Redskins on a roll
Griffin leads team into playoff picture
LANDOVER, Md. – Robert Griffin III went down, the ball popped out, and the Washington Redskins scored a touchdown.
Look out, New York Giants and the rest of the NFC East. If the rookie quarterback keeps getting those kinds of breaks, it’ll be hard to keep him out of the title hunt for years to come.
As it is, RG3 has the Redskins within a game of first place, leading a fourth-quarter rally in a 17-16 Monday night victory over the Giants, giving Washington a three-game winning streak in which it has dispatched division rivals – Philadelphia, Dallas and now New York – one by one.
Griffin completed 13 of 21 passes for 163 yards and ran five times for 72 yards, breaking Cam Newton’s NFL record for yards rushing by a rookie quarterback.
His top target again was Pierre Garcon, who had eight receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown, showing no signs of a nagging toe injury.
The Redskins (6-6) appeared out of the running at 3-6 a month ago, but Washington is proving it can never be counted out.
With the Giants (7-5) losing three of four and the Cowboys (6-6) also at .500, the division is up for grabs.
Eli Manning completed 20 of 33 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown . Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 103 yards on 24 carries and Victor Cruz had five catches for 104 yards for the Giants, who were uncharacteristically penalty-prone, getting flagged nine times for 73 yards.
The game’s final score was Griffin’s 8-yard pass to Garcon early in the fourth quarter, but the Redskins’ first touchdown was one of the evening’s crazy moments.
On second-and-2 from the New York 28, Griffin ran to his left and was being tackled by Stevie Brown after what would have been a 12-yard gain.
But as Griffin fell with his back to the ground, the football popped out, and went right on the fly to Washington receiver Joshua Morgan 3 yards farther upfield. Morgan then ran the final 13 yards for the score.