Early in the game, Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss approached quarterback Mark Brunell with a request.
“Just throw the ball up,” Moss said. “I might not come down with it, but give me a chance.”
Brunell listened. And on the first possession of overtime, he gave Moss that chance.
Moss responded like this: He jumped high over the cornerback with the safety bearing down, grabbed the ball and sprinted to the end zone for a game-winning 68-yard touchdown, helping the Redskins beat Jacksonville, 36-30. It set off a frenzy of emotion unlike many at FedEx Field, with fans still cheering as they exited the stadium. It’s the first walk-off touchdown by Washington (2-2) here since the first game played at FedEx Field 10 years ago.
“He gave me a chance,” Moss said. “And seconds later I’m in the end zone.”
That wasn’t Moss’ only big play, however. In the first quarter, he scored on a 55-yard touchdown, catching a pass in the middle of the field and dashing his way to the end zone, his first scoring reception of the season. Moss finished with 138 yards and three touchdowns on four receptions.
“He’s certainly the best I’ve seen [running after the catch],” said Brunell, facing his former team of nine years for the first time since joining the Redskins in 2004. “He’s exciting to watch; there’s nothing he can’t do.”
Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said, “If there’s ever been a better playmaker, I don’t know who it is. Every time the ball is in his hands, he’s a threat.”
But this game was about more than Moss. It forwarded the momentum started last week in a win over lowly Houston. The Jaguars, though, entered with the NFL’s third-ranked defense. Washington ignored the stats, and the reputation, and amassed 481 total yards of offense.
It also re-established the Redskins, who started 0-2, as a team to beat in the NFC East.
“I told [owner Dan Snyder] before the game that this game will have a lot to say about us this year,” Gibbs said.
Washington punched back and forth with the Jaguars. The Redskins also got a one-yard scoring run from back Clinton Portis and three field goals from John Hall, including a 37-yarder with 1 minute, 55 seconds remaining in regulation to put them up 30-27. But Jacksonville kicker Josh Scobee’s third field goal of the day tied it with six seconds left.
The Redskins won the coin toss, then the game.
“We knew if we got the field we were gonna score,” Redskins tight end Chris Cooley said. “I don’t think [Jacksonville] thought they would stop us.”
