Redskins-Bengals: Recap

Quarters

1 - For the second week in a row, the first play of the game produced a touchdown — only this one wasn’t in the Redskins’ favor. Cincinnati came out in a wildcat formation on the first play from scrimmage, and rookie receiver Mohamed Sanu took the direct snap and lofted a 73-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green. That set the tone for an explosive quarter, as the Redskins anwered with Rob Jackson’s interception of Andy Dalton while falling into the end zone, then saw the lead evaporate again when Josh Wilson lost Armon Binns on a 48-yard TD pass for the Bengals.

2 - The Bengals remained the aggressors, pulling out everything from a fake field goal (didn’t work) to a Green end-around (did work) that set up a wildcat-formation touchdown by BenJarvus Green-Ellis. The latter score, which put Cincinnati up 24-7, was set up by a Carlos Dunlap sack of Robert Griffin III that resulted in a fumble, one of the many shots he took in a long first half.

Play of the game: The Redskins had momentum as the fourth quarter began, but Mike Shanahan risked (and lost) his final timeout on an ill-advised challenge of a punt touchback that would’ve gained him only 19 yards if successful.

3 - The home team looked much steadier coming out of the locker room, putting the ball back on the ground (in a good way) with RG3, Alfred Morris and, of all people, Brandon Banks to get right back in the game. A nifty spin move from Morris highlighted a first-drive TD, and RG3 tied it up with a short pass to Santana Moss after a drive contested mostly on the ground.

4 - It didn’t take the Bengals long to regain the momentum, as they needed only nine plays on their first two possessions of the quarter for Dalton to put the ball in the end zone twice. The Redskins responded with a 13-play drive consisting entirely of Griffin passes or runs, but they botched the ensuing onside kick and got the ball back on their own 2 with 1:47 to go and no timeouts — too long, too late.