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Redskins Jason Campbell evades Calais Campbell on Carlos Rogers catches the ricochet off Arizona's Steve Breaston (15) and teammate Leigh Torrence that set up the Redskins go-ahead score. |
BY ADAM HIMMELSBACH
LANDOVER, Md.--
There have been moments when Carlos Rogers appeared so awkward trying to grab an interception that it looked like he was wearing oven mitts.There have been moments when his teammates playfully mocked him for his not-so-soft hands.
There have been moments that Rogers would like to forget.
"Once you get a reputation," Redskins coach Jim Zorn said with a smile, "our players can be ruthless."
But yesterday afternoon, Rogers provided a more indelible moment.
The Redskins' game against the Arizona Cardinals was tied early in the fourth quarter, and Arizona and its quick-strike offense had the ball.
Quarterback Kurt Warner dropped back from his team's 21-yard line and heaved a pass downfield that seemed to stay in the air forever. Rogers and Leigh Torrence swooped toward the intended receiver, Steve Breaston.
Torrence batted the ball. Rogers caught it.
Then he sprinted 42 yards in the opposite direction, setting up Santana Moss' 17-yard touchdown catch that gave the Redskins a 24-17 victory.
When Rogers tore his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in a game last October, doctors told him he would likely be out until this October.
"I'm so proud of him the way he's been handling himself, the way he's worked hard to come back," cornerback Shawn Springs said. "Carlos is gonna be an elite corner in this league."
For the second-consecutive week, the Redskins' offense was poised and efficient. Quarterback Jason Campbell completed 22 of 30 passes for 193 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Moss had seven catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, and Clinton Portis added 21 carries for 68 yards and a score.
And, perhaps most importantly, the offense did not commit a turnover.
Warner, who entered yesterday's game with 548 passing yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, was held to 192 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
"It was a disappointing day," Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "We made a lot of mistakes."
The Redskins sacked Warner twice and tipped at least three of his passes at the line of scrimmage. And aside from Larry Fitzgerald's 62-yard touchdown catch, Washington's secondary was strong against the Cardinals' dynamic receiving corps.
"The biggest thing now is to take this on to the next week," Rogers said. "We can't be satisfied with this."
Next week, of course, brings a road game against the Dallas Cowboys. In the final moments of yesterday's victory, the crowd of 90,060 at FedEx Field offered sparse chants of "We want Dallas!"
And that game will be followed by a road game against the Philadelphia Eagles, and that made yesterday's win--Washington's second in a row--even more important.
The Cardinals, though unlikely to be mistaken for a Super Bowl contender, did enter yesterday with a 2-0 record.
But the Redskins seized control immediately, as they took the opening kickoff and marched 60 yards on 11 plays. On second-and-goal from the 3, Portis scored a touchdown when he burst through an opening that was about as wide as a driveway.
On the first play of the second quarter, Cardinals running back Edgerrin James was hit by free safety Reed Doughty, causing a fumble. Rogers pounced on the ball at the Arizona 34, and the Redskins ultimately got a 48-yard Shaun Suisham field goal.
The Cardinals tied the game at 10 with a 4-yard touchdown catch by Anquan Boldin and a 26-yard field goal by Neil Rackers.
With 3:16 left in the third quarter, Campbell made a nice fake to Portis, rolled to his right and hit tight end Todd Yoder for a 2-yard touchdown.
Arizona needed just three plays to tie the game, however, as Warner found Fitzgerald down the middle for a 62-yard score.
But Rogers' interception would keep Arizona from getting any closer.
"I was backpedaling real fast, and had to put my brakes on," Rogers said. "I didn't think I was going to get there, but it came into my hands."
After Moss' touchdown, the Redskins had a chance to seal the game with less than three minutes left, but a 52-yard field goal attempt by Suisham sailed wide left.
The Cardinals faced a fourth-and-4 at their 48 with 2:33 remaining, and they chose to punt. The Redskins got consecutive first downs and were able to run out the clock.
"Now we have to prepare for one of the better teams in the NFL," Zorn said.
Adam Himmelsbach: 540/374-5442
Email: ahimmelsbach@freelancestar.com
