After moving the ball throughout the first half, Colt McCoy and the Redskins finally connected on two touchdowns from Rashad Ross late in the second quarter.
The Redskins' offense moved the ball at a comfortable pace for the majority of the first half during their 22-18 victory over the Jets Friday night, but it wasn't until the end of the second quarter when those efforts – finally untaxed by penalties -- paid off with some points, courtesy of wide receiver Rashad Ross.
Quarterback Colt McCoy threw a perfect 5-of-5 passing for 92 yards, sealing two scoring drives with touchdown passes – one a short corner lob, the other a deep ball – both to Ross to give the Redskins a 14-2 lead to end the half in the team's second preseason game.
"Solid. Last preseason, he showed up and made great plays and that's why we kept him," head coach Jay Gruden said. "This preseason so far after two games, he's done a very nice job."
During the first scoring drive, the offense started on the Jets' 47-yard line and began to pick apart the Jets' second team defense. McCoy began his operation with wide receiver Maurice Harris, finding him over the middle for 19 yards, and what would have been his second reception had Spencer Long not been penalized on the previous drive.
McCoy found Ross on a 15-yard completion towards the left sideline and connected with Ryan Grant on the next play, faking a handoff to running back Robert Kelley, rolling out and locating him Grant through congestion to the Jets' 3-yard line.
Without wasting time, McCoy lofted a touch pass to the left corner to Ross, who collected it over safety Marcus Gilchrist.
The touchdown exemplified the versatility Ross has been trying to showcase for the last couple of years. Known as, and sometimes confined by, his speed as a wide receiver – just look to his Twitter name that contains the word "Rocket" – Ross could point both of his catches on that drive as forward steps in changing his sole identity as a football player.
"That helps because it shows the coaches I'm not just a deep ball player," said Ross, who finished with 58 receiving yards. "I can actually run routes and do all the routes and catch the football."
Following safety Will Blackmon's interception at the Jets' 39-yard line on the ensuing drive, offensive coordinator Sean McVay dialed up a deep ball for the first play.
Using Ross' aforementioned speed this time, McCoy heaved one towards the end zone that Ross, a foot ahead of Jets cornerback Juston Burris, jumped to collect, landing safely in the end zone for his second score in as many snaps.The Redskins would take a 14-2 lead on Dustin Hopkins' extra point before heading into the half.
Without both DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garçon playing Friday night, the game offered Ross an opportunity to show he could step into the lineup and help the offense not miss a beat.
"It's very important to show that if they go down, I can be right there to step up and have their back so it's very important," he said.
After dropping a deep ball in last week's game in Atlanta, something that stuck with Ross during the week of practice, this performance offered a corrective.
"I worry a lot, but at the same time my coaches are always telling me 'What happened last week, you got to put that behind you good or bad and you got to come out and show what you really got.' Everybody is going to have bad games. People are going to drop balls and no one is perfect, but it's about when you're down how can you step up.
"I think I took strides," he added. "I'm not there all the way yet but I think I took strides and all I can do is gain on it."
