LANDOVER, Md. – The Seattle Seahawks are moving on – 24-14 winners at Washington on Sunday – and Redskins star Robert Griffin III is moving very gingerly.
The rookie quarterback suffered a right knee injury while chasing a low shotgun snap, marking a stomach-churning end to a record-breaking season.
The Seahawks advance to a divisional playoff game at Atlanta, the NFC’s top seed. In picking up their sixth consecutive victory, they snapped Washington’s seven-game winning streak.
After falling behind, 14-0, in the first quarter, the Seahawks fought their way back with a smothering defense and the unflappable play of rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, who repeatedly burned Washington with his arm and legs.
Griffin, however, was a shadow of the player who captivated the NFL for most of the season. He wore a brace on his right knee, the result of a sprain that sidelined him for 1 1/2 games in December.
He appeared to have re-injured the knee earlier in the Seattle game, and the effects of that showed on a keeper in the fourth quarter when he half-ran, half-skipped to the sideline on a keeper.
But with 6 minutes, 19 seconds remaining, and Washington backed up near its goal line, the crowd fell silent. Griffin lurched to his left to pick up a low snap then fell to the ground as the Seahawks recovered the fumble. TV replays showed the quarterback’s knee bending in a gruesome, unnatural way.
As teammates pulled off their helmets and dropped to a knee, and the team’s medical staff surrounded him, Griffin lay on the turf for several minutes before slowly climbing to his feet and limping off the field on his own power. He made a beeline for the locker room as the crowd chanted “R-G-3!”
The Seahawks kicked a field goal to extend their lead to 10 points, and their defense clamped down on rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was unable to provide the spark showed earlier in the season.
Wilson completed 15 of 26 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown, adding 67 yards on eight carries.
Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch rushed for a game-high 132 yards in 20 carries, including a 27-yard touchdown run that – coupled with Wilson’s successful conversion pass – gave Seattle its first lead, the only one it would require.
Of the four teams that won games on wildcard weekend, Seattle was the only visiting team to walk away victorious.
For the first time in the Super Bowl era, three rookie quarterbacks – Wilson, Griffin, and Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck – all started a game in the same postseason. Previously, only 11 rookie quarterbacks have started a playoff game in the Super Bowl era.
Washington, playing host to a postseason game for the first time since 1999, was the fifth team in NFL history to overcome a 3-6 start to make the playoffs. Before the Redskins, the last team to do so was Jacksonville in 1996.
The Redskins had not won the NFC East since 1999, and Sunday’s was the club’s first playoff game since a road loss to Seattle on Jan. 5, 2008.
But both the Redskins and Seahawks had grown unfamiliar with losing. In fact, they are the first wildcard opponents in league history to both enter the game on at least a five-game winning streak.
Before the game-ending injury to Griffin, the Redskins lost receiver Pierre Garcon to a hurt shoulder. The Seahawks, too, lost a key player in defensive end Chris Clemons (knee).
The Redskins scored on their opening drive, marching 80 yards in nine plays and punctuating the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Griffin to running back Evan Royster.
Alfred Morris had four carries for 38 yards on the drive, and Griffin connected with Garcon for a 30-yard gain.
After a three-and-out by Seattle, the Redskins came back with another touchdown drive, this one capped with a 4-yard pass to tight end Logan Paulsen.
It was the first time since Jan. 8, 2000, that Washington opened a postseason game with consecutive touchdown drives.
Trailing, 14-0, the Seahawks responded early in the second quarter with a 32-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka, culminating a 12-play, 66-yard drive.
Seattle scored its first touchdown – a 4-yard touchdown pass to Michael Robinson – with 4:38 remaining in the second quarter. That drive was kept alive by a heads-up play by Lynch.
After Wilson and Lynch botched the exchange on a handoff, the ball came loose. Before the Redskins could recover the fumble, Lynch reached down and grabbed it with one hand, never breaking stride on his way to a 20-yard gain. Two plays later, Wilson hit Robinson on a 19-yard pass, then tore off an 11-yard run of his own, keeping the ball on a read-option fake.
