Griffin dazzles in his debut as the Redskins defeat the Saints 40-32

Robert Griffin III (photo by Nir Levy in preseason)

The Robert Griffin III era began with a bang as the Washington Redskins pounded the New Orleans Saints 40-32 in week 1 of the 2012 NFL season.  Griffin, the Redskins rookie quarterback, put on a dazzling performance by connecting on 19 of his 26 pass attempts, including two touchdown passes.  His 320 passing yards were the second most all time by a quarterback in his NFL debut.  Griffin completed his first 8 passes of the game, including an 88 yard touchdown to the newly acquired Pierre Garcon, on which he demonstrated his resoluteness by hanging tough in the pocket and delivering an accurate pass despite having pressure in his face.  Griffin showed off his incredible blend of athleticism, pinpoint accuracy and arm strength on the opening play of the second quarter, when he eluded a defender who seemed to have a certain sack, shuffled to his right and launched a 26 yard pass on the run to tight end Fred Davis at a spot where only he could catch the ball.  Griffin posted a 139.9 passer rating in the game, and lead the Redskins to their first 40 point regular season game since 2005.

Robert Griffin III under center
(Photo by Nir Levy in the preseason)

The Redskins offensive line was spectacular, providing Griffin with plenty of time to operate in the pocket, allowing only 1 sack on a broken play, and paving the way for rookie running back Alfred Morris in run protection.  Morris, a 6th round pick out of little known Florida Atlantic University, was a workhorse back for the Redskins in the season opener, rushing for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns on 28 carries.  Garcon made his impact felt in his first game as a Redskin, with 4 receptions for 109 yards, including the aforementioned 88 yard touchdown catch.

The Redskins defense was excellent in the game, limiting the Saints to only 32 rushing yards, forcing 3 turnovers and sacking the Saints All-Pro quarterback Drew Brees twice.  The Redskins were able to fluster Brees, one of the league's best players, intercepting him twice and forcing the most accurate quarterback of all time to post his worst single game completion percentage in nearly 6 years.

Robert Griffin III (photo by Nir Levy in the preseason)

New Redskins kicker Billy Cundiff was a perfect 4/4 on field goal attempts.  Cundiff was an All-Pro kicker in 2010, but was released by the Baltimore Ravens after missing a potentially game tying field goal in the waning seconds of the team's AFC championship loss to the New England Patriots last season.

(All Photos were taken by Nir Levy)

Gio Gonalez and the Nationals shut out the Cardinals

Gio Gonzalez pitched the first complete game shutout of his career as the Washington Nationals defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 10-0 to earn their 80th victory of the season.  With the win, the Nationals extended their lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East to 6.5 games and continued their impressive run following a recent 5 game losing streak.

Gio Gonzalez pitched a complete game shutout
(photo taken by Nir Levy)

Gonzalez won his MLB leading 17th game of the season, struck out 8 and lowered his ERA to a career best 3.10.  Gonzalez retired the first 9 batters he faced and did not allow a hit through 4 innings.  Following the game, manager Davey Johnson claimed that Gonzalez would have been limited to 120 pitches in the game; his pitch count ended up being 119.  Gonzalez was acquired this offseason from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for three of the Nationals' top nine prospects.  He has been nothing short of an absolute ace this season, leading the NL in opponents' batting average and slugging percentage, ranking 4th in strikeouts, and nearly ranking in the top 10 in both ERA and WHIP.  After the game Gonzalez was honored with a gatorade shower and a whipped cream pie to the face by teammate Edwin Jackson.

Bryce Harper has been very hot of late
(photo taken by Nir Levy)

Gonzalez was provided with ample run support by the Nationals' offense, which has outscored opponents 26-5 over the team's current three game win streak.  Right fielder Jayson Werth had 3 hits, and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, center fielder Bryce Harper and first baseman Adam Laroche each provided the team with 2 RBIs in the offensive explosion, which included Zimmerman's 17th home run of the season.  Werth and Harper, the first two batters in the lineup, have been especially hot of late, with Harper batting 0.428 with 3 homers and 8 RBI over the team's 3 game win streak, and Werth batting 0.358 during the month August.


All Photos were taken by me, Nir Levy.