The Washington Redskins offense took advantage of Baltimore Ravens miscues to notch a preseason victory on Saturday night. (Getty)
Final
Washington Redskins 0-14-14-3 — 31
Baltimore Ravens 10-3-0-0 — 13
The Baltimore Ravens got out to a 13-point lead but a lack of defensive depth hurt the squad as the Washington Redskins came back for a decisive preseason victory. It’s the second straight win for the Redskins, who were playing without starting quarterback Robert Griffin III after he failed to clear league concussion tests on Friday night.
Kirk Cousins took RGIII’s place under center and despite some early-game miscues, found his footing in the second quarter, finishing the game 20-of-27 for 190 yards and one touchdown. Not to be forgotten, Colt McCoy had his own solid performance with 95 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Redskins offense, keeping its starters in for much of the first half, took advantage of a thin Baltimore defense and racked up 396 total yards while the Ravens recorded just 230.
The game had plenty of on-field dramatics as well as a first quarter brawl resulted in two player ejections and John Harbaugh actually screaming at Jay Gruden. Preseason football is eventful!
There was a bit of a Ravens bright spot though as Joe Flacco went 8-of-13 for 137 yards and one touchdown. Click here to check out a full box score of the game.
Colt McCoy Found Rashad Ross on the Opening Drive of the Third Quarter & on the Second Drive
Don’t forget about Colt McCoy.
While the veteran QB may not have gotten the start on Saturday night, he certainly made his presence known when he got a chance. McCoy led the Redskins on a touchdown drive on his first series in the third quarter, finding Rashad Ross from five yards out. McCoy was 5-for-6 for 43 yards on the drive.
A Matt Schaub interception gave the Redskin the ball deep in Baltimore territory midway through the third quarter and McCoy made sure to use the chance. Again. So, he found Ross in the end zone. Again.
This time McCoy’s pass came from nine yards out as Ross ran a bit more through the Baltimore secondary to add on to the Redskins lead.
Washington Led 14 – 13 at Halftime
Baltimore QB Joe Flacco threw for over 100 yards and one touchdown in the first half on Saturday night. (Getty)
This one’s had it all.
We’ve had fights. We’ve had ejections. We’ve had coaches screaming at each other. And that was all on the same play.
The Redskins, somehow, walked off the field with a 14-13 lead at the break as the Redskins offense started to find a bit of a rhythm late in the half. Kirk Cousins, getting the start in the preseason tilt, was 20-of-27 for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Overall, the Redskins had outgained Baltimore 217 to 167.
While they went into the half down by one, Baltimore’s starting offense looked good early. Steve Smith, Sr., who was later ejected from the game, scored the first touchdown of the night on a 63-yard reception from Joe Flacco. The Ravens QB, looking to bounce back from a two-interception performance last week, finished 8-of-13 for 137 yard and a touchdown.
The Redskins Starting Offense Started to Roll Late in the Second Quarter
Little Chris Thompson squirts through for the touchdown run. #Redskins starting offense with their second touchdown of the night.
Kirk Cousins appeared to take a metaphorical deep breath – and take advantage of some bad Ravens flags to give Washington the lead late in the second quarter.
Cousins, getting the start after Robert Griffin III failed to clear concussion protocol, marched the Redskins down the field in a solid two-minute drill before Chris Thompson found the end zone.
Jamison Crowder Tipped the Ball to Himself for a Redskins TD
Washington finally got on the board in the waning minutes of the second quarter as Jamison Crowder tipped the ball to himself in the end zone after it had been deflected by the Baltimore secondary.
Give Kirk Cousins credit for the pass from 22 yards out. The played capped off a 64-yard, eight-play drive by Washington. The Redskins Twitter account was incredibly excited about the play. Like, really excited:
That touchdown though…
A Fight Broke Out Late in the First Quarter
Steve Smith certainly made his presence known on Saturday night. After hauling in the game’s first touchdown pass in the opening minutes of the first quarter, the veteran wide receiver notched a first down catch and spun the ball on the field. The Redskins did not take kindly to that. That tackle in the vine above is what sparked the late-quarter fight.
Smith appeared to head butt, both coaches ran out onto the field and started yelling at each other, although neither side threw any actual punches.
Washington corner Chris Culliver and Smith were both ejected from the game. Naturally Smith did this:
Steve Smith is ejected along with Culiver. Smith bows to crowd as he heads into locker room.
Steve Smith Got the Ravens on the Board on Their Opening Drive
Sure, this might be Steve Smith’s final season in the NFL but that doesn’t mean he’s not ready to play still. The veteran wide receiver hauled in a 63-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Flacco on the Ravens opening drive to put the squad up 7-0 early in the preseason matchup.
Flacco was 2-for-2 for 70 yards on the opening drive, which lasted less than two minutes total. That’s quite a bit different from his three passes and two interceptions last week.
While the Ravens looked sure-footed in the opening minutes play, the Washington secondary looked anything but:
Joe Flacco connects with WR Steve Smith on a 63-yard TD, and the Ravens take a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.
Kirk Cousins Will Get the Start for Washington
Your #WASvsBAL starting QB. #HTTR http://t.co/RKCTYSqtDh
Robert Griffin III took a beating last week. He got hit and then hit and then hit again. Then he walked off the field with a concussion. Despite the in-game diagnosis, RGIII practiced regularly for much of the past week and was even reportedly cleared to play on Saturday night.
Except he wasn’t.
An outside medical opinion was brought in and, on Friday evening, the Washington Redskins announced that Griffin would not play at all against the Ravens. Instead, Kirk Cousins would get the start under center.
Game Preview
First-round pick Breshad Perriman has yet to play a snap for the Baltimore Ravens this preseason. (Getty)
There’s trouble brewing in Baltimore. With a capital ‘T’ and that rhymes with ‘P’ and that stands for…Perriman. The Ravens need to start worrying about Breshad Perriman.
The first-round draft pick has yet to play a preseason snap or any preseason football at all after being diagnosed with a sprained PCL. He’s missed every Baltimore practice during training camp and his outlook for week one is even hazy. So what do the Ravens do with their Perriman problem? Find a replacement. Quick. Perriman offered Baltimore some serious down-the-field speed and the offense needs that. Joe Flacco needs that. That leaves the rests of the Ravens wideouts, which include Kamar Aiken and a planning-to-retire Steve Smith, in the spotlight.
While the Ravens deal with their set of injury-related problems, Baltimore would be smart to remember that things could be worse. Sure, Robert Griffin III practiced all week after leaving the week two matchup against the Detroit Lions with a concussion. But an offensive line that can’t protect its quarterback in the preseason isn’t much to feel confident about. That’s not even the worst.
On Wednesday afternoon, linebacker Junior Galette saw his season end before it even began after rupturing his Achilles during practice. Galette leaves a gaping hole in the Redskins pass rush and it wasn’t that dominant to begin with.
At the midway point of the preseason both of these teams are searching for some on-field answers, trying to find a rhythm before September 13. They’ll get back to business on Saturday night with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. ET.