Pro Football: Redskins Notebook

BY ZAC BOYER

THE FREE LANCE–STAR

ARLINGTON, Texas—One of the major concerns for Pierre Garçon entering the Washington Redskins’ game at Dallas on Thursday was how well his injured right foot would hold up on the artificial turf at Cowboys Stadium.

As it turned out, the foot was just fine.

Garçon had five catches for 93 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter, in the Redskins’ 38–31 victory over the Cowboys.

Though his time on the field was limited as he recovers from the injury, Garçon made the most of it.

“I had a lot of adrenaline going tonight,” said Garçon, playing in his second game after missing four because of a torn plantar plate in the second toe of his right foot. “That kind of helped the pain go away—just getting used to it.”

Garçon’s touchdown reception, which came with 2:14 remaining in the second quarter, wasn’t the easiest of plays. It was, however, reminiscent of his first touchdown of the season—the 88-yard catch-and-run he had in the season opener at New Orleans on which he originally injured the foot.

The receiver grabbed quarterback Robert Griffin III’s throw, which was high and behind him, on a crossing route before he planted and cut upfield. He blew past cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Mike Jenkins, who pursued him all the way to the end zone.

Jenkins, upset at the play, then gave Garçon a shove with his elbow, sending him crashing into the wall before a flag was thrown for unnecessary roughness.

“He called the play, I pre-snap read the defense and I knew I was getting the ball,” Garçon said. “I looked for the ball. I jumped up, closed my eyes and prayed for it, caught it and stumbled a bit. I tried to give it everything I got and ran as hard as I could.”

HALL PASSES ON EASY TD

The Cowboys’ onside kick attempt with 23 seconds remaining bounced directly to Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who was not blocked and sprinted to the 2-yard line before sliding to down the play.

At no point, Hall said, did he think about scoring the touchdown, which would have put Washington up 13 points but prolonged the game.

“As big of a selfish guy as y’all think I am—no,” Hall said, laughing. “Kyle [Shanahan] even joked with me about going in there and scoring. He wants to be the No. 1 offense, but I was always told that the offense always closes the game. That’s the best formation—for the best players to be able to take a knee.”

FLETCHER PLAYS ON

Linebacker London Fletcher left the game in the fourth quarter with an aggravation of the left ankle sprain he originally sustained Sunday against Philadelphia.

“It just bothered him a little bit in that fourth quarter,” Shanahan said.

Fletcher broke up two passes and had four tackles as he extended his iron-man streak to 235 consecutive games and made his 193rd consecutive start.

He also had an interception in the third quarter that he returned for 10 yards. That interception was the 20th of his career. He joins Baltimore’s Ray Lewis and Chicago’s Brian Urlacher as the third active player to have at least 20 interceptions and 30 sacks in his career.

EXTRA POINTS