Redskins Set the Record Straight

A punt returner who hadn’t played in more than a year set a record. A wide receiver threw a touchdown pass. The coach of a 2-5 team was given a Gatorade shower.

Those were the highlights of the Washington Redskins’ 35-21 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday, but they weren’t as startling as the game-long display of unforced errors that left the defending NFC champions under .500.

The Giants (3-4) have lost three straight.

“We probably looked at their record and said, ‘Ah, it’s just Washington, we’re gonna come out and beat them,”’ New York quarterback Kerry Collins said. “If we think we can just show up on the field and win football games just because we were in the Super Bowl last year, it’s just not going to happen.”

The Redskins have won two in a row after an 0-5 start. Linebacker LaVar Arrington had no qualms about dumping a big orange tub of liquid onto Coach Marty Schottenheimer, whose rocky start in Washington has led to speculation that he’ll only last a year.

“You guys have been killing him,” Arrington said. “Every time I get an opportunity to show how much I appreciate my coach, I’m going to do it. He deserved it.”

Hero No. 1 was Eric Metcalf, who was signed Wednesday after sitting out last year and had practiced only a handful of returns at half-speed in practice. On his first touch, he made a superb against-the-grain cut at midfield on an 89-yard return to put the Redskins ahead, 14-0, in the first quarter.

“We never did one full speed,” Metcalf said. “And I was thinking, ‘Wow, what’s going to happen when I really go out there?’ I haven’t done it in a long time.”

It was Metcalf’s 10th punt return for a touchdown, extending his NFL record, and it moved him ahead of Brian Mitchell for most combined kick-punt return touchdowns with 12. Before Metcalf’s touchdown, the Redskins had just 12 yards on punt returns all season.

The Redskins blew their first-half lead but pulled away in the third quarter behind Hero No. 2, Kevin Lockett. Lined up wide left, Lockett took a lateral from quarterback Tony Banks and threw a 31-yard pass to Derrius Thompson, who scored his first NFL touchdown. The play gave the Redskins a 24-14 lead.

“It never works in practice,” said Lockett. “I was kind of shocked when he called it in the game.”

The Redskins got plenty of help from the Giants.

On New York’s first drive, Amani Toomer fumbled a handoff on a reverse at New York’s 17 to set up a Redskin touchdown. Tiki Barber dropped a third-down pass in Washington territory. Emmanuel McDaniel stumbled and missed a chance to down a punt at the one-yard line. Collins missed a pitch on a flea flicker with Ike Hilliard wide open downfield. Punter Rodney Williams shanked an 18-yarder.

The lowlight for the Giants was the opening kickoff of the second half, when they committed three penalties: offsides, a personal foul and illegal procedure.