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“Redskins escape St. Louis with 17-10 win over Rams

By Mike Jones, Sunday, October 2, 4:51 PM

ST. LOUIS – Paced by an aggressive defense and a running attack that roared to life behind forgotten man Ryan Torain, the Washington Redskins handled the St. Louis Rams, 17-10, Sunday afternoon at Edward Jones Dome — but not before they let the Rams back into a game they had nearly put away.

Unused in the first three weeks of the season and replaced in the presason as Washington’s workhorse after breaking his hand early in training camp, Torain made himself relevant again with Hightower struggling in the first half.

After rushing for a 20-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, Torain went on to amass 135 yards on 19 carries and led a Redskins rushing attack that outgained the Rams, 196-45. That paved the way for Washington, which topped St. Louis in the total yardage category, 339-172.

But despite that statistical edge, the Redskins needed a late-game stand by their defense to pull off the victory. Although the defense had rocked the Rams all game long, the Redskins gave their opponents life by giving up two fourth-quarter interceptions.

On the first, with his team deep in St. Louis territory, Washington quarterback Rex Grossman saw a pass intended for Santana Moss tipped into the hands of Rams defensive back Justin King, who took the ball back 13 yards.

St. Louis eventually scored on a 32-yard field goal — their first points of the game — and followed that up with a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Bradford to running back Steven Jackson, cutting the lead to 17-10 with 5 minutes 50 seconds remaining.

And on first and 10 from their own 20, when the Redskins needed Grossman to march them downfield for some insurance points, the ninth-year veteran threw an interception to Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis, who returned the ball to the Redskins’ 19.

Fortunately for the Redskins, the defense forced an incomplete pass and then back-to-back sacks by defensive end Stephen Bowen and linebacker Brian Orakpo (the second sack of the day for each), and St. Louis — too far out of field goal range — had to punt.

Another futile Redskins offensive series followed, but the defense again stepped up with a stand that included yet another sack — this time by defensive end Adam Carriker. The Rams’ final hopes faded when Bradford threw an incompletion on fourth and 39 from his team’s 39 with just more than two minutes left on the clock.

On the day, Washington’s defense held St. Louis to only 172 yards of total offense, sacked Bradford seven times and recovered a fumble. Until the third quarter, the Rams didn’t score a point, the first time since 2008 that the Redskins had gone seven consecutive quarters without yielding a touchdown.

With the defense having done its part, Torain provided another crucial run, picking up four yards on third and two from the St. Louis 37. From there, the Redskins knelt to run down the clock and improved to 3-1 on the season for the first time since 2008. The Rams fell to 0-4.

Until the fourth quarter, Washington’s offense executed with better efficiency than it had six days earlier against Dallas. After a stalled drive on their first possession of the game, they settled into the rhythm and took a 7-0 lead after one quarter.”