Griffin would take the 'Skins all the way down the field to a go ahead TD- a beautiful strike to Santana Moss. It was a very impressive drive, where RG3 used his legs to extend plays and throw off script, use his legs to run, and use his accurate arm to make amazing throws. It looked like the TD to Moss would be the dramatic game-winner, but unfortunately the Giants would pull out the stunner as Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz for a 77 yard TD. Still, in spite of the painful loss there was more shock and awe, and legitimate reasons to hope and be excited for greater things to come. It was becoming even more clear that we had our star QB, as the league continued to marvel at what he was doing. In the post-game, Giants DE, Justin Tuck said, "he [Griffin] makes you lose your enthusiasm for the game a little bit. I'm really mad at the football gods for putting him in the NFC East. He is going to be a headache. He is the best QB we have faced all season, for sure." Also, Osi Umenyiora said, "that guy is flat-out unbelievable. That's the best QB we've faced all year." Yes, the league was taking notice, and players on rival teams were taking notice. How good could this get?
The next 2 weeks would be brutal losses, at Pittsburgh and then at home on "homecoming" to the Panthers. All of a sudden at 3-6, in spite of the many flashes of brilliance and stellar play of Griffin, the season was on the brink of unraveling. In his post-game interview, HC Mike Shanahan basically sounded like he was conceding that the year was over, as he said he would now get the opportunity to "evaluate players and see where we're at." Though Shanahan would later come out and say he wasn't try to say the year was in fact over, most of the media and people around the league certainly interpreted his statements as such. So now, it was time for the much needed bye-week. How would the team respond after the bye? How would they respond to Shanahan's statements? Though I remember having several reasons why I said and thought that this team could go on a run (upcoming favorable schedule, how the rest of the NFC East was playing, and especially the play of RG3), I never thought what would happen next would actually happen.
It began at home against the Eagles, right after the bye-week. Both teams were 3-6 and on the brink of the season completely unraveling. The Eagles, I believed were reeling even more, and it actually seemed likely that long-time winning coach, Andy Reid was indeed on the verge of being let go (as was always the rumor in Philly when the team struggled) if they didn't turn things around this time. The Redskins finally took advantage, unlike in 2011 when they had a similar opportunity earlier in the year to bury their I-95 rivals. A 31-6 blowout and the Andy Reid bon-voyage now seemed inevitable as the Eagles plummeted to 3-7. And Griffin, was once again spectacular, completing 14-15 for 200 yards, 4 TD's, 0 INT's, 84 yards rushing, and most notably a perfect QB rating of 158.3. He set yet another NFL record by becoming the first QB in NFL history to post a perfect rating, by attempting at least 15 passes.
Next, it was on to Dallas to play the rival Cowboys, on Thanksgiving Day. Not only would the Redskins finally play Dallas on Thanksgiving for the first time in 10 years, but Griffin would be making his first trip back to his home state of Texas to face the Cowboys. Though they were still only 4-6, if the Redskins could somehow pull this off, yes they would still only be 5-6, but most importantly, would have beaten division rivals in back to back games, send the Cowboys also to 5-6, and have the Giants on tap next, and a legit opportunity to get right back into the NFC East race. In all the years of the Redskins/Cowboys storied rivalry, the second quarter of this particular game would become the most one-sided dominant one that any of the teams had displayed. With the Redskins trailing 3-0, Griffin hit speedster Aldrick Robinson on a perfectly thrown bomb and a 68 yard TD strike. Minutes later, Alfred Morris would plunge into the end zone to stretch the lead to 14-3. All of a sudden, while watching how this game was unfolding, I had this feeling of exuberance, sensing that my boys may indeed be preparing to really hand it to The 'Boys on their home field, on Thanksgiving day, when they hardly ever lose. The surge of momentum continued as on the next drive, Griffin would hit Pierre Garcon, who split defenders and outraced everyone to the end zone. A 59 yard TD pass, and now a 21-3 lead. But the half wasn't over. Following a DeAngelo INT with under a minute remaining, Griffin would quickly lead the Redskins inside the red zone, and with 5 seconds remaining in the half, roll out to his right and throw a perfect strike to Santana Moss in the corner of the end zone for another TD. Yes, 28 points in the quarter. The route was on in Texas. My good buddy, Redskins superfan, @superskin would tweet: "If this was a fight, they'd call it." It felt so good. The Redskins of course would ultimately win the game 38-28.
