Griffin leads the Redskins to a 4th quarter comeback victory against the Buccaneers

Robert Griffin III orchestrated his first game winning drive
(Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Week after week, rookie sensation Robert Griffin III makes the Washington Redskins appear wiser and wiser for having mortgaged the future in order to select him in the 2012 NFL draft.  In a must win game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week 4, Griffin led the Redskins to the first 4th quarter comeback of his career.  The Buccaneers had just made a field goal to take a 22-21 lead over the Redskins with 1:47 remaining in the game, when Griffin led the Redskins offense onto the field at their own 20 yard line.  Washington had blown a commanding 21-3 lead, and to make matters even more dire, Griffin's headset was malfunctioning, preventing him from communicating with his coaches on the sideline.  Despite the adversity, Griffin displayed his preternatural poise by brilliantly moving the Redskins offense down the field and managing the clock like a ten year veteran.  Griffin calmly dissected the Buccaneers defense in completing all four of his pass attempts on the drive, including two for over 15 yards.  On a 2nd and 6 play with under 40 seconds remaining, Griffin recognized that the Bucs prevent defense provided him with ample running room, and took off, picking up 15 yards.  Even after a false start penalty moved the Redskins back five yards, Griffin was able to hit Santana Moss on a crossing route for a seven yard gain to set up Billy Cundiff's game winning field goal.

Cundiff was in the midst of one of the worst games of his career, having missed all three of his field goal attempts, including both a 31 and a 41 yard attempt.  Cundiff's final field goal attempt of the day, a 41 yarder with only 3 seconds remaining in the game, redeemed him by putting the Redskins up 24-22, and made him a hero in the nation's capital, until at least next week.

Besides orchestrating the game winning drive, Griffin was sensational throughout the game, completing  74% of his pass attempts for 323 yards and rushing for 43 yards and a touchdown.  His use of the hard count to draw the Tampa Bay defense offsides was astounding for a player making only his 4th NFL start.  Griffin was hit far less against the Buccaneers than he had been during the Redskins two previous losses to the Rams and Bengals, an encouraging sign for Redskins fans.  The return of left tackle Trent Williams solidified the Redskins offensive line, which limited the Bucs to 4 quarterback hits after giving up 13 to the Bengals. Additionally, Griffin had only three designed runs, limiting the abuse he could take from the Bucs defense.

Much credit must be given to offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and head coach Mike Shanahan for their creativity in the offensive game plan.  The Redskins offense threw the Buccaneers defense off guard by having Griffin take snaps under center, something he rarely did in the first three games of the season.  The Shanahans ran plenty of misdirection plays, and limited the use of the triple option, which was a staple of the Washington offense throughout the first 3 games,  but often resulted in Griffin being hit hard.  On the final play of the third quarter, the Shanahans demonstrated their offensive genius through a trick play in which Griffin lateraled the ball to wide receiver Brandon Banks, who then lateraled back to Griffin across the field.  After receiving the ball, Griffin completed a 30 yard pass to tight end Niles Paul who was wide open.  Griffin's 103.2 passer rating ranks 4th in the NFL through a quarter of the season.

Alfred Morris had a 39 yard touchdown run
(Rick Carioti/The Washington Post)

Griffin received plenty of help offensively from rookie running back Alfred Morris, who ran for 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.  In the second quarter of the game, Morris broke several tackles en route to a 39 yard touchdown, which he celebrated by pretending to hit a home run.  Morris has the 5th most rushing yards in the league through 4 games.  As a team the Redskins have the league's top ranked rushing attack and third ranked offense.

Defensively, the Redskins were very effective in the first half, limiting the Bucs to only two field goals. The Redskins front seven put constant pressure on Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman, led by outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan who had a sack and a pass batted down.  The Redskins pass rush in the opening half helped out the much maligned secondary, which shut down the Buccaneers passing game.  Cornerback Deangleo Hall intercepted a pass which led to a Redskins touchdown.  The second half was a much different story, as the Buccaneers aerial attack abused the Washington secondary in scoring 19 unanswered points.  The key to the Redskins success defensively appears to be pressuring the quarterback, however, without Brian Orakpo and Adam Carricker both of whom have suffered season ending injuries, achieving a consistent pass rush will be a very difficult task.

 

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)