Spurrier switched from Wuerffel to Shane Matthews as his starter when Wuerffel struggled mightily in the final exhibition game, however, and Wuerffel lasted only one series before hurting his shoulder in his only previous start of the regular season on Oct. 6 at Tennessee.
"Danny can play," Spurrier said. "He can make all the throws. He just hasn't done it in a while."
Stephen Davis's workload increased, and he carried the ball 31 times. "Hopefully . . . this will give us something to build on," Coach Steve Spurrier said.
(Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
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| Game Day: Redskins 20, Rams 17
• The Redskins upset the Rams with a combination of defense, ball control and an error-free game from Danny Wuerffel.
• Thomas Boswell: Don't turn a blind eye to the element of surprise.
• Darrell Green expects to play again this season despite injury.
• Wuerffel says he didn't hear the boos. Later, there weren't any.
• LaVar Arrington's hit could turn the Redskins' season around.
• Notebook: Kurt Warner had his moments but falls to 0-6.
• Best & Worst
Audio
• Daryl Gardener says the Redskins needed a great effort from their defense -- and got it.
• Stephen Davis says the momentum from this win has to carry over to Thursday's game.
• Arrington says the Redskins did all the things necessary to win.
On Our Site
• Miscues by special teams almost cost the Redskins another win.
• Gallery
• Summary
• Grade the Redskins.
• Discuss the game.
A Rivalry for the Ages
• Take a look at 10 of the most memorable games in the Redskins- Cowboys rivalry. Then, vote for your favorite.
Washington's Best
• The Redskins celebrate the team's 70 years by honoring the 70 greatest Redskins before beating the Colts on Oct. 27.
Post Features
• Champ Bailey stands out because of a rare combination of dexterity, flexibility and balance. (Nov. 17)
• James Tuthill, ordained in 1999, balances his religious calling with his role with the Redskins. (Nov. 10)
• A week in the life of Steve Spurrier, football coach, husband, father. (Oct. 31)
• In football -- and life -- Spurrier goes for the big score. (Sept. 8)
• Redskins fans are eager to see Spurrier work his magic. (Sept. 15)
• Post Magazine: Expensive cigars. Buddies like Sonny Jurgensen. What more could Daniel Snyder want? (Sept. 15)
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But Spurrier only gloated a bit when given the chance during his postgame news conference, saying: "Vindicated? What do you mean by that? You mean a lot of people didn't agree with that choice? Sonny Jurgensen told me, 'You're the only one that believed he could play.' I said, 'Well, fortunately I don't read too many newspapers and I don't watch the experts on TV.' "
The Redskins moved the ball early but came up empty on their first two possessions. Wuerffel threw incomplete when Spurrier left his offense on the field on fourth and five from the Rams 34, and place kicker James Tuthill clanked a 40-yard field goal attempt off the left upright after Doering threw an ugly incompletion on a trick play.
The Rams jumped to a 10-0 lead by scoring on their first two drives. Warner threw a four-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Troy Edwards to cap a 66-yard march on the Rams' opening possession, and place kicker Jeff Wilkins kicked a 30-yard field goal just more than four minutes into the second quarter. The Redskins got to 10-7 with a 12-play touchdown drive on which Davis carried nine times, finally plowing into the end zone on a second-down play from the Rams 1. St. Louis missed its chance to add to the lead when Gardener pressured Warner into a floater of a pass that Trotter grabbed at the Redskins 14 less than a minute before the break.
The Redskins moved in front 14-10 just less than five minutes into the third quarter on a three-yard touchdown run by Davis set up by a 39-yard punt return by Champ Bailey. The defense pinned the Rams deep in their territory and forced a punt, and the Redskins needed to go only 40 yards to extend their lead with Davis's third touchdown. He followed a block by fullback Bryan Johnson to get into the corner of the end zone on a fourth-and-one gamble by Spurrier from the Rams 5, but the Redskins botched the extra point when holder Bryan Barker failed to catch Ethan Albright's snap.
Tuthill yanked a 34-yard field goal try wide left just more than a minute into the fourth quarter, and the Rams closed to 20-17 on a five-yard touchdown pass from Warner to wide receiver Ricky Proehl with 6 minutes 8 seconds remaining. The Redskins had to punt, and Warner led the Rams down the field again before Arrington and Gardener combined to stop them.
"A lot of people counted us out to win this game," Arrington said. "Maybe [the Rams] took us for granted, but we're not going to lay down and be a slouch. We could still get in these playoffs."