And Griffin? Once again he was spectacular, going 19-27 for 304 yards, 4 TD's (1 INT), and another gaudy 131.8 QB rating. Now 8 TD's in 2 weeks. And the most impressive thing I was elated about was that this performance came under the bright lights and high stakes: Thanksgiving Day, with a national audience, vs the rival Cowboys, in their building, back in his home state, and when the Redskins desperately needed to win to climb back in the division race.
The next week the other division foe, the World Champion New York Giants came to Fed Ex Field for Monday Night Football. Once again, the Redskins would prevail 17-16 to now move to 6-6, and drop the Giants to 7-5. As I left a jubilant Fed Ex Field that night, I tweeted out: "BREAKING: The Redskins will win the NFC East." I just knew it was now going to happen. Yes, all of a sudden, an NFC East crown was a legitimate possibility. Though he wasn't as spectacular, Griffin was still very good, going 13-21 for 163 yards passing, 72 yards rushing, 1 TD, 0 INT's, and a 101.9 QB rating. And now with back-to-back weeks of being showcased on prime time, playing very well, and the Redskins winning, it now seemed like Griffin may even be the front-runner for the NFL rookie of the year, even over #1 overall pick, Andrew Luck, who was also having a very solid rookie campaign, as well as star QB's Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, and Ryan Tannehill who all really started to emerge as well.
The big games kept coming as the next opponent was I-95/295 local rival, the Baltimore Ravens. Accompanied by many of their raucous fans, the Ravens would come down I-95 into Fed Ex Field at 9-3 and in very good shape in their playoff standing. Both teams were surging. It was local football rivalry at its finest, and perhaps its highest point since the 2 teams had been in the league. The game would go back and forth with each team trading scoring drives. Then, it happened. With the Redskins trailing 28-20 and facing a 2nd and 19 on their own 27 with under 2 minutes to play, Griffin did was Griffin does: he tried to make a play with his legs when the play broke down. He was flushed out to his left outside the pocket, then turned it up field to gain as much as he can. While trying to get down, he was hit by Haloti Ngata and he was down. Teammates helped him up and it was quickly evident that he wasn't right, as he was favoring his right knee and had to be helped off the field. Rookie QB Kirk Cousins came in as the Redskins faced a 3rd and 6. Pass interference was called and the Redskins had a new set of downs. But then amazingly, Griffin would come back into the game. Clearly not the same lacking mobility, he completed his first pass to Santana Moss for a first down to get into Ravens territory. Then, he stood in the pocket and completed his next pass to Pierre Garcon for 22 yards inside the red zone. But on the pass he couldn't plant his right leg and noticeably hobbled. He then had to quickly hobble down the field to the first down marker as the play clock was winding down, now less than a minute. It reminded me of when Byron Leftwich played for Marshall and had to be carried down the field during a dramatic, TD drive. On the next play however, Griffin thew it out of bounds as the Ravens brought pressure, and he was called for intentional grounding. He was clearly in pain and went down to the ground again. He motioned for the sidelines and had to come off the field. Once again, Cousins had to come in. Only 45 seconds to go and now a 2nd and 20 from the Ravens 27. Cousins quickly hit Leonard Hankerson for 15 yards and then on 3rd and five, hit Pierre Garcon for a TD with just under 30 seconds left. Down 28-26 the Redskins were forced to go for 2, and that's when offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan dialed up perhaps his best call of the season: a Cousins QB draw for the game-tying score! In overtime, after a dramatic punt return by rookie, Richard Crawford, Kai Forbath hit the game-winning field goal, sending myself and the rest of the Redskins faithful at Fed Ex Field into a frenzy. It was a dramatic win on many levels. The winning streak was now 4. The Redskins were now a formidable 7-6. And the chances for that elusive NFC East crown were dramatically increasing. But while we high fived and hugged many on the way out of Fed Ex Field that afternoon, an uneasy sense of concern came over me: what about RG3's knee? How serious would this be? While reading early updates on the walk out, the initial sense of many was that it could be an ACL injury, and could very well mean the end of his season! My heart sank. Yes, the streak was good, and yes, we were now legitimately in this thing. But if no RG3 the rest of the way, I was convinced we were finished, and even if by some chance we were to still win the east, we would surely be a quick out in the playoffs with no chance of advancing. So now the post-game and interviews. Though the victory was sweet and there was much to celebrate, all the attention was rather on Griffin's health: how did he get hurt, how bad is the injury, what specifically is the injury, would he play next week, would he be out for the season, why did he go back in, etc. Mike Shanahan gave his version of what happened. And renowned surgeon (and Redskins game day team Dr.), Dr. James Andrews gave his version, nearly a month later. Controversy swirled. But unexpected good news would emerge, shortly after an MRI revealed that Griffin only had a knee sprain, an LCL injury that wouldn't require season ending surgery but would be a week to week thing. I'll never forget that feeling of relief. The season wasn't lost. He would be back soon. Now, all we needed was rookie QB Kirk Cousins to hold it down vs. the lowly Browns the next week, and possibly the week after vs. the hapless Eagles and their lame duck coach, Andy Reid.
