Redskins defeat the Cowboys and Eagles to keep their playoff hopes alive

The Washington Redskins had a disappointing 3-6 record entering their bye week after losing three straight heartbreakers to the Giants, Steelers and Panthers.  By the time the Redskins welcomed the Philadelphia Eagles to town, it appeared that the team had given up hope on reaching the postseason.  Head coach Mike Shanahan seemingly threw in the towel when he told the media following the loss to the Panthers, "when you lose a game like that, now you're playing to see who, obviously, is going to be on your football team for years to come.  Now we get a chance to evaluate players and see where we're at."

Santana Moss
(Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The struggling Eagles squad was just the remedy for what ailed the Redskins.  The Redskins cruised past the Eagles 31-6, the largest margin of victory in Shanahan's tenure in Washington.  Philadelphia leads the NFC in turnovers, and also has the fewest takeaways in the conference.  Eagles starting quarterback Michael Vick was out with a concussion, and his replacement, rookie Nick Foles threw two interceptions and no touchdowns.  The team was able to muster only 257 yards of total offense against a Washington defense that had struggled for most of the season.
Rookie sensation Robert Griffin III ignited the Redskins offense, throwing a career high 4 touchdowns, and completing all but one of his throws for an unbelievable completion percentage of 93.7%.  Griffin III set the NFL rookie record for passer rating with a perfect rating of 158.3.  Griffin III displayed his cannon of an arm with a 49 yard bomb to Aldrick Robinson and a 61 yard heave to Santana Moss on which the receiver made an incredible play by ripping the ball away from two defenders to seal the victory.

Robert Griffin III against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving
(Jose Yau/Associated Press/The Waco Tribune-Herald)

Only 5 days later, the Redskins traveled to Dallas to take on the hated Cowboys on a huge Thanksgiving day stage.  With the entire nation watching, Griffin III announced to the world that he is a worthy MVP candidate by leading the Redskins to a 28-3 half-time lead.  Griffin III finished the game with 4 touchdown passes, 311 passing yards, a 132.6 passer rating and once again completing over 70 percent of his passes.  Included among those touchdowns were a 68 yarder to Aldrick Robinson and a 59 yarder to Pierre Garçon, who had to adjust to a pass thrown behind him and outran the defense all the way to the end zone.  Garçon, who had missed significant time with a foot injury, made his impact felt with 5 receptions for 93 yards, the first time he was able to truly contribute since week 1.  Rookie running back Alfred Morris, a 6th round pick who is incredibly ranked 5th in the NFL in rushing yards, opened up the play action for the Redskins by picking up 113 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
In the second half the Cowboys came roaring back, pulling to within a touchdown of the Redskins.  Led by quarterback Tony Romo, who passed for 441 yards in the game along with 3 second half touchdowns, momentum appeared to be on Dallas' side.  Following receiver Dez Bryant's second touchdown of the game, which made the score 35-28, the Redskins were desperate for points.  Griffin III calmly drove the offense down the field to set up a field goal by Kai Forbath, who has yet to miss this season, with under 3 minutes left in the game.  The Cowboys made a field goal with 18 seconds remaining in the game to draw to within 38-31.  On the ensuing on side kick attempt, Redskins cornerback Deangelo Hall, who already had an interception in the game, returned the kick all the way to the 2 yard line before sliding to allow the Redskins to end the game in victory formation.

Robert Griffin III carrying the American flag
(Brian Murphy/Extremeskins.com)

The two consecutive victories against bitter division rivals has revived the Redskins playoff hopes, and gives the team a realistic chance to either win the NFC East division or sneak into the postseason as a wildcard.  Next week's Monday Night Football game against the Giants will be a crucial matchup to watch.

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.