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Incredible Fumble Propels Redskins Past Giants — See It Here

Dec. 4, 2012 7:18am
Robert Griffin III Fumble Touchdown on Monday Night Football

LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 03: Quarterback Robert Griffin III #10 of the Washington Redskins runs for a 46-yard gain as he is taken down by Stevie Brown #27 of the New York Giants in the second half at FedExField on December 3, 2012 in Landover, Maryland. Credit: Getty Images

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — There was the fumble by Robert Griffin III that turned into a Washington Redskins touchdown. There was the fumble by teammate Alfred Morris that led to a melee of leg-pulling followed by a kick to the midsection and something dangerously close to a stomp.

The quartet of flawed teams that make up the NFC East sure do make things interesting.

The division title that seemingly belonged to the New York Giants is up for grabs after their 17-16 loss Monday night to the Redskins, who are back in the running thanks to a rookie quarterback and a three-game winning streak.

“We had an opportunity here today,” New York coach Tom Coughlin said. “But now there’s one team with seven and two teams with six wins. There’s four games to go.”

That about sums it up.

Now that the Giants (7-5) have lost three of four, the Redskins (6-6) and Cowboys (6-6) are squarely in the hunt despite mediocre records. Washington has dispatched each of its division rivals – Philadelphia, Dallas and now New York – one by one over the last three weeks to recover from a 3-6 start that prompted coach Mike Shanahan to talk about evaluating players for future seasons.

“We know that our backs are against the wall,” said Griffin, whose Redskins host Dallas in what they hope will be a meaningful season finale. “And even though we won tonight, our backs are still against the wall.”

It’ll be hard to count the Redskins out as long as Griffin is on the field. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 163 yards and a go-ahead, 8-yard touchdown to Pierre Garcon in the fourth quarter to finish with a 101.9 passer rating. He also ran for 72 yards to get to 714 for the season, breaking Cam Newton’s NFL record for a rookie quarterback.

It was his sixth game with a 100-plus passer rating, his eighth without an interception – and his second in which one of his fumbles turned into a Redskins score.

On the way to the turf after a 12-yard run, Griffin was stripped by Stevie Brown – but the ball flew right to teammate Joshua Morgan 3 yards upfield. Morgan then ran 13 yards for a first-quarter touchdown no one would ever diagram on a whiteboard.

[Editor's note: a high quality version can be seen here.]

“We didn’t run it in practice because we wanted to save it for the game,” Griffin said with a grin. “I knew he was going to be there for it. … Joshua did a good job being in the spot where he was supposed to be.”

The game’s other fumble was just as chaotic – and a little scary. After Morris was stripped during a third-quarter run, New York defensive tackle Linval Joseph yanked at Redskins center Will Montgomery’s leg while players were fighting for the ball in the pile.

Montgomery kicked out in response, a swipe that Joseph said hit him in the groin.

“I was just trying to get my leg loose,” Montgomery said.

Joseph then stomped at Montgomery, appearing to pull back at the last second but still making contact.

“It took me everything not to kick him back because I didn’t want hurt the team, and I didn’t want to get fined and none of that,” Joseph said. “I started, then I stopped.”

Joseph and a Redskins player were whistled for offsetting unnecessary roughness penalties.

Morris finished with 124 yards, reaching 1,106 for the season to break Reggie Brooks’ franchise rookie rushing record of 1,063, set in 1993. Garcon caught eight passes for 106 yards, showing no signs of the painful toe injury that forced him to miss six of the season’s first nine games.

Eli Manning completed 20 of 33 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown, and Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 103 yards on 24 carries for the Giants. Victor Cruz, who caught the game-winning score when the teams met in the Meadowlands in October, had five catches for 104 yards.

The Giants moved the ball well, but they only managed three field goals by Lawrence Tynes and one touchdown – Manning’s 4-yard pass to Martellus Bennett late in the second quarter.

Tynes also missed a 43-yard field goal, and the Giants were uncharacteristically penalty-prone, getting flagged nine times for 73 yards. New York led 13-10 at the half, but scored only three more points.

“This is not real complicated. I don’t know what happened in the second half,” Coughlin said. “We certainly didn’t come out and play. Penalties. Sloppy football.”