Though Kirk Cousins would indeed get the nod to start against the Browns, Griffin tried his best to convince the coaching staff to let him play. But he simply wasn't ready yet, and risking further injury would not have been prudent. Though he started a little slow, Cousins would find his groove and reel off a very impressive rookie debut as starting QB as the 'Skins won their 5th straight game 38-21 to surge to 8-6.
Now it was on to the Eagles. Griffin was cleared to play with a knee brace and ready to go, though not being 100%. It was obvious that Griffin didn't have the same kind of burst and was understandably playing more cautiously because of his knee. But he led the Redskins to their 6th straight victory, 27-20 to sweep their division foes, move to 9-6 and set up the ultimate final regular season showdown: a winner take all vs. the rival Cowboys!
A Sunday night prime-time showdown to cap the regular season. A rivalry that is widely considered to be the best in the NFL. The winner takes the NFC East crown and moves on to host a playoff game the next weekend. The loser goes home and misses not only the division crown, but the playoffs entirely. It would be the most anticipated and biggest game (even over the wild- card playoff vs the Lions in '99) in the history of Fed Ex Field. With a chance to knock the rival Cowboys out of the playoffs entirely, once again the stakes were set very high for this rivalry matchup. Even though in the great history of this rivalry the Cowboys had won more games overall, it was the Redskins who won when the stakes were highest: the '72 and '82 NFC Championship games. And now, an opportunity for the highest stakes in the regular season on the last game of the season. I arrived early that afternoon with friends to tailgate as I wanted to soak it all in and savor each moment. When it came time for us to go into Fed Ex Field, the pent up energy that we had was also seen and felt among the masses as we entered the gates like caged lions ready to be turned loose. We were roaring and hungry for victory, a division championship for the first time in 13 years, an opportunity to host a playoff game, and of course a sweet win over the despised Cowboys to send them home to watch the playoffs from their TV's. Chants of "WE WANT DALLAS" and "DALLAS SUCKS" filled the air. And there was also loud singing of "Hail to the Redskins". We were ready.
With the usual and deafening chants of "DE-FENSE, DE-FENSE", section 220 was alive and well for this epic game at the outset. Although the intensity and noise of the chants was on a different level, perhaps unmatched in all the years of going to games at Fed Ex Field. On the Cowboys' first possession, Romo thew an INT to Richard Crawford and I just knew it: I told fans all around me, "this game is won!" It was classic Romo being Romo: on the biggest stage and devastating INT's. The Redskins would eventually take the lead 14-7 in the 3rd quarter as Griffin, still gimpy and all and clearly not having the same kind of burst, scampered around the left edge for a TD inside the 10. Redskins Nation was in a frenzy. Then in the 4th quarter, Alfred Morris scampered 32 yards to pay dirt and the lead was 21-10. The frenzy reached another level. The Cowboys, however would make it interesting by cutting the lead to 21-18 and all of a sudden, it was up to the defense to stop Romo with just over 3 minutes to go. On the first play, from their own 28, Romo dropped back and, once again in typical Romo fashion in these dramatic moments, floated an ill-advised pass that was picked off by Rob Jackson. Redskins legend and radio analyst, Rick "Doc" Walker said, "what a numbskull throw." It was a dagger for Romo and the Cowboys. The outcome was now even more inevitable. Then a couple minutes later, Alfred Morris plunged into the end zone for the official nail in the coffin. The Redskins would win 28-18 and the improbable run was complete. A 7 game winning streak, amazing 10-6 finish, and yes, the long-awaited NFC East division championship. It was one of the most special moments I have ever witnessed as a Redskins fan, and probably the best regular season moment during all my years of being a fan. There were so many special moments from that night. We had knocked the Cowboys out of it, and we were division champs.
