December 4, 2012
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The race for the NFC East is going down to the wire. The Giants came to FedEx Field looking for a win to solidify their division standing. Instead, the Redskins broke the competition wide open.
New York looked good early, scoring a field goal on their first possession after the Redskins punted away. But Robert Griffin III was unfazed, and his next drive became the game’s most unbelievable play: a fumble that turned into the Skins’ first touchdown. After a short run, Griffin was stripped of the ball close to the end zone, but instead of being intercepted, it flew into the hands of teammate Josh Morgan, who ran in for the touchdown.
The game was tied 10-10 when Eli Manning got the ball back with under a minute left in the half. He quickly drove his team down the field. A completed pass to Victor Cruz deep in Redskins territory set up an easy field goal and gave New York a small three point lead heading into halftime.
The Giants took the lead all the way into the fourth quarter, aided by a Redskins turnover in the red zone that led to a field goal. But while New York dominated on possession, they were unable to score touchdowns, granting opportunity to the Skins. Late in the fourth quarter Griffin threw an eight-yard pass to Pierre Garçon for the go-ahead (17-16) touchdown. Manning received the ball back near his own end zone, but was unable to lead a charge down the field—on third down, he was sacked.
The Redskins ended up with the final possession and took a knee to run out the clock. It was their third consecutive win, with Griffin leading his team from 3-6 to 6-6—now tied with Dallas and just one game shy of the division lead. With four games to go, it’s anyone’s division.
Despite knocking off the defending World Champions, Griffin isn’t ready to rest yet. “We know that our backs are against the wall,” he said in the postgame conference. “And even though we won tonight, our backs are still against the wall.” The Redskins will next face the Baltimore Ravens, who are no doubt eager for a win after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home last week.
Wizards
The Wizards can exhale: they won’t break the NBA record for worst season start. Still, despite winning their first game last week (84-82 against the Portland Trail Blazers at home), they are struggling.
At 1-13, the Wizards are at the bottom of the NBA food chain. They have yet to win a road game and they have not only the worst record in the Eastern Conference, but in the entire league. No other team in the entire NBA has less than four wins—the team at the bottom of the Western Conference, the Sacramento Kings, are 4-12.
It is an embarrassing, but all-too-familiar scene in Washington. Last year the Wizards started 0-8; this year, it was 0-12. Unlike their narrow win, most of their losses aren’t even close—the Knicks humiliated them at Madison Square Garden 108-87 last Friday. They host the Miami Heat tonight. It’s hard to imagine this will end well.
Despite the bleak outlook, owner Ted Leonsis is one fan who remains optimistic. After Friday’s loss he took to his blog to remind everyone that things can turn around—citing the Caps’ past season as an example. He ended his post by saying, “It is never too late to rally and play hard. The players must find motivation and remain positive. That is the plan. Thank you for your support.”
