For the Redskins and Jaguars on Sunday, it was a back-and-forth shootout at FedExField--the kind of game that Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich said he played all too often while growing up in Washington, D.C. during the mid-1980s.
In the end, it was Mark Brunell who outlasted Leftwich, as well as his former team. And it was Santana Moss who provided three touchdown catches to lead the Redskins to a 36-30 overtime win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In overtime, Moss caught a 20-yard pass from Brunell and split two defenders, turning upfield and racing 69 yards for a game-winning touchdown.
Moss leaped into the stands to celebrate with fans as his teammates ran to the end zone to mob him.
Not even a replay challenge--which proved fruitless--could ruin the celebration. With the dramatic win, the Redskins had evened their record at 2-2.
It was Moss's third touchdown of the game. He finished the game with four catches for 138 yards.
"Santana is amazing after the catch," Brunell said. "There are a lot of good receivers out there, but he's certainly the best I've ever played with in running with the ball after the catch."
The Redskins' offense tallied 481 total yards of offense--the second week in a row that the offense logged nearly 500 yards of offense.
Brunell was 18-of-30 for 329 yards, to go along with the three touchdown passes. Clinton Portis, going against a tough Jaguars' run defense, led the ground game. He rushed for 112 yards on 27 carries and one touchdown.
"I'm really proud of our [offense] for sticking together through some tough times early in the season," head coach Joe Gibbs said. "We know it's only four weeks in, but I certainly know that it shows what we're capable of doing."
Defensively, the Redskins' front seven turned in a solid effort, limiting the Jaguars to just 33 yards on the ground and running back Fred Taylor to 16 yards on seven carries. The defense pressured Leftwich into four sacks on the game.
The tone of the game was set in the first quarter.
The Redskins gave the Jaguars an early scoring opportunity when Brunell threw an interception on the team's second offensive play. Cornerback Rashean Mathis stepped in front of Brunell's pass to Moss and returned the ball to the Redskins' 27-yard line.
Sparked by a sack by Andre Carter, the Redskins' defense clamped down and limited the Jaguars to a 46-yard field goal by Josh Scobee.
As they would throughout the game, the Redskins responded quickly. Portis began to establish himself on the ground, picking up 17 yards on three carries and setting up a 3rd-and-five at the Redskins' 45-yard line.
Brunell threw a short pass to Moss, who burst past a tackle by cornerback Terry Cousin and sped across the middle into open field. Moss followed a block, then slipped past a tackle by Deon Grant and into the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown.
Late in the first quarter, the Jaguars got into scoring range courtesy of a 40-yard kickoff return by Maurice Jones-Drew.
Leftwich connected with wide receiver Reggie Williams, who broke tackles by Lemar Marshall, Carlos Rogers and Mike Rumph and dove into the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown grab.
Early in the second quarter, the Redskins tied the game at 10-10 on John Hall's 44-yard field goal.
The Jaguars responded with a four-play, 69-yard scoring drive. Leftwich connected with speedster Jones-Drew, who outraced the Redskins' defenders for a 51-yard touchdown.
The Redskins got a break late in the first half when Jaguars' punt returner Alvin Pearman fumbled. Khary Campbell forced the fumble, then pounced on the ball. It appeared that Pearman's knee was down when the ball was jarred loose, but replay officials were not certain and the play stood as a fumble.
Brunell quickly completed a 19-yard pass to Antwaan Randle El, then found Randle El again for a 4-yard completion. Brunell's screen pass to Betts looked promising, but safety Donovin Darius shed a blocker and tripped up Betts with 11 seconds left in the half.
Hall converted a 37-yard field goal to close out the first-half scoring.
Midway through the third quarter, the Redskins appeared to have worn down the Jaguars' defense, putting together an impressive five-play, 86-yard drive. On the first play, Brunell threw a screen pass to Cooley, who broke tackles up-field and ran for 34 yards to the Redskins' 48-yard line.
Later, on a 3rd-and-6 play, Brunell found Lloyd down the left sideline for a 33-yard completion to the Jaguars' 5-yard line. Then, on 3rd-and-goal at the 1-yard line, Portis dove in for a touchdown, behind strong blocks by Casey Rabach and Randy Thomas, to give the Redskins a 20-17 lead.
On the Jaguars' next offensive series, Leftwich threw a costly interception to give the Redskins another scoring opportunity. His pass to Williams was batted away by Carter, who had drifted back into coverage.
Daniels grabbed the pass for his first career interception. The turnover game the Redskins' offense the ball at the Jaguars' 29-yard line.
After four runs by Portis to get the ball to the Jaguars' 8-yard line, Brunell threw a short pass to Moss, who slipped past linebacker Mike Peterson and another would-be tackler and dove into the end zone for another touchdown. The score gave the Redskins a 27-17 lead.
Perhaps sensing the game getting away from them, the Jaguars struck back quickly in the fourth quarter.
Leftwich drove the Jaguars' offense 82 yards on just four plays for a quick touchdown. The acrobatic Williams made a diving, 35-yard grab to get the ball to midfield. Two players later, Williams absorbed punishing hits from Sean Taylor and Kenny Wright on a remarkable 21-yard touchdown catch.
The Redskins turned the ball over on their next possession when safety Brian Williams poked the ball loose from Lloyd's hands. The fumble was recovered by Grant, giving Jacksonville the ball deep in Redskins' territory.
The Redskins' defense allowed one first down on a 13-yard pass from Leftwich to tight end George Wrighster, then forced the Jaguars to settle for a game-tying 43-yard field goal by Scobee. The score was 27-27.
