8:48PM EST November 22. 2012 - ARLINGTON, Texas – The rookie came out guns blazing, painting the Cowboys Stadium turf with the burgundy and gold of unmolested Washington Redskins receivers.
But Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys wouldn't let Robert Griffin III leave his home state with a win without working for it -- and taking a few lumps.
BOX SCORE: Redskins 38, Cowboys 31
Griffin was picked off for the first time in four weeks and sacked four times in a 38-31 win which saw the Cowboys come within a score of erasing a 25-point deficit. Romo was the driving force of Dallas' near comeback, throwing two touchdown passes in a two-minute span in the fourth quarter.
But Griffin's Redskins held on, and he threw four touchdown passes for the second week in a row in his first pro game in Texas since he was drafted out of Baylor University with the No. 2 overall pick in April. Griffin never liked the Cowboys growing up in Copperas Cove, a three-hour drive south from Dallas. He made sure the feeling was mutual in his first game vs. Washington's division rival.
In two games, victories over NFC East foes Philadelphia and Dallas, Griffin has completed 34 of 43 passes for 511 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception.
Not in six tries had the Redskins beaten the Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving. That streak is finished, and in its place, a few shiny new achievements for Griffin and the now 5-6 Redskins.
-- Sunday marked the first time in the 80-year history of the Redskins that their quarterback has passed for four TDs in consecutive games.
-- With his 16th throw for a score, Griffin broke a 60-year old franchise record for touchdown passes by a rookie (Eddie LeBaron, 1952).
-- The Redskins now have more points through 11 games (295) than they did all last season (288).
Here's another reality, far more important: If the 6-4 New York Giants lose Sunday vs. the Green Bay Packers, Washington will play a December home game for first place in the NFC East. This for a team that finished 5-11 last year, not quite bad enough to select Griffin with their earned pick.
So they dealt their first-round pick (No. 6), a second-round pick (No. 39) and first-round slots over the next two years to move up four spots. It was considered by some an exorbitant price. Before Sunday, Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan threw an understated jab at the decision, telling reporters, "(Griffin's) a special player, and that's why they traded half the team to get him."
Apparently, the Redskins still had sufficient pieces to put up 438 yards on Ryan's defense, and 28 points in the second quarter alone.
One major piece acquired in the offseason shakeup was wide receiver Pierre Garcon, who was able to overcome what he describes as constant pain from a torn foot ligament for five catches and 93 yards receiving, including a 59-yard second quarter touchdown. He showed no signs of pain on the play, breaking away from Cowboys defensive backs in a foot race.
If the Redskins ever do miss those traded picks, the defense will probably be the cause. It held Dallas to 124 yards of offense in the first half, but gave up 334 in the second half and struggled most notably in tackling Cowboys receivers.
But after the second quarter, Washington's defensive troubles came with insurance.
The Cowboys backed off the blitz early and Griffin responded by sitting calmly in the pocket and finding his receivers -- in the flats, across midfield, along the sidelines and deep down the hashes. Fellow rookie Alfred Morris chewed up 113 yards on the ground on 24 rushing attempts. The Redskins' longest play from scrimmage came when Griffin faked a handoff to Morris and found a wide open Aldrick Robinson 40 yards downfield en route to a 68-yard touchdown.
This is how play action passes play out in video games, when the skill is set on rookie.
Cowboys safety Danny McCray froze in his tracks, sure that the Redskins would run out of their odd-looking full house formation. He turned around in time to see Robinson 10 yards behind him, catching up with a Griffin rainbow. If they were on a basketball court, filming an And 1 mixtape, McCray was the guy getting the ball bounced off his forehead, and Griffin was doing the dribbling.
And now the Redskins' undisputed floor general leads his team back to Washington with 10 days between them and a Monday night visit from the Giants. If the G-Men were enjoying turkey and stuffing or studying Packers game tape instead of watching RGIII, they have some catching up to do.
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2012/11/22/redskins-cowboys-week-12/1721729/