It’s Rypien City: Six Touchdown Passes, 442 Yards : NFC: Quarterback also rushes for a score before coming out of the game five yards short of team record. Redskins improve to 10-0 by routing Falcons, 56-17.

With five minutes left in a game the Washington Redskins would win 56-17, after Mark Rypien had thrown his sixth touchdown pass and buried the Atlanta Falcons’ upset bid on a cold, wet afternoon in RFK Stadium, Coach Joe Gibbs approached his quarterback on the sideline.

Gibbs told Rypien he was five yards from having the greatest day any Redskin quarterback had ever had, statistically, and asked him if he’d like to go back in and break a 43-year-old record.

“He said no,” Gibbs related, “and he was definite about it.”

So on a wild day before 52,641 at RFK, a day of endless blitzes and open receivers and a day when a quarterback and his receivers at times looked as if they were playing in a Saturday afternoon game of touch, Rypien settled for the second-best day in franchise history. He settled for the six touchdown passes and 442 yards, plus his bootleg four-yard run for another touchdown.

The Redskins (10-0) walked away with a long injury list that included running back Earnest Byner, who sprained a knee, and tight end Ron Middleton, who severely sprained an ankle. It’s unlikely either of them will play next week at Pittsburgh, but the Redskins also walked away with a record-setting day, a day when their magical ride through 1991 continued.

They became only the 10th team since World War II and the 14th NFL team ever to go 10-0.

The last team to get off to a better start was the 1985 Chicago Bears, who opened with 12 victories on their way to winning Super Bowl XX.

Thanks to a loss by Dallas (6-4) in Houston, the Redskins lead the NFC East by four games with six to play. But in the race for home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs, they still lead New Orleans (9-1) by only a game.

“It’s like a dream right now, being 10-0,” Gibbs said.

“You don’t get a chance to do this too often. The players have a couple of days off to savor it. We’re a little concerned about the injuries. I was concerned coming into the game and now we’ve got some guys that could be serious. It’s all starting to mount up. The good news is we’re 10-0. The bad news is we’re running out of bodies.

“We do have some depth and it has bailed us out already.”

Byner and Middleton appear to be the most seriously injured. Both were on crutches after the game. Middleton was relieved that X-rays revealed no break. The diagnosis on Byner is that he has a sprain, and doctors say they’ll know more Monday after seeing what his swelling and pain is.

Defensive tackle Tim Johnson suffered a sprained neck, offensive lineman Russ Grimm a sprained ankle and defensive end Charles Mann a hyperextended knee.

All are expected to play next week.

The Redskins hadn’t scored this many points in 25 years and hadn’t had this many total yards (559) since Game 8 last season. Rypien completed 16 of 31 and his 442 yards are four short of the 446 Sammy Baugh had against the New York Yankees on Oct. 31, 1948. His six touchdown passes tie Baugh for another team record; Baugh did it twice, in a 1943 game and one day in 1947.

In order, Rypien hit Terry Orr for nine yards in the first quarter, Gary Clark for 61 and 19 yards in the second quarter, Art Monk for 19 in the third, and Clark for 82 and Monk for 64 in the fourth.

And to think that Rypien started badly.

He and Clark barely missed on a 68-yarder in the second quarter and he overthrew Monk for a 73-yarder moments after that.

And to think the Falcons knew it was coming.

“We just got our butts kicked,” Coach Jerry Glanville said.

Seldom has one team designed a defense that fit so perfectly with an offense. The Redskins had known all week the Falcons lived off the blitz and they’d known if they could buy Rypien some time, they’d have some deep chances.

And they had them.

And had them.

And had them.

The Falcons knew that Rypien had hit the deep patterns all year. They knew about Clark and Monk. Still, for one entire afternoon, even with cornerback Deion Sanders out with a bruised thigh, the Falcons came after the Redskins, putting seven, eight and nine men at the line of scrimmage and blitzing them.

Even with Pro Bowl tackle Jim Lachey on the sideline with a injured knee, the Redskins didn’t allow a sack for the fourth straight game.

Never mind that the Falcons did check the running game, limiting the Redskins to 108 yards--29 of them coming on one Gerald Riggs run on a third-and-one.

“That’s a dream come true, playing us like that,” Redskin center Jeff Bostic said. “With our receivers, you want a team to blitz. We’ve been blitzed before, but I’ve never seen a team stay with it like that. You just don’t see it. Surprised? I was more than surprised. I was shocked.”

Clark finished with four catches for 203 yards--his second-biggest yardage day ever. Monk ended up with seven catches for 164 yards--his fifth-biggest yardage day. Rypien hit the longest (82), fourth-longest (64) and fifth-longest (61) passes of his career.

The Redskins also forced six turnovers, with linebacker Wilber Marshall again leading the way with a forced fumble, pass deflection and sack.

Washington allowed its first two touchdown passes at home, but also got three interceptions and four fumble recoveries.

Collins finished the scoring with 52 seconds left by intercepting third-string quarterback Brett Favre’s pass off a receiver’s hands and returning it 15 yards for his first career touchdown.