ligament injury
LANDOVER, Md. – Robert Griffin III walked gingerly through the Washington Redskins locker room, his sprained right knee in a big black brace.
Teammates stood at their lockers, mixing the emotions of an improbable 31-28 overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens with the fear that their franchise player could be seriously hurt.
“We’re happy that we won, obviously,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “But that is concerning, knowing he went down. Everyone wants to know how he’s doing.”
Griffin went down during Washington’s final drive of regulation Sunday, with the Redskins trailing by eight. Fellow rookie Kirk Cousins, who had played in only one other game this season, stepped in and hit Pierre Garcon for an 11-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds remaining, then ran the quarterback draw for the 2-point conversion to tie the game.
Yet another rookie, Richard Crawford, returned a punt 64 yards in overtime to set up Kai Forbath’s 34-yard game-winning field goal.
The Redskins (7-6) have a four-game winning streak but the day’s most important result was still to come. About three hours after the game ended, the Redskins said an MRI exam showed no major ligament damage.
The worst-case scenario would have been a season-ending ACL tear, like the one Griffin had on the same knee while playing for Baylor in 2009.
But team spokesman Tony Wyllie said the MRI showed “everything is clear.”
Redskins 31, Ravens 28 (OT)
| Baltimore | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 28 |
| Washington | 14 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 3 | — | 31 |
Was—Morgan 4 pass from Griffin III (Forbath kick)
Bal—Boldin 19 pass from Flacco (Tucker kick)
Was—Morris 1 run (Forbath kick)
Bal—Boldin 31 pass from Flacco (Tucker kick)
Bal—Pitta 14 pass from Flacco (Tucker kick)
Was—FG Forbath 48
Was—FG Forbath 49
Bal—Rice 7 run (Tucker kick)
Was—Garcon 11 pass from Cousins (Cousins run)
Was—FG Forbath 34
A—81,178.
| Bal | Was | |
| First downs | 18 | 22 |
| Total Net Yards | 359 | 420 |
| Rushes-yards | 35-186 | 35-172 |
| Passing | 173 | 248 |
| Punt Returns | 3-25 | 3-100 |
| Kickoff Returns | 5-145 | 2-37 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 0-0 | 1-2 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 16-21-1 | 17-28-0 |
| Sacked-Yrds Lost | 2-9 | 3-24 |
| Punts | 5-50.2 | 5-48.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-1 | 3-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 8-56 | 8-70 |
| Time of Poss. | 29:22 | 34:01 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Baltimore, Rice 20-121, Pierce 8-53, Flacco 5-9, Leach 2-3. Washington, Morris 23-122, Griffin III 7-34, Royster 3-11, Hankerson 1-3, Garcon 1-2.
PASSING—Baltimore, Flacco 16-21-1-182. Washington, Griffin III 15-26-0-246, Cousins 2-2-0-26.
RECEIVING—Baltimore, Pitta 5-46, Boldin 3-78, Rice 3-15, Leach 2-11, Pierce 2-11, T.Smith 1-21. Washington, Garcon 5-87, Hankerson 4-67, Moss 3-52, Morgan 3-30, Young 1-28, Paulsen 1-8.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.