Cousins and the Redskins defeat the Browns to move into first place in the NFC East

Kirk Cousins was magnificent in his
first ever NFL start (AP/Tony Dejak)

With rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins making his first career start, the Washington Redskins downed the Cleveland Browns 38-21.  Washington won its fifth consecutive game, its largest win streak since 2005, to pull into first place in the NFC East.  The team has not won the division since 1999, and has qualified for the playoffs only twice since the turn of the millennium.

Cousins, Washington's 4th round draft pick out of Michigan State, was spectacular starting in relief of the injured Robert Griffin III, throwing for 329 yards, 2 touchdowns and completing over 70 percent of his passes.  After a rough start, the Redskins established an offensive rhythm thanks in large part to excellent play calling by offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.  Shanahan abandoned the pistol formation and zone read option which had been staples of the team's offense in the games that Griffin has started this season.  Instead, Shanahan adapted to Cousins, a more traditional quarterback, by using more of a pro style offense.  With the Browns determined to stop the run, Cousins was particularly effective on play action bootlegs, on which he threw 2 touchdowns to second year receiver Leonard Hankerson, including a 54 yard bomb in the first quarter to open the floodgates.

Leonard Hankerson caught two touchdowns
(AP/Rick Osentoski)

The Redskins defense came up huge yet again, limiting the Browns to under 300 yards of total offense and forcing 2 turnovers.  London Fletcher came up with his 4th interception of the season, and Rob Jackson intercepted his 3rd pass of the year.

The Redskins now control their own postseason destiny, and with wins against the Eagles and Cowboys will earn the right to host a playoff game.

Redskins defeat Ravens in battle of the beltway

Kirk Cousins made several key plays down the stretch (AFP)

The Washington Redskins pulled off a thrilling 31-28 come from behind victory against the Baltimore Ravens.  Ravens running back Ray Rice scored a 7 yard rushing touchdown to put the Ravens ahead by 8 with under 5 minutes remaining in the game.  Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, the 2nd overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft out of Baylor University, and the NFL's offensive rookie of the year favorite, suffered a right knee injury on a 13 yard scramble after being slammed into by the 340 pound Haloti Ngata, a pro bowl defensive tackle for the Ravens.  Following a 3rd down pass interference that gave the Redskins a first down, Griffin was able to return to the game, albeit in a hobbled form.  Griffin was able to drive the Redskins all the way to the Ravens 16 yard line, but was visibly in pain, lacked his spectacular mobility and appeared unable to plant his foot in the ground.  Rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins, the Redskins 4th round pick out of Michigan State, completed his next two passes, including a beautifully thrown 11 yard touchdown to wide receiver Pierre Garçon in the right corner of the end zone, over the outstretched arms of the defense.  With the Redskins trailing by two with 29 seconds remaining in the game, Cousins took off on a designed run up the middle of the defense for the two point conversion to force overtime.

Kai Forbath has yet to miss a field goal this season
(Washington Times)

On the Ravens first possession of the overtime period, the Redskins defense stepped up and forced a three and out.  On the subsequent punt return, rookie Richard Crawford, a 7th round pick out of SMU, returned the ball 64 yards to the Ravens 24 yard line.  Field goal kicker Kai Forbath remained perfect on the season by drilling a 34 yard kick through the uprights to seal the heart stopping comeback.

The victory was yet another demonstration of the incredible productivity that the Redskins have received out of their draft picks from this past draft.  Griffin III has had one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, ranking among the league leaders in passer rating, completion percentage, yards per attempt and touchdowns.  The remarkably clutch play of Cousins, who entered the game without a moments notice to complete the Redskins comeback, justifies a draft pick that was derided by most analysts, who claimed the team should have instead used its 3rd round pick to add depth to its offensive line.   Rookie running back Alfred Morris had 122 rushing yards and a touchdown in the game.  The 6th round pick out of Florida Atlantic University who is now astonishingly ranked 3rd in the league in rushing yards, was not even expected to make the team prior to training camp.  Crawford, filling in for the inactive Brandon Banks, provided a spark in the return game that has been missing all season.

