close

Washington wins shootout; Cutler injured

Washington running back Roy Helu Jr. said he heard a message echoing on the sidelines after the Chicago Bears retook the lead with just under four minutes remaining and staring at the harsh reality of a 1-5 start.

“Don’t blink,” Helu Jr. said was the message from the tight ends coach (Sean McVay). “Don’t blink.” Robert Griffin III made sure the offense did not blink at the crucial moment.

RG3 led a game-winning 12-play, 80 yard drive capped off by Helu’s third rushing touchdown of the game with 45 seconds remaining as Washington pulled out what could be a season-salvaging 45-41 victory over the Chicago Bears at FedExField on Sunday.

The last of the four lead changes (the game also had five ties) saw Washington’s record improve to 2-4, and marked Griffin’s fourth game-winning drive in his young career. And almost undoubtedly, it was his most important.

“Definitely in the NFL,” Griffin exclaimed when asked if this game was the most emotional comeback he has faced in his career. “We had to win a shootout. We did and that is what we have talked about as a team. Whatever the situation calls for, that is what we have to do. “

The most important situation was at hand when the clock read 3:57 and the scoreboard showed Chicago holding on to a three-point lead. On that final drive, Washington converted three third-downs, including two on Griffin passes. The first, coming on the last play before the two-minute warning just inside Chicago territory, saw a scrambling RG3 hit a leaping Pierre Garcon along the right sideline for a 10-yard gain which got them to the Bears 37. Six plays later, with Washington facing a third-and-four from Chicago’s 13 – well into field-goal range that would have forced a tie – RG3 found rookie tight end Jordan Reed on a slant which covered 10 yards and set up first and goal. (Reed was Griffin’s favorite target all game, catching all of the nine balls that were thrown his way for 134 yards and a TD in the second quarter.) Helu powered into the endzone from three yards out on the next play to give Washington the lead and the win.

Another situation that played out was a familiar one this season for Washington: having to score in bunches to make up for a leaky defense and special teams (more of the special teams later). What made up for that this time around was the offense looking as good as it has all season with RG3, not coincidentally, looking as good as he has all season with his running ability. Washington ran at will against a decimated Bears defense to the tune of 209 yards, with Griffin accounting for 84 of those yards, looking as spry and shifty as he has been since his knee injury and making good decisions on when to head out of bounds and when to get extra yardage. Not only did that allow for running back Alfred Morris to find running room because of the heightened threat of RG3’s running ability- Morris ran for 95 yards – but the passing game, not counting when the team has been down big and had to play catch-up, also looked at its most efficient this season, even after an early interception set up the Bears first touchdown in the first quarter. Griffin’s aerial totals included 298 yards of passing and two TDs.

Chicago’s last-ditch attempt ended on a sack of Josh McCown which ran out the clock, but the Bears offense played admirably, especially given the fact that Jay Cutler went down with a groin injury early in the second quarter on a sack by Chris Baker. (Early reports are that Cutler will miss at least a month with a torn groin muscle) In his absence, the Bears offense did not miss a beat with the second-string McCown, who threw for 204 yards and completed 14 of his 20 passes. In addition, his ability to run actually made the Bears offense somewhat more dynamic, breaking the pocket a few times and creating big plays with his legs. His go-ahead touchdown pass to tight end Martellus Bennett from seven yards out in the fourth quarter out capped a 67-yard drive in which McCown completed passes of 28 yards to Brandon Marshall and a deep pass to emerging star wideout Alshon Jeffery for 35 yards. The drive also featured a touchdown pass McCown threw to Earl Bennett, but was nullified due to an illegal formation penalty. Although the defensive units the Bears will go up against the next few weeks will prepare for McCown more extensively, the performance he gave against Washington should have the Bears optimistic that the offense will not suffer too much of a regression without Cutler, which has been the case in the past.

Jay Cutler injured his groin while being sacked in the second quarter vs. Washington and is expected to miss a month due to a groin injury. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Jay Cutler injured his groin while being sacked in the second quarter vs. Washington and is expected to miss a month due to a groin injury. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Another encouraging sign for the Bears offense going forward was the play of running back Matt Forte, who ran for three scores and rushed for 91 yards on only 16 attempts. His load is sure to be increased in Cutler’s absence, a fact that some might think is a blessing in disguise if Forte does indeed gets those extra touches in games.

Devin Hester, after a two-year absence from scoring on special teams, returned to familiar territory when he took a second quarter punt from Sav Rocca 81 yards for a touchdown, tying Deion Sanders with his NFL-record 19th return for a score (his 13th punt return) . It was surprising enough that the Redskins were kicking to Hester, given that a) despite Hester not being as much of a factor on special teams the past couple of seasons, he is just one opportunity away from changing that, and b) Washington gave up a punt return for a touchdown and a 90-yard kickoff return to Dallas’ Dwayne Harris the previous week. Another special teams disaster was to come later in the game if not for a penalty that spared Washington’s blushes.

After Robbie Gould kicked a 49-yard field goal to leave Chicago down by four (34-38), the Bears followed with a surprise onside kick down the middle of the formation which was executed to perfection. Chicago’s Zack Bowman recovered the kick at the Bears’ own 46, but Chicago was flagged for being offsides on the kick, nullifying the momentum-changing play.

Washington improves to 2-4 on the year while the Bears head into the bye at 4-3 and will come out of the bye with crucial division games at Green Bay and against Detroit. Washington travels to Denver to take on the Broncos, who suffered their first loss of the season late last night against the Indianapolis Colts. This will mark Mike Shanahan’s first game against the Broncos since he was relieved of his coaching duties after the 2008 season.  Shanahan is the Broncos’ all-time winningest head coach (138 wins) and led Denver to its two Super Bowl wins in franchise history – XXXII (32) and XXXIII (33) – after the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

 

[More Post Pattern: Audio Interview with Washington running back Roy Helu, Jr.]

[audio:http://10ee5eb6907d78840d63-8e1e5dd8679f231dcbc4aa2ccbe6df56.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com/Roy Helu Jr. interview.mp3]
Facebook Comments Box

Leave a Response