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News | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com

'Turbo Boost' For Moss Leads to End Zone

Santana Moss couldn't resist taking a peek.

He leaped up to catch Mark Brunell's pass at the Jaguars' 45-yard line and wheeled past cornerback Brian Williams, turning inside. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jacksonville safety Deon Grant a few yards away.

"No receiver likes a knockout hit, and when I got around the first guy, I peeked at the safety," Moss said, recounting his dramatic 68-yard catch-and-run that provided the game-winning points of Sunday's 36-30 overtime win over the Jaguars.

Continued Moss: "So the next thing that went through my mind was to attack. I attacked and I saw [the safety] try to attack me and he missed. Next, all I can tell was a blur. I just saw myself running."

Moss raced into open field, and given his blazing speed, no one was going to catch him.

As Moss leaped into the stands to celebrate with fans, his teammates took off en masse from the sidelines toward him. Moss was mobbed in the end zone by teammates and players alike.

"Any time Santana has a chance to get into a turbo boost, he's out of there," running back Clinton Portis said. "I've seen him do it numerous times. Any time he touches the ball, it's on. That's why I'm so happy he's my teammate."

Describing the game-winning play after the game, quarterback Mark Brunell said: "It was an all-go with four vertical [routes], and I was just going to Santana hoping that he would make a play in the hole on the Cover 2 side.

"I threw the ball a little high, but he jumped up, made the play and cut inside. It was a great way to finish the game."

Even after the score, there were some tense moments as officials rushed to review the play.

A referee wasn't sure if Moss had stepped out of bounds before catching the pass, therefore making the play illegal, but replays showed that Moss stayed in bounds.

"He wasn't looking at the replay very long and usually when that happens they are pretty sure the play is going to stand," Brunell said. "We all had a feeling that Santana stayed in bounds and that it was a touchdown."

Brunell finished the game completing18-of-30 passes for 329 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He spread passes around eight different receivers and his QB rating was 117.2.

Brunell and Moss had a solid connection all game long.

Moss caught 55-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and added an 8-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. The 55-yarder was reminiscent of his game-winning touchdown in overtime, in that Moss sped past tacklers into open field, scoring easily.

"I told Mark early in the game, 'Just throw the ball up,'" Moss said. "I'm not saying that I'm going to come down with all of them, but just give me a chance. And that's what Mark did."

For the second game in a row, the Redskins logged nearly 500 yards of total offense.

Moss accounted for nearly one-third, finishing with four catches for 138 yards, to go along with the three touchdowns.

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