A fast start by the Washington Redskins, a third quarter rally by the St. Louis Rams set up a long drive in the fourth quarter by Washington to seal the deal and the win, 24-10.
Rooking running back Matt Jones ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns, the last one coming late in the fourth quarter to give the Redskins a 14 point lead. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was 23 or 27 for 203 yards and a touchdown. Running back Alfred Morris also ran for 61 yards.
After exchanging defensive stops in the first quarter, Jones broke free for 39 yards and a touchdown to give the Redskins an early 7-0 lead. Jones was set up after Morris ran 35 yards on the previous rush to give the team a shot at the end zone.
The Rams couldn’t generate anything on offense, and the Redskins were able to drive down before stalling after a penalty. New kicker Dustin Hopkins drilled a 46 yard field goal to make it 10-0 as the first quarter ended.
The Rams managed 29 yards passing and 7 yards rushing in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Redskins defense remained stout and the offense unleashed the running combo of Morris and Jones. An up tempo attack took the Redskins into scoring range late in the quarter, capped off by a 4 yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Pierre Garcon. The drive lasted 7:44 and 82 yards to extend the lead to 17 points, 17-0.
The Rams were 1-7 on 3rd down conversions in the first half and only managed 72 yards. The last time the Redskins shut out an opponent in the first half was four years ago.
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Cousins had 115 yards and a touchdown, while Jones rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown and Morris ran for 52 in the first half.
The Rams were able to take their first possession of the second half and get three points from a Greg Zuerlein 52 yard field goal. A defensive stop and a bit of trickery later and Rams quarterback Nick Foles connected with wide receiver Kenny Britt to trim the lead to seven points.
In contrast, the Redskins offense fumbled away the football on their opening possession of the half and then went 3-and-out on their next series. They closed the third quarter with a series of rushes and pass catches by Jones. The quarter ended with the Redskins leading, 17-10.
The fourth quarter saw an exchange of punts between the two teams. The Redskins were able to chew up a long drive in the middle of the quarter, using up more than seven minutes and sealing the deal with another touchdown run by Jones.
