Washington Redskins vs Cleveland Browns Box Score on Dec 16, 2012

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 16, 2012

Redskins 38, Browns 21: Kirk Cousins went 26-of-37 for 329 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Alfred Morris ran for two scores as visiting Washington won its fifth straight despite being without Robert Griffin III.

Morris finished with 87 yards on 27 carries and Leonard Hankerson caught a pair of touchdown passes for the Redskins (8-6), who pulled even with the New York Giants (8-6) for first place in the NFC East. Washington plays at Philadelphia next week before finishing up the regular season by hosting Dallas.

Griffin (knee) practiced on a limited basis during the week but was left inactive by the Redskins. Fellow rookie Cousins threw an interception that led to a touchdown early in the first quarter but settled down after that, finding Hankerson for a 54-yard touchdown later in the first.

Cleveland took a 14-10 lead into the half but Brandon Weeden was intercepted on the second play of the third quarter and Washington needed only three plays to put Morris in the end zone with the go-ahead score. Hankerson caught his second touchdown pass on the next drive and Evan Royster rushed in for a 4-yard score with 11:19 left to make it a 31-14 gap.

Weeden went 21-of-35 for 244 yards, one TD and two interceptions while Trent Richardson rushed for a pair of scores for the Browns, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cleveland was attempting to win four straight for the first time since the 2009 campaign. … Washington owns the tiebreaker over both the Giants and the Cowboys in the East because they are 2-1 in games played between those teams. … The Redskins are assured of at least a .500 finish for the first time since 2008.