Rock Cartwright's 46-yard kickoff return put the ball at the Redskins' 49-yard line. Portis and Ladell Betts took turns running the ball, gaining chunks of yardage. But Betts was stopped on a 3rd-and-1 play, and the Redskins opted to go for a 37-yard field goal.
Hall's kick was right down the middle, giving the Redskins the lead with less than two minutes to play.
Leftwich led a furious rally, though, completing three passes to Wrighster and two passes to wide receiver Ernest Wilford to get the ball to the Redskins' 23-yard line. Scobee nailed a 41-yard field goal with 11 seconds left to tie the game at 30-30.
The Redskins won the overtime coin toss--and Moss did the rest.
#### -- PRE-GAME COVERAGE
After two road games in the state of Texas, the Redskins return to FedExField this Sunday, Oct. 1, for a matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kickoff is 4:15 p.m. ET.
Sunday's game marks only the second time that Jacksonville has played in Washington, D.C. The two teams have played just three times since Jacksonville entered the league in 1995.
Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell played for the Jaguars from 1995-2003 and still holds 53 club records.
The Redskins-Jaguars game will be broadcast on CBS. Locally, WUSA TV-9 will televise the game. Dick Enberg will call the play-by-play, with color analysis from Randy Cross.
On radio, the game will be broadcast on **Triple X ESPN Radio** (94.3, 92.7 FM and 730 AM). Larry Michael handles the play-by-play with color commentary from Redskins legends and NFL Hall of Famers quarterback Sonny Jurgensen and linebacker Sam Huff. Bram Weinstein will serve as sideline reporter.
Washington is coming off a [31-15 win over the
](/news/article-1/houston-no-problem-redskins-win-31-15/D672A009-186C-458B-A1B3-52FF2D4C7D1B) on Sunday, Sept. 24. It was the Redskins' first victory of the 2006 season.
For the second week in a row, the Redskins are playing a team that lost to the Indianapolis Colts the previous week. The Jaguars lost to the Colts 21-14 at the RCA Dome, as quarterback Byron Leftwich, a Washington, D.C. native, was intercepted twice.
Jacksonville features a strong ground game with rookie Maurice Jones-Drew and 9-year veteran Fred Taylor, who combined for 177 rushing yards against the Colts. The Jaguars also have a strong defensive front that is ranked third in run defense.
#### -- PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
| OFFENSE | ||
| Pos. | Redskins | Jaguars |
| WR | 89 Santana Moss | 18 Matt Jones |
| LT | 60 Chris Samuels | 69 Khalif Barnes |
| LG | 66 Derrick Dockery | 67 Vince Manuwai |
| C | 61 Casey Rabach | 63 Brad Meester |
| RG | 77 Randy Thomas | 66 Chris Naeole |
| RT | 76 Jon Jansen | 74 Maurice Williams |
| TE | 47 Chris Cooley | 80 Kyle Brady |
| WR | 85 Brandon Lloyd | 11 Reggie Williams |
| QB | 8 Mark Brunell | 7 Byron Leftwich |
| FB/RB | 45 Mike Sellers | 32 Maurice Jones-Drew |
| RB | 26 Clinton Portis | 28 Fred Taylor |
| DEFENSE | ||
| Pos. | Redskins | Jaguars |
| DE | 99 Andre Carter | 92 Rob Meier |
| DT | 96 Cornelius Griffin | 98 John Henderson |
| DT | 95 Joe Salave'a | 99 Marcus Stroud |
| DE | 93 Phillip Daniels | 95 Paul Spicer |
| SLB | 53 M. Washington | 55 Nick Greisen |
| MLB | 98 Lemar Marshall | 54 Mike Peterson |
| WLB | 57 W. Holdman | 52 Daryl Smith |
| LCB | 22 Carlos Rogers | 27 Rashean Mathis |
| RCB | 25 Kenny Wright | 29 Brian Williams |
| SS | 40 Adam Archuleta | 20 Donovin Darius |
| FS | 21 Sean Taylor | 37 Deon Grant |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||
| Pos. | Redskins | Jaguars |
| P | 4 Derrick Frost | 2 Chris Hanson |
| K | 10 John Hall | 10 Josh Scobee |
| H | 4 Derrick Frost | 2 Chris Hanson |
| LS | 71 Ethan Albright | 88 Joe Zelenka |
| KOR | 46 Ladell Betts | 36 Derrick Wimbush |
| PR | 83 James Thrash | 84 Chad Owens |
| REDSKINS 2006 STATISTICAL RANKINGS | ||
#### -- NEWS & NOTES
- Redskins right tackle Jon Jansen will start his 100th career game this Sunday against Jacksonville. Jansen, the longest-tenured Redskins veteran, has been a mainstay on the team's offensive line since the club selected him in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft from the University of Michigan.
- With the Redskins' victory over the Houston Texans last Sunday, there are only three NFL teams remaining that a Gibbs-coached team has yet to post a victory against. Two of those teams, Jacksonville and Carolina, have yet to play a Gibbs-coached team, but will do so this season.
The only other team the Redskins have not beaten under Gibbs is the Baltimore Ravens. The Gibbs-coached Redskins lost a 17-10 decision to the Ravens in October 2004.
- Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich grew up in Washington, D.C., and played high school football at H.D. Woodson. He grew up rooting for the Redskins and the game will mark the first occasion in which he plays in his hometown.
-- FAMILIAR FACES ON THE JAGUARS
- Long snapper Joe Zelenka played for the Redskins in 2000.
- Offensive line coach Andy Heck played for the Redskins in 1999-2000 and was a graduate of Woodson High School in Fairfax, Va.
- Assistant head coach-offense Mike Tice played for the Redskins in 1989. Tice also played his college ball at Maryland.
- Special teams coach Pete Rodriguez coached in the same capacity for the Redskins from 1994-97.
