courtesy of BrianMKA
It was happening to the DC sports fans again. Just two days after the Washington Nationals lost in the most heart breaking fashion possible the Minnesota Vikings had scored two unanswered touchdowns to cut the Redskins 31-12 lead to 31-26. The Vikings were inching closer and had time to stop the Redskins, get the ball back, and drive down the field once more to twist the dagger already sticking from the chest of local sports fans.
Then Robert Griffin happened. On a third and six play with 2:56 left on the clock Robert Griffin made up his mind that if the blitz failed he would run. The Vikings sent six men and Griffin scampered to the sidelines. Because of his concussion the week before his first thought was to get out of bounds, but he ignored that thought and went with his instincts. Griffin raced up the sideline and past all the defenders. No one even laid a hand on him as he raced into the end zone for a game securing 76 yard touchdown run.
In total for the day Griffin passed for 182 yards on 17 completions out of 22 attempts with one touchdown and one interception. Griffin rushed for 138 yards on 13 attempts and two touchdowns. All there is no more that can be said about RGIII other than that he is dynamic. He is the rare once in a generation player that makes people stop in front of whatever TV they are walking by when he is on it. There exists the feeling of wonder and amazement when he touches the ball and everyone is waiting with bated breath to see what he will do next.
The Redskins defense does deserve praise in this game. Robert Griffin had a good game, but in the first quarter the Redskins offense could do nothing. Three and out after three and out were followed by long Vikings drives, but the Redskins defense wouldn’t give in. Three times the Vikings entered the red zone and three times they came away with nothing but field goals. The Redskins defense was bending but not breaking, and more importantly they were buying time for Robert Griffin to find his rhythm.
The Redskins first score came after the Redskins went for it on fourth down and made it because of a Griffin six yard pass to Santana Moss. The drive then stalled out and new kicker, Kai Forbath was in for his first NFL field goal attempt. It would be a 50 yard try. Not needing to be eased in at all Forbath nailed the field goal and the Redskins would go on to score 21 additional unanswered points.
Aside from limiting the Vikings to field goals and allowing the Redskins to hang around in this game the Redskins defense also forced three turnovers, two of them leading to scores. The first turnover came when Ponder was fumbled the football into the waiting arms of Redskins linebacker Lorenzo Alexander. On the very next player Griffin threw a touchdown to Young for a score and the second Redskins touchdown of the day. The fourth Redskins touchdown would also come on a turnover. Ponder’s pass intended for Micheal Jenkins would be picked off by Madieu Williams and returned all the way for a touchdown.
Lorenzo Alexander deserves a lot of credit for how he played in this game. With Orakpo and Carriker out for the season the Redskins have been looking for someone to step up. Normally a special teams player Lorenzo Alexander saw his playing time on defense increase and rewarded the Redskins with a 1.5 sack performance with the key fumble recovery. Alexander was a presence in the Vikings backfield all afternoon and has earned himself more playing time.
As impressive as long time Skins like Alexander and Moss were this game belonged to RGIII. The lasting image from this one will be him in the front row of the crowd after sealing the game with his 76 yard touchdown run. Robert Griffin is what the Redskins have spent so much time looking for. He is what Patrick Ramsey and Jason Campbell couldn’t be. He is a franchise quarterback, and not only that he is a must watch player in the NFL.
