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Thursday, October 14 Baxter Bits: Redskins vs. Cardinals By Russell S. Baxter Special to ESPN.com |
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The Redskins (off last week) head west to Arizona looking to get back on track in this always-entertaining NFC East setting. While Washington owns a 64-43-2 overall advantage in this series, it's been mostly Arizona as of late as the Cardinals have won 9 of the last 12 meetings dating back to 1993 (this after going just 5-29 vs. the Redskins from 1976-92). Last season, the Redskins swept this divisional rivalry for the fourth time in six seasons. In Week 10 at Sun Devil Stadium (Week 10), Washington jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead but found itself trailing, 26-17, in the fourth quarter. Since-departed Redskins QB Trent Green threw a 35-yard TD pass to WR Leslie Shepherd with 1:39 to play and after recovering an onsides kick, Norv Turner's team took a 27-26 lead with only :35 remaining on a 54-yard field goal by since-departed PK Cary Blanchard. But Cardinals QB Jake Plummer drove his team 50 yards in six plays, setting up since-departed PK Joe Nedney's 47-yard field goal with :02 on the clock to give Arizona an exciting 29-27 victory. Two weeks later at Washington (Week 12), Vince Tobin's club jumped out to a 31-0 second-quarter lead only to watch the Redskins rally behind the since-departed Green (30-of-49, 382 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, 1 TD run), who drew his team to within three points (38-35) in the fourth quarter. But Plummer (17-of-28, 251 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 3 TD runs) scored his third touchdown of the day with 3:49 to play which proved to be the difference in an incredible 45-42 win. The Redskins are just 4-7 lifetime at Sun Devil Stadium dating back to 1988, including 1-6 in their last seven visits to Tempe dating back to '92. Worth noting is that the eight of the last 10 games in this series dating back to 1994 (7 won by the Cardinals) have been decided by six or fewer points, including three in overtime. Numbers: In his last six starts (2 with Minnesota in 1998, 4 with Washington in 1999), Redskins QB Brad Johnson has completed 110-of-178 passes (61.8 percent) for 1,588 yards, 14 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions, with his team scoring a combined 219 points (31, 38, 35, 50, 27 and 38 points) in those contests. RB Stephen Davis has rushed for 400 yards and nine touchdowns in four games in 1999, running for 100-plus yards in two of those contests. In his three previous seasons (1996-98), Davis rushed for 815 yards and five touchdowns in 42 games and had failed to gain 100 or more yards rushing in any of those contests. Davis has scored at least one touchdown in four straight games. In his last 15 games dating back to '98, Redskins WR Michael Westbrook has caught 65 passes for 1,178 yards and 10 touchdowns, totaling 100 or more yards receiving in six of those games. In his three previous seasons (1995-97), Westbrook caught 102 passes for 1,586 yards and just five touchdowns in 35 games and totaled 100 or more yards receiving in just 2 of those contests. After scoring just 93 points in their first seven games (0-7), the Redskins have scored 376 points in their last 13 contests (9-4) dating back to '98. The Redskins have allowed 120 or more yards rushing in 15 of their last 20 contests dating back to '98. Since 1993, they have given up 130 or more yards rushing in 51-of-100 games, 200 or more yards on the ground in 11 of those contests, while limiting the opposition to fewer than 100 yards rushing in just 21 of those 100 games. Including playoffs, the Cardinals have forced 37 turnovers in 12 wins, but have just 18 takeaways in 11 losses dating back to '98. They have allowed 361 points in their last 15 games (7-8) dating back to '98 (including playoffs). The Cardinals have been limited to 16 or fewer points in four straight games. They have been outscored a combined 52-0 in the first quarter in five games in '99. Things To Look For: Unstoppable before their bye-week, the Redskins are hoping their explosive offense picks up where it left off prior to their two-week layoff, meaning plenty of balance with RB Stephen Davis and razor-sharp QB Brad Johnson. Cardinals' QB Jake Plummer managed to avoid the interception bug last week and will have to do so again, although this may shape up as a job for teammate RB Adrian Murrell. Etc.: Since 1993, the Redskins are 39-60-1 have started nine different quarterbacks (Brad Johnson, as well as since-departed QBs Mark Rypien, Cary Conklin, Rich Gannon, John Friesz, Heath Shuler, Gus Frerotte, Jeff Hostetler, Trent Green) over that span. The Redskins are just 15-34-1 vs. divisional competition since 1993 (1-1 in '99), 5-8 vs. the Cowboys and just 10-26-1 vs. the rest of the NFC East. They are 20-25 at home vs. NFC East competition (1-0 in '99) since moving to Sun Devil Stadium in 1988. WR Irving Fryar (790) needs 10 catches to become just the 7th player in NFL history with 800 career receptions. Fryar (12,050) needs 96 yards to tie Charlie Joiner (12,146) for 7th place on the NFL's all-time receiving yardage list. IF HE PLAYS: Cardinals WR Rob Moore (596) needs 4 catches to become the 21st player in NFL history with 600 career receptions |
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