Redskins vs Bears

The Washington Redskins won a shootout with the Chicago Bears on Sunday by a score of 45-41. Below are a few observations from the game.

– Robert Griffin III is 100 percent back, both physically and mentally, it was evident to even the most untrained eye on Sunday afternoon as Griffin was 18/29 with 298 yards, two touchdowns (one INT), with 11 rushes for 84 yards. Robert was able to move around in the pocket all day and make plays with his arms and legs despite several dropped passes.

– The Redskins special teams spent most of their day kicking away from Bears return man Devin Hester, but still gave up a huge play on a punt return as Hester got his first return touchdown in nearly two years (he tied Deion Sanders for the all-time return touchdown record) on a punt by Sav Rocca. The unit also got extremely lucky on a trick onside kick in the second half that was first recovered by the Bears but a flag was thrown for off-sides on the kicking team and the Bears had to re-kick.  Horrible stat: the special teams has now given up a touchdown in three consecutive weeks.

– Linebacker Brian Orakpo recorded his FIRST interception of his career, that’s including high school and college, Rak returned it for a touchdown, also his first of his a career.

– Alfred Morris had a season-high 18 carries and finished with 95 yards rushing. The offense was able to move the ball efficiently on the ground and Morris feed off of Griffin’s ability to run the ball as well (they both feed off each other).

– Roy Helu is proving to be the perfect change of pace back for Washington. Whenever Morris needs a breather Helu is giving the Redskins another option who is faster. Helu finished the game with three rushing touchdowns. The three touchdowns were not only a career high for Helu but also tied the Redskins record for touchdowns in a game.

– Jordan Reed is the real deal. This kid is going to be really good, he’s already showing signs of that now. Reed had nine catches on the day for 139 yards and a touchdown. He was clearly Griffin’s number one target and is showing he has extreme ball skills and ability at the tight end position. Interestingly enough, Fred Davis was inactive for this game, could a trade be in the future involving Davis now that Reed is stepping up? Stay tuned on that one as it’s starting to look like Fred may not be in Washington’s plans for the future.

– Chris Baker recorded his first NFL sack on the play where Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was injured on.

– After a few games where the Redskins stopped the rush on defense Matt Forte gained 91 yards on 16 carries and got three touchdowns. Giving up the 91 yards was not that bad, but the three touchdowns kept the Bears in the game.

– The Redskins improved in the red-zone getting touchdowns on 4 of 5 drives on the day. That was a significant issue a week ago in Dallas when they could only get field goals once getting inside the opponents twenty.

– Washington held the ball for 33:56, the Bears held it for 26:04. There were nine lead changes and this game was the second highest scoring game of the NFL season behind only the Dallas vs Denver game two weeks ago.