Week 16 Game Recap: Washington Redskins 31, St. Louis Rams 37

What you need to know

Washington Redskins

Jason Campbell followed two Washington rushing scores with a nine yard touchdown pass to TE Chris Cooley right before half that put the Redskins up 21-14. Unfortunately for Campbell and the Redskins, they were unable to match the explosive St. Louis offense in the second half, and ended up losing 37-31 in overtime. Campbell did not play bad, but really didn’t do much that stood out either.

RB Ladell Betts carried the Redskin offense, and was helped by a blocked punt by teammate Vernon Fox that led to a Betts touchdown from six yards out in the second quarter. Betts would score again in the third from seven yards out for the final Washington touchdown of the game. He was helped in the running game by T.J. Duckett who chipped in with a five yard score on Washington’s first drive of the game.

TE Chris Cooley led the way receiving for the Redskins, with seven catches for 77 yards, including a nine yard touchdown before halftime to give Washington the lead.

The Redskins just could not stop the St. Louis offense in the second half, where they gave up a field goal and three touchdowns that included the 21 yard run-off score by Steven Jackson in overtime.

St. Louis Rams

Marc Bulger threw for 388 yards and four passing touchdowns to lead the Rams, and his stellar play was a big part in leading his team over the Redskins. Bulger connected on first half scores with WR Isaac Bruce and TE Dominique Byrd as the Rams trailed 21-14 going into half. In the second half, Bulger hit RB Steven Jackson on a short pass play that Jackson turned into a 64 yard touchdown and later connected with former Redskin Stephen Davis from ten yards out.

RB Steven Jackson bullied his way to 150 yards on the ground that included a 21 yard score in overtime to win the game. He also chipped in with 102 yards on six receptions and an impressive 64 yard catch and run for a score in the third quarter. Washington just had no answer for the powerful Jackson, who played a major part in the St. Louis win.

Isaac Bruce had the big day for the Ram receivers, bringing down nine catches for 148 yards and a ten yard touchdown reception. Of his nine receptions, five of them resulted in St. Louis first downs. TE Dominique Byrd and RB Stephen Davis each had scoring receptions for the Rams as well.

The St. Louis defense was torn apart on the ground, but did a nice job limiting the chances Washington had for big plays through the air. The unit came up big in overtime, forcing a Redskin three and out on their only offensive series of the extra session, and the Rams won the game on the very next possession.

What you ought to know

QB Jason Campbell, Pass: 13 - 26 - 160 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0

Campbell had a solid, but unspectacular, outing against the Rams. He threw 13 of 26 for 160 yards and one touchdown. The score came when Campbell connected with tight end Chris Cooley from nine yards out in the second quarter. Campbell was sacked just one time in the game, and showed some escapability in the pocket as well as some athleticism on a seven yard scramble for his only rush of the game. Also, he did not commit a turnover, playing steadily enough to keep his team in the game.

RB Ladell Betts, Rush: 29 - 129 - 2, Rec: 2 - 35 - 0 (4 targets)

Betts had another strong outing against the Rams, rushing 29 times for 129 yards and two rushing touchdowns, and catching two balls for 35 yards in the passing game. Betts is one of those backs that seems to have an extra gear in the open field, and has given the Redskins everything they wanted, and more, while filling in for the injured Portis. His touchdown runs came from six and seven yards out. Betts did have a fumble late in the game, and in the process, may have fumbled away the last chance the Redskins had at winning the game. Had Betts not fumbled on that possession, the outcome of the game may have gone the Redskins way.

RB T.J. Duckett, Rush: 5 - 18 - 1, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (2 targets)

Duckett had just five rushes for 18 yards, but came up big for Washington early in the game, scoring on a five yard touchdown run on the first offensive series of the game for the Redskins. He also caught one pass for 19 yards.

RB Clinton Portis

Portis is on injured reserve, and did not play in the game.

WR Santana Moss, Rec: 3 - 29 - 0 (6 targets)

Moss was unable to get much going downfield, and caught just three balls for 29 yards. Washington failed to take many chances in the long passing game, where Moss has most of his success.

WR Antwaan Randle El, Rush: 2 - 21 - 0

Randle El did not register a catch in the game, but ran the ball twice for 21 yards.

WR Brandon Lloyd

Lloyd did not catch a pass, nor was he targeted in the game.

TE Chris Cooley, Rec: 7 - 77 - 1 (10 targets)

Cooley was Campbell’s favorite receiver, catching seven passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. He was by far the most targeted Redskins’ receiver, getting ten looks for the game.

PK Shaun Suisham 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points

Suisham hit a big 52 yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 31 apiece and made good on all four of his extra point attempts to finish with seven points.

