ST. LOUIS â€" Rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III ran for two touchdowns and threw for another Sunday in his second NFL game. But it wasn’t quite as spectacular as his debut and the rest of the Washington Redskins failed to give him sufficient help as they broke down on defense and special teams and lost to the St. Louis Rams, 31-28.
The Redskins dropped to 1-1 as Rams quarterback Sam Bradford threw three touchdown passes. The Rams (1-1) overcame an early 15-point deficit.
Griffin completed 20 of 29 passes for 206 yards, with one interception at the Edward Jones Dome. He also ran for 82 yards, and rookie tailback Alfred Morris added 89 rushing yards for the Redskins. But they couldn’t quite hold things together for what would have been a second straight road triumph to open the season.
Place kicker Billy Cundiff missed a 62-yard field goal with just over a minute left that would have tied the game. But the real chance for the Redskins came just before that, when wide receiver Josh Morgan made a catch but was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for throwing the ball in the direction of a Rams defender after the play.
The Redskins were playing without wide receiver Pierre Garcon, who was on the inactive list because of a foot injury suffered a week earlier during a season-opening triumph at New Orleans. The team’s injury list grew when two defensive starters, linebacker Brian Orakpo and defensive end Adam Carriker, were hurt in the first half. Orakpo returned to the game but left again. Cornerback Josh Wilson left the field early in the fourth quarter.
Still, plenty went right for the Redskins early on. They scored a defensive touchdown on the first snap of the afternoon, on a fumble recovery and return by Wilson. Griffin ran for a touchdown and threw a long touchdown pass to wide receiver Leonard Hankerson to build a 21-6 cushion in the second quarter. The Rams and the crowd were occupied with venting their anger at the work of the replacement officials.
But the Rams climbed back to within 21-16 at halftime. Bradford threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Danny Amendola, who tied an NFL record with 12 first-half catches, and the Rams got a field goal just before the intermission after Griffin threw an interception.
Bradford threw touchdown passes to wide receiver Brandon Gibson in the third quarter and to tight end Matthew Mulligan in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. The Bradford-to-Mulligan touchdown came after the Rams blocked a Redskins’ punt.
Bradford finished with 310 passing yards on 26-for-35 throwing accuracy. Amendola had 15 catches for 160 yards.
By the time Griffin took the field, the Redskins had a 7-3 lead. They moved in front on the game’s first play from scrimmage when Bradford threw a screen pass to Amendola, who made the catch and headed up the field for a 13-yard gain. But he was caught by Redskins linebacker Perry Riley, who knocked the ball loose. Wilson made the recovery and sprinted 30 yards for a touchdown.
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