LANDOVER, Md. — Robert Griffin III went down, the ball popped out, and the Washington Redskins scored a touchdown.
LANDOVER, Md. — Robert Griffin III went down, the ball popped out, and the Washington Redskins scored a touchdown.
Look out, New York Giants and the rest of the NFC East. If the rookie quarterback keeps getting those kinds of breaks, it’ll be hard to keep him out of the title hunt for years to come.
As it is, RG3 has the Redskins within a game of first place, leading a fourth-quarter rally in a 17-16 Monday night victory over the Giants, giving Washington a three-game winning streak in which it has dispatched division rivals — Philadelphia, Dallas and now New York — one by one.
“We know that our backs are against the wall,” Griffin said. “And even though we won tonight, our backs are still against the wall.”
The Redskins (6-6) appeared out of the running at 3-6 a month ago, but Griffin is proving his team can never be counted out when he’s on the field.
With the Giants (7-5) losing three of four and the Cowboys (6-6) also at .500, the division is up for grabs.
Griffin did get another of his goals accomplished Monday by assuring Washington will win more games than last season’s 5-11 team.
Griffin completed 13 of 21 passes for 163 yards and ran five times for 72 yards, breaking Cam Newton’s NFL record for yards rushing by a rookie quarterback.
Redskins 17, Giants 16
N.Y. Giants 3 10 3 0 — 16
Washington 7 3 0 7 — 17
First quarter
NYG—FG Tynes 39, 6:22.
Was—Morgan fumble recovery in end zone (Forbath kick), 4:16.
Second quarter
NYG—Bennett 4 pass from Manning (Tynes kick), 2:32.
Was—FG Forbath 33, :41.
NYG—FG Tynes 40, :00.
Third quarter
NYG—FG Tynes 35, 3:09.
Fourth quarter
Was—Garcon 8 pass from Griffin III (Forbath kick), 11:31.
A—80,246.
NYG Was
First downs 21 20
Total Net Yards 390 370
Rushes-yards 29-117 31-207
Passing 273 163
Punt Returns 2-11 3-21
Kickoff Returns 4-83 2-59
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 20-33-0 13-21-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 1-7 0-0
Punts 3-49.3 3-42.0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards 9-73 4-56
Time of Possession 33:13 26:47
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—N.Y. Giants, Bradshaw 24-103, Wilson 4-9, Manning 1-5. Washington, Morris 22-124, Griffin III 5-72, Young 2-8, Royster 1-3, Moss 1-0.
PASSING—N.Y. Giants, Manning 20-33-0-280. Washington, Griffin III 13-21-0-163.
RECEIVING—N.Y. Giants, Cruz 5-104, Bennett 5-82, Nicks 5-43, Bradshaw 2-13, Pascoe 1-16, Randle 1-13, Jernigan 1-9. Washington, Garcon 8-106, Morgan 2-17, Young 1-15, Hankerson 1-14, Paulsen 1-11.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—N.Y. Giants, Tynes 43 (WL).