WAS Rush Defense

The Redskins had a tough time slowing down the Rams’ rushing attack, in particular stud RB Steven Jackson. Jackson torched Washington for 150 yards and the game winning touchdown on the ground and for the game the Rams totaled 197 yards rushing on 5.1 yards an attempt. They were unable to wrap up, and in many cases, catch Jackson once he hit open space.

DB Vernon Fox had a nice game for the Redskins, totaling nine solo and one assisted tackle, as well as blocking a punt that led to a Washington touchdown.

WAS Pass Defense

Washington’s defensive backfield will have nightmares of the St. Louis passing attack following this game. They were lit up by Marc Bulger and the offensive weapons of the Rams to the tune of 382 net passing yards and four scores through the air. St. Louis had 16 passing first downs.

DE Andre Carter had eight solo tackles and contributed the only sack of the game for the Washington defense.

QB Marc Bulger, Pass: 25 - 38 - 388 - 4 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 27 - 0

Bulger had a monster day against the Redskins, throwing for 388 yards and four touchdowns on 25 of 38 passing, and chipping in with 27 yards on two rushes in the running game. He connected on first half touchdown strikes to WR Isaac Bruce from ten yards out and TE Dominique Byrd from 27 as the Rams trailed 21-14 at half. In the second session, Bulger hit RBs Steven Jackson and Stephen Davis from 64 and 10 yards out, respectively. His stellar play in the pocket opened things up tremendously for the Rams offense, as St. Louis was rolling in both the rushing and passing game. For the game, Bulger was sacked just one time and did not turn the ball over. The Rams had 16 passing first downs, and converted on six of 15 third down conversions.

RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 33 - 150 - 1, Rec: 6 - 102 - 1 (8 targets)

Jackson was too much for Washington to handle, plain and simple. Jackson rambled his way to 150 yards on the ground on 33 carries that included the game-winning touchdown from 21 yards out in overtime, and caught six balls for 102 yards and a 64 yard touchdown in the passing game. He just looked too strong for Washington to bring down, and when he got into the open field, used his vision and quickness to run away from any would-be tacklers. Jackson did have a fourth quarter fumble that led to a Washington field goal that tied the game, but he more than made up for that in overtime on his touchdown run.

RB Stephen Davis, Rush: 3 - 13 - 0, Rec: 1 - 10 - 1 (2 targets)

Davis did not get many touches against his former club, but made the most of his limited work. He had just three rushes for 13 yards while spelling Jackson in the running game, but made a big contribution with a ten yard touchdown reception on his only catch of the game. That score came in the third quarter, and tied the game at 28.

WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 9 - 148 - 1 (10 targets)

Bruce had a big day against the Redskins, catching a team high nine passes for 148 yards and a ten yard touchdown reception. He caught nine of the ten balls thrown his way, five of which resulted in first downs.

WR Torry Holt, Rec: 4 - 54 - 0 (13 targets)

Holt had a quiet day by his standards, but it wasn’t for a lack of targets. The Pro-Bowler was targeted 13 times, the most of any Ram receiver, but was able to come down with just four receptions for 54 yards. He did have a few catches along the sidelines that were incompletions by just a hair, as he was not able to get both feet in bounds. While he failed to bring down a few of those balls, he has got to be one of the best receivers in the league at controlling his body in those situations. On more than one occasion, he made the most out of poorly thrown balls and almost got his feet down to complete the play.

WR Kevin Curtis, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (1 targets)

Curtis caught the only ball thrown to him for an 18 yard gain.

TE Dominique Byrd, Rec: 2 - 39 - 1 (2 targets)

Byrd caught both balls thrown to him for 39 yards, and made the most out of a 27 yard catch in the second quarter that resulted in a touchdown.

PK Jeff Wilkins 1 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points

Wilkins connected on a 21 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, and later missed a fourth quarter 41 yard attempt that could have won the game for St. Louis. He was no doubt relieved that the Rams came through in overtime for the win. Wilkins made all four of his extra point attempts to finish with seven points in the game.

STL Rush Defense

St. Louis has struggled to stop the run all year long, and that would not change against the Redskins. For the game, the Rams gave up a total of 176 yards and three rushing touchdowns, as well as 11 rushing first downs. They were unable to slow down RB Ladell Betts, and could not do much in space in the way of slowing him down once he got going downfield. On the positive side, they did force and recover a fumble for the only forced turnover of the game for the Rams’ defense.

LB Brandon Chillar led the linebackers with six solo tackles.

STL Pass Defense

The Rams’ defensive backfield played well against Washington, giving up just 160 passing yards and one touchdown through the air, as well as limiting big plays downfield for the Redskin wideouts. They were able to keep tight coverage on WR Santana Moss and the other Washington receivers, who had a long catch of just 21 yards in the game.

FS O.J. Atogwe led the DB’s with seven solo and one assisted tackle, as well as a forced fumble.