GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NFL: MIAMI (0-0) at WASHINGTON (0-0)

LANDOVER, Maryland (Ticker) -- Shaun Suisham kicked three fieldgoals, including a 39-yarder with 9:24 remaining in overtime, tolead the Washington Redskins to a 16-13 season-opening victoryover the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.


The Redskins won the toss to start in overtime and marched intofield-goal range behind the power running of Clinton Portis andLadell Betts.


Portis, who was limited to eight games last season due to handand shoulder injuries, rushed for 98 yards on 17 carries. Bettsadded 59 yards, also on 17 attempts.


The loss spoiled the NFL coaching debut of Cam Cameron, whoreplaced Nick Saban in Miami.


Suisham, who split the uprights on the game-winner, alsoconverted field goals of 31 and 44 yards.


The Redskins nearly won in miraculous fashion on the final playof regulation as Miami defensive end Jason Taylor batted JasonCampbell's "Hail Mary" pass into the air. Antwaan Randle-Elcaught the ball inside the 5-yard line but was pushed out ofbounds before he could lunge into the end zone.


A gutsy call by Cameron allowed the Dolphins to grab a 7-3 leadon the final play of the first half.


With four seconds remaining, Cameron elected not to kick whatwould have been an almost certain game-tying field goal. Thegamble paid off as Trent Green fired a one-yard touchdown passto tight end Justin Peelle.


The Redskins answered on the first possession of the secondhalf, marching 78 yards in six plays to take a 10-7 lead onPortis' 19-yard touchdown.


From there, the contest turned into a battle of field goals asMiami tied it on Jay Feely's 20-yard field goal with 3:40 leftin the third quarter.


Suisham's 44-yarder but the Redskins ahead, 13-10, with5:35 left, but Feely converted a 36-yarder with two minutes leftto force overtime.

 

NFL: MIAMI at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH
--- --- --- ---
MIAMI 0 7 3 3
WASHINGTON 0 3 7 3

OT TOTAL
--- -----
MIAMI 0 13
WASHINGTON 3 16 FINAL IN OVERTIME

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

NONE

2ND QUARTER:

2:46 WAS - FG, SHAUN SUISHAM 31 YD.
Drive: 13 plays, 71 yards in 6:42.
Key plays: Campbell 35-yard pass to Randle El on 3rd-and-3 to Miami
38; Campbell 1-yard run on 3rd-and-1 to Miami 28. WASHINGTON 3-0.
15:00 MIA - TD, JUSTIN PEELLE 1 YD PASS FROM TRENT GREEN (JAY FEELY KICK).
Drive: 11 plays, 62 yards in 4:23.
Key plays: Green 23-yard pass to Chambers to Washington 39; Green
14-yard pass to Chambers to Washington 25; Booker 12-yard run to
Washington 13; Green 8-yard pass to Chatman on 3rd-and-7 to Washington 2.
MIAMI 7-3

3RD QUARTER:

3:13 WAS - TD, CLINTON PORTIS 19 YD RUN (SHAUN SUISHAM KICK).
Drive: 6 plays, 78 yards in 3:13.
Key plays: Campbell 49-yard pass to Randle El to Miami 24.
WASHINGTON 10-7.
11:23 MIA - FG, JAY FEELY 20 YD.
Drive: 9 plays, 38 yards in 4:36.
Key plays: Ginn 4-yard punt return plus 10-yard holding penalty on
Redskins' Prioleau to Washington 39; Green 9-yard pass to Chambers to
Washington 26 on 3rd-and-6; Green 15-yard pass to Brown to Washington 8
MIAMI 10-10

4TH QUARTER:

9:30 WAS - FG, SHAUN SUISHAM 44 YD.
Drive: 9 plays, 39 yards in 6:13.
Key plays: Cambell 8-yard pass to Randle El on 3rd-and-2 to Miami
49; Betts 11-yard run to Miami 29; Portis 8-yard run on 3rd-and-10 to
Miami 21. WASHINGTON 13-10.
13:05 MIA - FG, JAY FEELY 36 YD.
Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards in 3:35.
Key plays: Green 28-yard pass to Chambers to Washington 40; Brown
12-yard run to Washington 28; 20-yard pass interference penalty on
Redskins' Rogers to Washington 8. MIAMI 13-13

OVERTIME:

5:36 WAS - FG, SHAUN SUISHAM 39 YD.
Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards in 5:36.
Key plays: Portis 14-yard run to Washington 40; Cambell 10-yard pass
to Cooley on 3rd-and-7 to Miami 47; Portis 9-yard run to Miami 22.
WASHINGTON 16-13.

MIAMI - WASHINGTON Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS MIAMI WASHINGTON

FIRST DOWNS 17 19
Rushing 3 10
Passing 12 9
Penalty 2 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 4-13-31% 7-14-50%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-0-0% 0-0-0%
TOTAL NET YARDS 273 400
Total offensive plays 60 64
Average gain per play 4.6 6.3
NET YARDS RUSHING 66 191
Rushing attempts 20 41
Average gain per rush 3.3 4.7
Tackles for loss-yards 1-1 4-9
NET YARDS PASSING 207 209
Times sacked: Number-Yards 2-12 2-13
Gross passing yards 219 222
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 38-24-0 21-12-2
Avg gain per pass play 5.2 9.1
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 4-3-2 4-1-1
PUNTS: Number and Average 7-42.7 5-48.0
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 39.9 43.4
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 73 23
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 4-20 3-23
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 3-70 2-50
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 2-53 0-0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 8-61 7-65
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 1-1 2-0
TOUCHDOWNS 1 1
Rushing 0 1
Passing 1 0
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 0 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 1-1 1-1
Kicking: Made-Attempts 1-1 1-1
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 2-2 3-3
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 1-3-33% 1-2-50%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 1-3-33% 0-1-0%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 30:33 35:03