The Redskins offensive line of left tackle Trent Williams, left guard Kory Lichtensteiger, center Will Montgomery, right guard Chris Chester and right tackle Tyler Polumbus has been the unheralded key to the team's success this season.  The offensive line has done a sensational job implementing head coach Mike Shanahan's zone blocking scheme and creating holes for the league's first ranked rushing attack.  After a rough start to the season, the line has improved substantially in pass protection by allowing routes to develop downfield and providing Griffin III with ample time to find open targets.  In the first quarter, Griffin III was given nearly 5 seconds in the pocket to find wide receiver Josh Morgan who ran a drag route across the entire field.  Williams, the 4th overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft, has developed into one of the league's best left tackles and has become the linchpin of the offensive line.

While Cousins was excellent in relief of Griffin III, the Redskins need their dynamic budding superstar to make a speedy recovery.  The Redskins option offense is predicated on the threat of Griffin running the football.

Redskins defeat Giants on Monday Night Football

The Washington Redskins won a must win game against the New York Giants in front of a national audience on ESPN's Monday Night Football in order to keep their once improbable playoff hopes alive.  By defeating the Eagles, Cowboys and Giants in consecutive division games, the Redskins resuscitated what once appeared to be a yet another disappointing season for the team.

Robert Griffin III continued his magnificent rookie season
(Geoff Burke/US Presswire)

Quarterback Robert Griffin III did not put up the gaudy stats that Redskins fans have become accustomed to, but he made plays when it counted against an elite defensive front, and yet again did not turn the ball over.  In the first quarter Griffin III fumbled the ball after a run of 12 yards, but miraculously while lying on his back Griffin III was able to push the ball up into the hands of receiver Josh Morgan.  Morgan scampered into the end zone untouched for the first touchdown of the game

Washington's oft maligned defense held the Giants potentially explosive offense in check.  The secondary yielded only one big gain in the passing game, after giving up a 77 yard game winning touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz in the first meeting between the two teams in October.  Most importantly, the defense held the Giants offense to field goals instead of touchdowns.  The Giants were forced to take 4 field goals, as opposed to scoring only 1 touchdown, a crucial factor in the game.

For the majority of the game the Redskins operated out of the pistol formation, a modified version of the shotgun in which the quarterback stands 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage rather than the customary 8 yards.  Thanks in part to the formation, which allows the runner to hit his holes quicker than he would in the shotgun, the Redskins running game flourished.  The team finished with an astounding 207 rushing yards on 6.7 yards per carry.  Griffin III finished with 72 rushing yards including one run of 46 yards on which he showed of his highly touted athleticism.

Alfred Morris was a workhorse for the Redskins
(NYGiants.com)

Running back Alfred Morris, the Redskins 6th round draft pick out of Florida Atlantic, broke the Redskins rookie rushing record and had a career high 124 rushing yards in the game.  Morris displayed the mental fortitude necessary to be a star in the NFL by overcoming a red zone fumble and continuing to produce big run after big run.  Morris showed off his hard nosed difficult to tackle running style by picking up 8 first downs for the Redskins.  Morris is ranked 3rd in the NFL with 1106 rushing yards on the season, and has really opened up the play action passing game, a staple of the Redskins highly productive offense.The threat of Morris running the ball helped the Redskins offense convert 9 of 11 play-action passes, as opposed to 4 of 10 on regular drop-back passes.

In the beginning of the 4th quarter, Griffin III and Morris marched the Skins down the field all the way to the Giants 8 yard line.  The Redskins then ran a play action fake out of the pistol formation.  The fake to Morris made the Giants Tampa-2 defense hesitate for long enough to allow Griffin III to roll to his right and hit receiver Pierre Garçon in the end zone for a touchdown that gave the Redskins a 17-16 lead.  Garçon has been extremely productive when healthy, and has made a tremendous impact in providing Griffin III with a sure handed target who has the ability to make very difficult catches.

After the Redskins defense did its part in shutting down the Giants late in the 4th quarter, the Redskins received the ball with 3:51 left in the game.  Over the years, Eli Manning and the Giants have had numerous come from behind victories with limited time left on the clock.  Morris and Griffin III took matters into their own hands and moved the chains to prevent the Giants from having an opportunity to win the game.  Morris' 6 yard run on third and three with under 2 minutes left ensured the Redskins victory and kept them alive in the NFC playoff hunt.