November 4, 2013
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
Leading by three with the clock winding down and the Chargers on the 1-yard line, the Redskins defense knew they had to make a stand. After last week’s 45-21 rout by the Denver Broncos, losing wasn’t an option. Maybe it was the throwback uniforms on their backs, or the presence of former Skins greats in the stadium. Whatever it was, the defense delivered, denying the Chargers the end zone three times to force a field goal, and overtime.
The Redskins won the coin toss and drove the length of the field before fullback Darrell Young ran in a touchdown for a 30-24 Redskins win. Washington scored 17 points in the second half to take a 24-21 lead before the Chargers tied it with 21 seconds left. A San Diego touchdown would have won the game.
Griffin, who completed 23 of 32 passes for 291 yards and one pick and rushed for an additional 17 yards, said he knew once they made the goal-line stop, Washington would win.
“That stop was huge,” he said afterwards. “Just the way we won. That can definitely be a turning point for us. It’s definitely a team-bonding type game where you come closer together.”
While the defense made the biggest play of the game, the offense was also impressive. Sophomore running back Alfred Morris had a superb game, rushing for 121 yards and a TD on 25 carries. Pierre Garcon, who had 172 yards on 7 receptions, may want to rethink the statement he made last week about their “passing game sucking.” Meanwhile, Young, who has seen minimal play time with the Skins this season, had a breakout game Sunday, scoring three touchdowns, including the game-clincher.
At 3-5, the Redskins find themselves in a familiar position. At mid-season last year, the Skins were 3-6 before they went on a six-game win streak to capture the NFC East title and their first playoff berth since 2007. They will get a chance to see if the positive momentum continues sooner than usual, when they face the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night.
Wizards
Even before the NBA season started, Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis made one thing clear: he was sick of losing. At a press conference in early October, Leonsis said that he — and the fans — felt that the Wizards (who finished 29-53 last season) were good enough to qualify for the playoffs. “So the fans are setting that expectation,” he said. “And I’m tired of losing.”
Unfortunately, no matter how much Leonsis, the fans, or even the players are sick of losing, it looks like not much has changed for the hapless Washington basketball team. While it’s only three games into the season, a 0-3 start doesn’t do much to bolster the faith of the fan base.
The Wizards lost their season opener 102-113 to the Detroit Pistons, before dropping their home opener at Verizon Center two days later. Sunday night’s match-up against the defending champion Miami Heat (2-2) seemed a bit lopsided, which is exactly how it turned out. Washington had 21 turnovers, which the Heat turned into 25 points en route to a 103-93 win.
While Miami’s top scorers were LeBron James with 25 points, Chris Bosh with 24 and Dwayne Wade with 20, Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 19 points, Trevor Azria and Martwell Webster had 13 apiece and John Wall added 11. After Miami finished the third period on an 18-7 run, Washington outscored them 29-16 in the fourth, but by then the lead–and win–was out of reach.
While they don’t look like a playoff team yet, there is a lot of season left. Though they have yet to win a game, the Wizards’ coach, Randy Wittman, feels as though his team is improving.
“We kept fighting the whole way through,” he told reporters after Sunday’s loss. “This is how we need to play, learning and moving forward. Nobody wants to lose. But we took some steps in the right direction.”
