Washington 28
St. Louis 31
Recap: Rams 31, Redskins 28
Sep 16, 2012
Rams 31, Redskins 28: Sam Bradford passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns as host St. Louis rallied from a 15-point deficit in the first half to give Jeff Fisher his first victory as the Rams' coach and avoid its sixth straight 0-2 start.
Bradford completed 26 of 35 passes and, after two lead changes in the third quarter, his 1-yard TD toss to tight end Matthew Mulligan put the Rams (1-1) ahead 31-28 on the first play of the final period. After Bradford was intercepted on first-and-goal from the 6, Mulligan blocked a punt on the ensuing possession, leading to his go-ahead score.
Washington had a chance to tie the game late but Billy Cundiff's 62-yard field goal attempt with 1:13 remaining landed well short and wide of the target. The Redskins were taken out of legitimate field goal range after Josh Morgan took a 15-yard penalty for throwing the ball at St. Louis' Cortland Finnegan, forcing a fourth-and-23 and the long field goal attempt.
St. Louis' home opener got off to a disastrous start as Washington's Josh Wilson returned Danny Amendola's fumble 30 yards for a touchdown on the game's opening play. Rookie Robert Griffin III tossed a 68-yard TD pass to Leonard Hankerson with 6:28 left in the second quarter to extend the Redskins' lead to 21-6.
The Rams turned it around with some help from rookie Daryl Richardson, who rushed for 83 yards on 15 carries. Richardson replaced Steven Jackson, who apparently was benched after taking a 15-yard penalty for spiking the ball after he was ruled short of the goal line on a run in the second quarter.Griffin also rushed for a pair of scores but only completed 20 of 29 passes for 206 yards after throwing for 320 yards last week.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Redskins' wide receiver Pierre Garcon was declared inactive before the game due to a foot injury. ... Bradford's first win in the NFL came against the Redskins on Sept, 26, 2010. ... Redskins rookie running back Alfred Morris rushed for 89 yards after gaining 96 in his debut last week. ... Amendola redeemed himself for the early fumble with 15 receptions for 160 yards. He tied an NFL record with 12 catches in the first half.
