The last time that Redskins faced the Giants, the Redskins marched down the field in the fourth quarter and took the lead, only to see it washed away with a Giants' touchdown two plays later.
When the offense took the field again with 1:13 left on the clock, they managed just two plays before fumbling away any opportunity for a comeback victory.
When a similar situation presented itself on Monday night, Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III wasn't going to let another lead slip away.
Clinging to a one point lead with 3:51 remaining, Griffin III gathered his teammates on the sideline and delivered a very simple message.
"I told them on the sideline, 'Let's go finish the game,'" he told reporters after the game. "This season we just needed to have that, to give us the confidence that we can end the game with four or five minutes left in the game."
The Redskins stayed aggressive on the final drive, fearlessly hitting Pierre Garcon for a 17-yard gain over the middle. But it was the six rushes, including a six-yard run by Alfred Morris on 3rd-and-three to milked the clock and sealed the game.
"I told them to go finish it with that last run that Alfred [Morris] had," Griffin III explained. "We ran basically the same play three times in a row, and it was up to those guys to make a play.
"I told them this is the game, and we won it."
Griffin III finished with modest statistics: 13-for-21 for 163 yards and a touchdown, addiing another 72 rushing yards on five carries.
The final drive began with Griffin III's final rush of the night, as he sprinted for the sideline before sliding in-bounds, keeping the clock running.
With that run, Griffin III broke the NFL rookie rushing record for quarterbacks (714), set last year by Carolina Panther Cam Newton (707).
After the game, Griffin III rejected personal accolades, focusing on the team win.
"I think stats don't really matter," he said. "We won the game and we made plays in crucial situations. The offensive line stepped up big when we needed them to. We won the game. We played more physical and that was the key."
Head coach Mike Shanahan praised the collective effort on the ground tonight, as the Redskins rushed for 207 yards, compared to just 163 through the air.
"When you're in the four-minute attack and you want to stay in-bounds like Robert [Griffin III] did, you have to make a big play," Shanahan said. "You still have to get first downs to close it. If we would have punted in that situation, they would have gotten it with about 23 or 24 seconds left.
"To be able to close out a game like that when you know you have to run the football seays a lot about our offensive line, as well as Alfred running the football."
Griffin III shook his head when describing Morris's contributions to the team so far this year. Morris finished the day with his fifth 100-yard game of the season.
"He plays ever play like it's his last and that's what we love about him, but I definitely look forward to playing with him for many years," Griffin III said. "I love that he's on our team. I've told people that if I had a vote for rookie of the year, I would vote for him."
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