"We got after the quarterback,'' Smoot said. "We hit Eddie George, and we made plays in the defensive backfield. It was the same game plan as before. We just knew it a little better."
The Redskins' defense forced a punt on the opening drive, and a 23-yard run by Davis gave the Redskins a first down at Tennessee's 17-yard line. But Wuerffel's ill-fated scramble on a third-and-nine play left them six yards shy of a first down, and the Redskins settled for a 31-yard field goal by James Tuthill.
Patrick Ramsey will be the Redskins' third starting quarterback of the season, but they are optimistic that they have made their last switch for a while.
(John McDonnell - The Washington Post)
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_____Grade the Redskins_____
How would you grade the play of the Redskins on Monday?
What's your opinion?
Note: This is an unscientific survey of washingtonpost.com readers.
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| _____Play of the Game_____
With 14:18 left in the fourth quarter, quarterback Patrick Ramsey throws a lateral to wide receiver Kevin Lockett (83), who drops the pass at the 19. The ball rolled to the 20, where Lockett picked it up, continued to roll right to the 23, then threw to running back Stephen Davis, who was wide open in the end zone.
Davis had slipped out of the backfield, past Tennessee defensive end Kevin Carter, and gone unmarked down field as the Titans linebackers and secondary shifted toward Lockett. The 14-yard score was Washington's last in its 31-14 victory, capping a five-play, 71-yard drive that took 2 minutes, 2 seconds.
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Tight end Frank Wycheck squandered a scoring chance for Tennessee with a fumble, but Ramsey threw incompletions on four of his first five passes after surprising some of his teammates with his sudden arrival in the huddle.
"I didn't even know he was in there," right tackle Jon Jansen said. "Then all of a sudden he's telling us what to do."
McNair got the Titans -- losers of four straight -- on the board with a 31-yard completion to tight end Erron Kinney that set up his 11-yard touchdown scramble.
The Redskins were backed up to their 10 after an illegal block on the kickoff return. But Ramsey took them 90 yards, finishing with a strike to Gardner that victimized Tennessee cornerback Samari Rolle, who was playing with a strained hamstring.
McNair threaded an eight-yard touchdown pass to running back John Simon to give the Titans a 14-10 halftime lead. But Davis gave the Redskins a boost by returning to the field during their opening drive of the second half. Lockett helped Ramsey by breaking up a possible interception in the end zone, enabling Davis to later score on a one-yard burst. Smoot grabbed an underthrown McNair pass, and Davis's 20-yard run set up Ramsey's second touchdown pass to the wide-open Lockett.
"It was the perfect play call for that defense," Lockett said. "I went inside and kind of got lost in the shuffle, and Rod cleared them out with a post route. It was the easiest touchdown I ever made."
Wide receiver Jacquez Green got behind cornerback Andre Dyson and hauled in Ramsey's on-target throw for a 44-yard gain on the opening play of the fourth quarter. On first down from the Tennessee 14, Ramsey threw an overhand lateral to Lockett, who had a touchdown pass last season to wide receiver Derrius Thompson. This time, Lockett dropped the ball but didn't panic, and threw across the field to Davis for the touchdown.
"It didn't work out the way it was drawn up," Lockett said. "I'm just glad I was able to pick up the ball quickly and make the throw. . . . I would rather do it the way it was designed, but I'll take it."
Bailey and Smoot ended Tennessee's final two possessions with interceptions.
"We hadn't played very well the last two games," Spurrier said. "It's amazing how it worked out. I thought Danny Wuerffel would go the distance today. . . . Patrick was second in line, and that 90-yard drive right before the half sort of unloosened us. Sometimes when you punt, punt, punt, punt, the whole world is on your shoulders. . . . I think we beat a pretty good team, and hopefully we can go from here."
