THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 21, 1996 TAG: 9610210141
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 97 lines
The pilot light inside the Washington Redskins went out when they least expected Sunday. Washington's winning streak nearly went with it.
It happened with three minutes to play in the first half, just as cornerback Darrell Green entered the end zone with his 68-yard interception return against New York Giants quarterback Dave Brown. Teammate Terry Allen already had scored three earlier touchdowns and the Redskins enjoyed a four-touchdown lead against the same Giants they had walloped by 21 points a month ago.
Green was celebrating, pumping his fist and pointing at friends in the stands. RFK Stadium was rocking and shaking and threatening to come apart at its rusty seams.
Then that temptress Human Nature joined the Redskins' bench.
``You tell yourself not to, but I'm standing on the sidelines after that thinking, `We're going to get (reserve running back) Stephen Davis a little work, we're going to come out in the third quarter, get one more touchdown then turn it over to some young guys,' '' Redskins coach Norv Turner sheepishly admitted. ``Then the second half starts, they score, then we go three-and-out and you say, `Oh. ..here we go.' ''
Well, not quite. Game as they were, the Giants couldn't come all the way back.
The Redskins put together the one second-half drive they needed to beat their NFC East rivals 31-21, run their winning streak to six, their record to 6-1, and maintain sole possession of first place in the division. They had just five first downs in the second half, four on the 11-play, 47-yard drive that ended with Scott Blanton's 45-yard field goal and the final 10-point margin.
``This was a good lesson for us today,'' linebacker Marvcus Patton said. ``We came out in the second half up 28 and it was like it was too easy. We got complacent. We were all guilty. We said, `Let's get this over,' instead of realizing we still had 30 minutes to play.''
The Giants (2-5) made a couple of small adjustments to negate a Redskins pass rush that had dogged Brown the whole first half. Shortening his drop to three- and five steps, Brown threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. Thomas Lewis had six catches, Chris Calloway five after intermission and the Giants ground out 282 total yards.
``We kept fighting and quit feeling sorry for ourselves,'' Giants coach Dan Reeves said. ``It was a gut-check at halftime. I was embarrassed, they were embarrassed, we were all embarrassed, every Giants fan was embarrassed. We had the chance to get back in it and we came up short.''
Brown started the near-miracle with a 31-yard scoring pass to Lewis.
Next series, he capped off a 56-yard march with a 13-yard shot over the middle to Calloway.
Washington stalled again. This time, Brown led a 15-play, 80-yard drive that consumed 7:48 and ended with Tyrone Wheatley's 1-yard run with 6:35 left in the game.
Allen opened the critical series by gaining four yards on first down. On second down, quarterback Gus Frerotte missed a wide-open Henry Ellard. Frerotte called timeout, then alerted tight end Jamie Asher that his third-and-six pass was likely headed his way.
Asher shouldn't have been the money choice. On a day when it was rainy, misty, rainy, sunny and chilly - often at the same time - Asher had earlier dropped an easy pass that would have gone for about 40 yards. Another Frerotte pass had just eluded his grasp in the end zone, though the throw could have been better.
``I felt like I owed the team one, the fans one, owed Gus one,'' Asher said. ``Gus came over and said, `Hey, let's get one, it's coming.' ''
Asher had to dive for Frerotte's throw, but he clutched it to his chest and brought it down by the right sideline as cornerback Maurice Douglass vainly tried to strip away the ball. Seven plays later, Blanton hit a field goal that so moved Turner he gave the rookie a game ball.
``Surprised? Yeah,'' Blanton said. ``Kickers don't usually want their name mentioned in front of the team. It's usually not good.''
There's no way Turner ever would have imagined he'd need a field goal by Blanton the way the game started. On the eighth play of the opening drive, Turner called for a double-reverse, Frerotte handing to Ellard, who then handed to Leslie Shepherd. Frerotte got a block on right end Chad Bratzke that gave Shepherd the corner and the lithe second-year receiver wriggled 31 yards to the New York 2.
Allen scored on the next snap. Later, he capped an 80-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Late in the second quarter, he scored his career-best third touchdown one play after Frerotte and Ellard combined on a 48-yard pass play to the New York 2.
Two plays and 57 seconds after Allen's third TD, Brown's pass squirted through Lewis' hands and into Green's. He veered to the right sideline, easily juked Brown's feeble tackle attempt and went the rest of the way untouched. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
LAWRENCE JACKSON
The Virginian-Pilot
Redskins safety Stanley Richard soars to make an interception in the
end zone at the end of the first half against Amani Toomer of the
Giants.
LAWRENCE JACKSON
The Virginian-Pilot
Redskins defensive end Dexter Nottage wraps up Giants quarterback
Dave Brown for a sack in the first quarter Sunday at RFK Stadium. by CNB