Hightower, Helu boost the offense Eight plays into the Redskins’ opening drive, Tim Hightower showed exactly what it meant for him to face his former team. He laid into a ferocious pass block on Arizona linebacker Paris Lenon with a last shot that might have been a tad past the whistle.
Lenon responded with a takedown of Hightower but also earned himself an unnecessary roughness penalty.
“It was just me being me, getting under those guys’ skin,” Hightower said. “I practiced with those guys for three years, so I know exactly who I can press my buttons on, and I got the outcome that I needed.”
With 96 yards on 20 carries, Hightower also got the bigger plays against the Cardinals that had been missing in the Redskins’ season-opener. He shared the load in the backfield with rookie Roy Helu, who had a breakout performance with 112 total yards from scrimmage.
“For us in the running back room, we were basically starving to run this game,” said Helu, who finished with 74 yards rushing on 10 carries and 38 yards receiving on three catches. A week ago, he carried the ball just once as the Redskins rushed 26 times for 74 yards (2.8 yards a attempt).
On Sunday, Hightower set the tone with 83 yards in the first half, including runs of 10 and 17 yards, and a screen pass for another 10 in Washington’s first scoring drive. But it was Helu’s 33-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter, which included hurdling fallen Redskins linemen Kory Lichtensteiger, that hinted at his bigger contribution in the second half.
It was the longest catch by a Redskins rookie running back since Reggie Brooks in 1993.
“You can already tell that he’s going to have a real long touchdown run or screen,” Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman said. “Once he gets out in the open, nobody’s going to catch him. He’s a good change-up.”
Hightower, who had predicted a victory at the start of the week, wasn’t surprised or bothered by the loss of playing time.
“I think that was just good coaching,” he said. “Sometimes, just like in basketball, when someone has the hot hand, you go with them. … When I said last week I don’t like coming off the field, at the end of the day, I like to win.”
