PRO FOOTBALL ’95 : Ryan Left a Glum Gus by Frerotte

Second-year quarterback Gus Frerotte replaced injured starter Heath Shuler late in the first half and led the Washington Redskins to a surprisingly easy 27-7 victory over Arizona at RFK Stadium.

Frerotte, who entered the game to thunderous applause, completed nine of 15 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns, including a 73-yarder to Leslie Shepherd in the third quarter that put the Redskins ahead, 20-7.

Shuler, who completed five of 12 passes for 47 yards with one interception, was booed for every errant pass until he was knocked out of the game on a blind-side hit by defensive end Clyde Simmons with 1:08 left in the first half. Shuler suffered a sprained joint in his right shoulder and will likely miss the next three weeks.

“Like [quarterbacks coach] Cam [Cameron] has been saying all week, it only takes one play and you’re going to be thrown into the fire,” Frerotte said. “I wish Heath a speedy recovery, but I’m just going to prepare that I’m going to be the player every week, and I’m going to start watching the film a little more and studying the game a little more than I was.”

Redskin Coach Norv Turner threw plenty of wrinkles at Ryan’s 46 defense, and many of them worked--especially two reverses on back-to-back possessions in the first quarter.

Rookie Michael Westbrook, the Redskins’ No. 1 draft choice who held out for all but three days of training camp, had a 58-yard touchdown run on a reverse and also caught three passes for 17 yards.

Terry Allen gained 131 yards in 26 carries, becoming the first Redskin to rush for 100 yards since 1993. He also became the first player to gain 100 yards against a Buddy Ryan defense in six years.

Arizona quarterback Dave Krieg was intercepted three times, with newcomers James Washington and Marvcus Patton each getting one.

“We bordered on pathetic,” Ryan said. “We never made any third-down plays and we didn’t make any on defense.”

The victory ended the Redskins’ nine-game home losing streak, and was their first victory over an NFC opponent since September 1993, a run of 15 games.