NOTES: The Giants had won 26 in a row on the road when holding a halftime lead. They last failed to finish the job in 2006 against Tennessee. … The Redskins snapped a 10-game home losing streak in Monday night games. … Shanahan got his 171st win (regular and postseason), tying him with Redskins’ Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs for 12th all time. … New York S Tyler Sash left the game with a hamstring injury, and RT Sean Locklear was carted off in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.

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Comments (23)

  • tensigh
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 6:36pm

    Anything that weakens the Giants so the Niners can win the championship this year is ok with me! Go Niners!!!

    Report this comment

    tensigh  
  • Ducky657
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 5:10pm

    Luck does not begin to describe what happened on this play! For RG3 to do his trademark slide after fumbling made him look like as much of an a$@hole as Cam Newton doing this Superman reveal after scoring a touchdown when he team was down by a ton earlier this year. These folks are players in a team game who think they are special. If no one blocks for them the likelihood they will be successful is the same for both–ZERO! I scored several touchdowns as a tight-end and option passer and I can tell you one thing–unless you are lucky you will never score without blocks from your team mates

    Report this comment

    Ducky657  
  • Paool
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 3:23pm

    whoohoo! My Cowboys are still in it! They play like they did against the eagles for the next few weeks ( and can avoid losing any more players – STAY HEALTHY MURRAY!) they may have a shot! Of course they’d probably lose round one of playoffs but w/e

    Report this comment

    Paool  
  • black9897
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 12:29pm

    Boooo redskins. Go cowboys! Wish they showed monday night football on regular TV like the used to.

    Report this comment

    black9897  
  • Guitar Master
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 11:47am

    zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
    From THE REPORTER
    zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    Dumb luck.

    Report this comment

    Guitar Master  
  • jrcess
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 11:00am

    The NFL has turned into a bunch of baboons playing with a water melon.

    Report this comment

    jrcess  
  • bobad
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:56am

    I thought RGIII was down before the lateral.

    Report this comment

    bobad  
  • dont-care-anymore
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 8:59am

    pft …circus’s

    Report this comment

    dont-care-anymore  
  • biffo
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 8:34am

    A bunch of racist, brain washed millionaires. Role models? I don’t think so. Firing Hank Jr. showed where this bunch is really coming from.

    Report this comment

    biffo  
  • Eastinfection
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 8:26am

    This is baloney….
    this play did not “propel” them past the Giants- it happened in the 1st quarter!

    On top of that it wasn’t a “fumble”, it was an illegal forward lateral.

    The refs blew it because RG3 is the new messiah of QBs.

    As Rush would say… the NFL is “desirous” of him succeeding.

    Report this comment

    Eastinfection  
    • AlwysReady
      Posted on December 4, 2012 at 12:33pm

      Your are absolutely correct East, the Giants losing 3 of 4 is so they can raise RGIII to hero status. He was down, it was a forward pass beyond the line of scrimmage if he was not, in their opinion. We are watching a game that has become a way for people to make billions every year on betting. The big money folks are not about to lose their money, so helping teams win, or at least cover the spread, is the first cause of fixing, another is their star of the year.

      Report this comment

      AlwysReady  
  • Kisses6350
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 8:16am

    Go Skins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Report this comment

    Kisses6350  
  • tommyr
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 7:54am

    Watching this was a waste of time. The Blaze comes up with lame crap like this on a regular basis anymore.

    Report this comment

    tommyr  
    • kdshell1
      Posted on December 4, 2012 at 8:16am

      If you’re not interested in this kind of news, then don’t watch it. Duh!

      Report this comment

      kdshell1  
  • DadRocked
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 7:48am

    Just like life… Always keep your eyes on the proverbial ball and hope for a good bounce coming your way…

    Report this comment

    DadRocked  
  • cemerius
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 7:33am

    “The quartet of flawed teams that make up the NFC East sure do make things interesting.” So, Mr Seidl? Are you a 49′s fan or a Raiders one?

    Report this comment

    cemerius  
  • TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
    Posted on December 4, 2012 at 7:31am

    Monday Night Football hasn’t quite been the same since they fumbled Hank Williams Jr.

    Report this comment

    TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12  

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