Just before the half, the Seahawks made their way back down the field and collected a 29-yard field goal as the clock expired, trimming the deficit to 14-13.
The rookie quarterback suffered a right knee injury while chasing a low shotgun snap, marking a stomach-churning end to a record-breaking season.
The Seahawks advance to a divisional playoff game at Atlanta, the NFC’s top seed. In picking up their sixth consecutive victory, they snapped Washington’s seven-game winning streak.
After falling behind, 14-0, in the first quarter, the Seahawks fought their way back with a smothering defense and the unflappable play of rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, who repeatedly burned Washington with his arm and legs.
Griffin, however, was a shadow of the player who captivated the NFL for most of the season. He wore a brace on his right knee, the result of a sprain that sidelined him for 1 1/2 games in December.
He appeared to have re-injured the knee earlier in the Seattle game, and the effects of that showed on a keeper in the fourth quarter when he half-ran, half-skipped to the sideline on a keeper.
But with 6 minutes, 19 seconds remaining, and Washington backed up near its goal line, the crowd fell silent. Griffin lurched to his left to pick up a low snap then fell to the ground as the Seahawks recovered the fumble. TV replays showed the quarterback’s knee bending in a gruesome, unnatural way.
As teammates pulled off their helmets and dropped to a knee, and the team’s medical staff surrounded him, Griffin lay on the turf for several minutes before slowly climbing to his feet and limping off the field on his own power. He made a beeline for the locker room as the crowd chanted “R-G-3!”
The Seahawks kicked a field goal to extend their lead to 10 points, and their defense clamped down on rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was unable to provide the spark showed earlier in the season.
Wilson completed 15 of 26 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown, adding 67 yards on eight carries.
Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch rushed for a game-high 132 yards in 20 carries, including a 27-yard touchdown run that – coupled with Wilson’s successful conversion pass – gave Seattle its first lead, the only one it would require.
Of the four teams that won games on wildcard weekend, Seattle was the only visiting team to walk away victorious.
For the first time in the Super Bowl era, three rookie quarterbacks – Wilson, Griffin, and Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck – all started a game in the same postseason. Previously, only 11 rookie quarterbacks have started a playoff game in the Super Bowl era.
Washington, playing host to a postseason game for the first time since 1999, was the fifth team in NFL history to overcome a 3-6 start to make the playoffs. Before the Redskins, the last team to do so was Jacksonville in 1996.
The Redskins had not won the NFC East since 1999, and Sunday’s was the club’s first playoff game since a road loss to Seattle on Jan. 5, 2008.
But both the Redskins and Seahawks had grown unfamiliar with losing. In fact, they are the first wildcard opponents in league history to both enter the game on at least a five-game winning streak.
Before the game-ending injury to Griffin, the Redskins lost receiver Pierre Garcon to a hurt shoulder. The Seahawks, too, lost a key player in defensive end Chris Clemons (knee).
The Redskins scored on their opening drive, marching 80 yards in nine plays and punctuating the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Griffin to running back Evan Royster.
Alfred Morris had four carries for 38 yards on the drive, and Griffin connected with Garcon for a 30-yard gain.
After a three-and-out by Seattle, the Redskins came back with another touchdown drive, this one capped with a 4-yard pass to tight end Logan Paulsen.
It was the first time since Jan. 8, 2000, that Washington opened a postseason game with consecutive touchdown drives.
Trailing, 14-0, the Seahawks responded early in the second quarter with a 32-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka, culminating a 12-play, 66-yard drive.
Seattle scored its first touchdown – a 4-yard touchdown pass to Michael Robinson – with 4:38 remaining in the second quarter. That drive was kept alive by a heads-up play by Lynch.
After Wilson and Lynch botched the exchange on a handoff, the ball came loose. Before the Redskins could recover the fumble, Lynch reached down and grabbed it with one hand, never breaking stride on his way to a 20-yard gain. Two plays later, Wilson hit Robinson on a 19-yard pass, then tore off an 11-yard run of his own, keeping the ball on a read-option fake.
Just before the half, the Seahawks made their way back down the field and collected a 29-yard field goal as the clock expired, trimming the deficit to 14-13.