The signature of the great quarterback is the last-minute comeback win and Robert Griffin III notched his first such NFL victory on Sunday against the Bucs.
Most have heard about the headset communications going out during the drive and Griffin having to call plays. Actually, he called one play on his own, the second one of the seven-play, 56-yard drive. During his Wednesday press conference he took us through the start of the drive.
He called the second play based on what happened on the first one. “You’ve got to realize that once you move the ball to a certain point on the field what defenses are going to try to do,” he said. “They came out and they played a soft coverage the first play and we gashed them for 15 yards with Tana [WR Santana Moss].”
Griffin figured that the Bucs would react to that. “And then after that, most of the time when you get gashed in a two-minute situation teams are going to blitz you,” he said. “They blitzed so I called a quick passing play that gave me a couple of options to the field and I hit Fred, who was wide open because they forgot about him.”
That play covered 25 yards. After Griffin ran for 15, they were in position for Cundiff’s game winner.
Beyond the simple fact that the team got a much-needed win, Griffin said that getting his first two-minute comeback win is something he’ll always remember.
“It’s the first comeback victory in the NFL. That’s huge for any quarterback,” he said. “You celebrate it for a day and then you don’t forget about it, you just move on to the next game. But it’s definitely a big moment for me.”
He didn’t mind being put in a comeback situation. “Rex [Grossman] was talking to me on the sideline saying I should want the kicker to make the field goal so that I can go lead the team to victory and that’s what we did,” said Griffin.
The Redskins and their fans hope that it was the first of many such wins for Griffin.
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