The Washington Redskins put on their best performance of the year, edging the Chicago Bears in a 45-41 shootout victory on Oct. 20 at FedEx Field in Landover Md.
Down 41-38 with a minute left in the game, Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III led the offense on a game-winning drive ending in a touchdown to make the score 45-41.
The Skins’ defense then came up big by sacking Bears quarterback Josh McCown on the last play to hold on to the thrilling victory. The comeback win marked the third comeback in Griffin’s young career.
The Bears’ lost three major players during the game. Starting quarterback Jay Cutler left in the first half with a groin injury. In addition to that major offensive lost, Chicago lost two key defense starters in all-pro linebacker Lance Briggs and Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Tillman to injuries during the game.
Washington took advantage of the Bears’ injury woes, pounding away at the Chicago defense with a relentless running attack. The Redskins ran for a total of 208 rushing yards and won the game with a deciding touchdown run by Roy Helu Jr. that gave the Skins a 45-41 lead with less than a minute in the game. It was Helu’s third touchdown run of the game.
While Helu scored most of the touchdowns, it was still a running back-by-committee approach led by Skins’ second-year running back Alfred Morris. Morris ran for 95 yards on 19 carries; Griffin added 84 more yards on 11 carries.
Griffin also had an excellent game passing the ball with a 105.2 passer rating. He kept pressure on Chicago’s secondary throughout the game, completing 18-of-29 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns. His lone mistake was a pass intercepted by Tillman early in the first quarter.
Chicago still made it a tight game despite the injuries. McCown, an 11-year veteran quarterback, took over for the injured Cutler and completed 14-of-20 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t commit any turnovers and finished with a 119.6 passer rating.
Bears running back Matt Forte had a strong performance as well, rushing for 91 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries.
The Redskins are now 2-5 overall on the season and will next face the Denver Broncos (6-0 overall) on Oct. 27 at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colo.
