Jamison Crowder finishes productive rookie season in Redskins’ win at Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jamison Crowder normally doesn’t pay attention to his stats during a game, but this time they were hard to miss.

Shortly after he caught a 24-yard screen pass from quarterback Colt McCoy in the third quarter of the Washington Redskins’ 34-23 win against the Dallas Cowboys, the numbers flashed on the gargantuan video board at AT&T Stadium.

Crowder had four catches for 99 yards — so close to breaking the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career.

When the Redskins got the ball back with 4:16 to play, he lobbied for McCoy to give him one more shot, even though they were trying to run the clock out.

“After that catch, I looked up at the screen and saw I was at 99 yards, so I told Colt, ’Let me get one more catch to get over the century mark,’” Crowder said.

The rookie wide receiver got his wish. After the Redskins ran the ball three times, they went for it on fourth-and-2. McCoy faked the handoff, rolled to the right and dumped an easy pass to Crowder, who caught it for a 10-yard gain to finish with five catches for 109 yards. Running back Pierre Thomas ran the ball three more times to pick up another first down to set up the victory formation.

“I tried to give him a nice easy one he wouldn’t drop,” said McCoy, who replaced starter Kirk Cousins second quarter. “I knew there was a chance I’d come in and play this game, so I talked to Jamison … just do what you do I’m going to get warmed up and we’ll figure this thing out.”

Crowder finished the regular season with 59 catches, 604 yards and two touchdowns. His receptions are the most by a rookie in team history, passing Art Monk, who had 58 in 1980. It is also the second-most by a member of the Redskins in his first NFL season: Gary Clark, who played two seasons in the USFL, had 72 receptions in 1985.

On the Redskins’ second drive of the game, Crowder took a screen pass 44 yards on the first play to the Cowboys’ five-yard line. Washington scored on the next play, when Cousins connected with Ryan Grant. On the ensuing possession, Crowder scored on a three-yard reception.

“He’s been outstanding,” McCoy said. “It’s really hard to cover him man-to-man. The good thing about our offense is he’s created such a dynamic for us because who do you play one-on-one? When they take away other guys, Jamison always wins.”

Robinson returns to defensive role

The Redskins’ starters began to trickle out of the game during the third quarter, including inside linebacker Will Compton, which presented Keenan Robinson the opportunity to gauge the strength of his injured right shoulder.

Robinson played throughout the second half, marking the most snaps he has seen since returning from the injury four games ago. He had played a combined 13 snaps on defense in the last two games and said it felt good to be back out there for an extended period on Sunday. Robinson had missed four games before returning against the Chicago Bears on Dec. 13.

“I was surprised to see where I was at,” Robinson said. “It’s like being away for a long time, having to get back into the groove of things. It was different being back out there, but overall, I thought I did good when I was out there.”

With Perry Riley also out with a foot injury, Compton and Mason Foster have since secured starting roles. However, having Robinson, and possibly Riley, both healthy for the playoffs should help boost the depth at the position.
“We get Perry Riley hopefully back next week and we’ll make a decision then, but we feel good about all those linebackers,” Gruden said.

Phillips, Jarrett exit with injuries

Cornerback Dashaun Phillips sustained a cervical stinger and was carted off the field during the second quarter. According to a team spokesman, Phillips was transported to a local hospital, but was able to move his extremities.

Phillips, who was injured when he collided head-first with Cowboys running back Darren McFadden, underwent testing at the hospital and his results were negative, according to Gruden.

“’His test came back OK, so that’s good news on him,” Gruden said.

Defensive back Kyshoen Jarrett was injured in the first quarter on a similar play when he also collided with McFadden. He was being evaluated for a concussion during the game and underwent an MRI examination on his neck once it was over.

Redskins take chance to rest starters

The Redskins also used Sunday’s game to rest some of the starters, as left tackle Trent Williams and defensive end Jason Hatcher were both inactive. The other inactives were Riley (foot), free safety Dashon Goldson (broken rib/shoulder), cornerback Quinton Dunbar (quad), running back Matt Jones (hip) and quarterback Robert Griffin III. … Washington set records with a 69.5 team completion percentage, surpassing the mark of 66.5 percent set last year. Its 386 completions were also a team record. … Wide receiver Pierre Garcon’s 39-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was his sixth of the season, tying a career high set while playing for the Indianapolis Colts in 2010 and 2011. … Wide receiver Rashad Ross caught the first touchdown pass of his career in the fourth quarter on a 71-yard completion from McCoy. … Compton’s interception of Cowboys quarterback Kellen Moore in the first quarter was the first of his career. … Nose tackle Chris Baker finished the regular season with a career-high six sacks and tied him with Stephen Bowen in 2011 for the most by a defensive lineman since the team adopted a 3-4 defensive scheme in 2010.