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

MIAMI WASHINGTON

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
R BROWN 11 32 2.9 12 0 C PORTIS 17 98 5.8 19 1
J CHATMAN 7 15 2.1 4 0 L BETTS 17 59 3.5 11 0
M BOOKER 1 12 12.0 12 0 J CAMPBELL 4 29 7.3 13 0
T GINN JR. 1 7 7.0 7 0 M SELLERS 2 8 4.0 4 0
A RANDLE E 1 -3 -3.0 0 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
T GREEN 24-38-219 0 1 28 J CAMPBELL 12-21-222 2 0 54

Sacked-Yards Lost: T GREEN 2-12. Sacked-Yards Lost: J CAMPBELL 2-13.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
C CHAMBERS 6 92 15.3 28 0 A RANDLE E 5 162 32.4 54 0
J CHATMAN 6 48 8.0 22 0 S MOSS 3 28 9.3 16 0
R BROWN 6 40 6.7 15 0 M SELLERS 2 6 3.0 4 0
M BOOKER 3 20 6.7 8 0 L BETTS 1 16 16.0 16 0
J PEELLE 2 12 6.0 11 1 C COOLEY 1 10 10.0 10 0
D MARTIN 1 7 7.0 7 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
T DANIELS 1 29 29.0 29 0
R HILL 1 24 24.0 24 0

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B FIELDS 7 299 42.7 1 1 50 D FROST 5 240 48.0 1 0 64

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
T GINN JR. 4 20 5.0 9 0 A RANDLE EL 3 23 7.7 15 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
T GINN JR. 3 70 23.3 34 0 R CARTWRIGHT 2 50 25.0 26 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
J FEELY 1/1 2/2 S SUISHAM 1/1 3/3
Dist.: 20 36 Dist.: 31 44 39

O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
J CHATMAN 1 1 0 0-0 A RANDLE EL 1 0 0 0-0
W ALLEN 0 0 1 0-0 M SELLERS 1 0 0 0-0
J TAYLOR 0 0 1 0-0 R MCINTOSH 0 0 1 0-0
S SPRINGS 0 0 0 0-1

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
Z THOMAS 13 9 4 1-8 L FLETCHER-BAKER 12 10 2 0-0
C CROWDER 8 4 4 0-0 R MCINTOSH 11 9 2 1-6
W ALLEN 6 4 2 0-0 F SMOOT 6 6 0 0-0
T DANIELS 6 4 2 0-0 S TAYLOR 5 2 3 0-0
V HOLLIDAY 6 2 4 0-0 C GRIFFIN 4 4 0 0-0
M ROTH 5 5 0 0-0 C ROGERS 4 3 1 0-0
J TAYLOR 5 4 1 1-5 M WASHINGTON 4 0 4 0-0
Y BELL 5 4 1 0-0 S SPRINGS 3 2 1 0-0
K TRAYLOR 4 2 2 0-0 L LANDRY 3 1 2 0-0
J PORTER 3 3 0 0-0 A CARTER 2 2 0 1-6
C WORRELL 3 3 0 0-0 D EVANS 2 2 0 0-0
C PAGE 2 2 0 0-0 P PRIOLEAU 2 1 1 0-0
R HILL 2 1 1 0-0
T TILLMAN 1 1 0 0-0
M LEHAN 1 1 0 0-0

Officials: Referee-Gene Steratore, Umpire-Carl Madsen, Head
Linesman-Paul Weidner, Line Judge-Tom Barnes, Field Judge-Doug
Rosenbaum, Side Judge-Barry Anderson, Back Judge-Tony Steratore.

Att: 90,163 Time of Game: 3:12</div>

 

By Tim Hipps
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


LANDOVER, Maryland Ticker) -- Antwaan Randle El had a career receivingday and Shaun Suisham kicked three field goals to lead the WashingtonRedskins to a 16-13 overtime victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

After winning the overtime coin toss, the Redskins drove 58yards in 10 plays, capped by Suisham's 39-yard kick with 9:24remaining in the extra period.


The loss spoiled the NFL coaching debut of Cam Cameron, whoreplaced Nick Saban in Miami.


Although running backs Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts and tightend Chris Cooley were Washington's workhorses on the winningdrive, Portis credited Randle El for saving the Redskins earlierin the day.


"He had a great performance receiving," Portis said of RandleEl, who finished with a career-high 162 yards on five receptionsand also had a key block on Portis' 19-yard TD run that gave theRedskins a 10-7 lead early in the third quarter.


Randle El's 35-yard reception from Jason Campbell ignited a13-play, 67-yard drive that led to Suisham's first field goal, a31-yarder for a 3-0 lead with 12:14 remaining in the secondquarter.


Early in the third quarter, Campbell connected with Randle Elfor 49 yards to the Dolphins' 24-yard-line. Two plays later,Randle El's block sprang Portis for the Redskins' only touchdownof the game.


"On that touchdown, he was probably the key block," Portis said. "He kept his man outside and I got the opportunity to cut."

Early in the fourth quarter, Randle El's 15-yard punt returnsparked a nine-play, 39-yard march, capped by Suisham's 44-yardfield goal that gave Washington a 13-10 lead with 5:30remaining.


Randle El also made an eight-yard grab on 3rd-and-2 to keep thedrive alive.


Three plays after Jay Feely's 36-yard field goal tied the game,13-13, Randle El made perhaps his biggest play of the day. