The Baltimore Ravens knocked Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III out of the game in the fourth quarter — but the Redskins had another rookie sensation up their sleeve, winning 31-28.
Kirk Cousins came in for the injured Griffin and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon with 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter — then ran in a game-tying two-point conversion to force overtime.
Richard Crawford, another rookie, had a key 64-yard punt return in overtime to set up Kai Forbath’s third field goal of the afternoon — a 34-yard kick 3:23 into the extra session.
Even better, the Redskins learned after the game that Griffin — who threw for 246 yards and a touchdown before he was hurt — has a sprained right knee but apparently no torn ligaments.
“I was trying to make a play,” Griffin said. “I got outside and turned inside, and once I turned inside, I said ‘Oh lord, here we go,’ and got down. I protected myself in that regard. It was just a freak play. It was a pretty painful experience, but I will be all right.”
The Redskins have now won four straight to stay in the playoff chase in the NFC East.
“It was a great victory,” said Garcon. “A lot of guys stepped up. Kirk stepped up great, ran the ball well, did a lot of great things.”
Division rivals Dallas, in action a day after practice squad player Jerry Brown was killed in a one-car crash with tackle Josh Brent charged with drink driving manslaughter, rallied for an emotional 20-19 victory in Cincinnati.
“You’ve got to keep banging away,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “There are no excuses. You just have to get the job done. You’re part of this football team and if you’re out there, you’ve got to make plays.”
The Cowboys remained one game behind the NFC East leading New York Giants, who routed the New Orleans Saints 52-27 behind four touchdown passes by Eli Manning.
David Wilson rushed for a career-best 100 yards and scored three touchdowns, one of them on a 97-yard kickoff return.
The Ravens’ loss at Washington was their second straight. But Cincinnati Bengal’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers’ 34-24 upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers means the Ravens maintain a two-game lead in the AFC North.
In Pittsburgh, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers threw three touchdowns as San Diego spoiled the return of Steelers signal-caller Ben Roethlisberger, who had missed three games with a sprained right shoulder and rib injury.
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson had a brace of first-quarter touchdowns as they downed NFC North Rivals the Chicago Bears 21-14 to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Bears lost for the fourth time in five games and fell one game behind the Green Bay Packers for first place in the NFC North.
The Packers secured sole possession of first place in the division with a 27-20 victory over the Detroit Lions.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers also ran for a score in the snow at fabled Lambeau Field while completing 14-of-24 passes for 173 yards.
The Packers’ cause was also helped by DuJuan Harris’ tiebreaking rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter and Green Bay can now clinch the division with a victory over Chicago next week.
San Francisco kept a grip on the NFC West lead with a 27-13 victory over the Miami Dolphins. The Seattle Seahawks, second in the division, dropped 58 points on the Arizona Cardinals in a 58-0 rout.
The Carolina Panthers snapped the Atlanta Falcons’ three-game winning streak with a 30-20 victory. Adam Vinatieri kicked a pair of fourth-quarter field goals to lift the Indianapolis Colts to a 27-23 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
In other games, the Cleveland Browns beat the Kansas City Chiefs 30-7, the Philadelphia Eagles edged the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-21, the New York Jets downed the Jacksonville Jaguars 17-10 and the St. Louis Rams beat the Buffalo Bills 15-12.
Quarterback Griffin hurt in Redskins win
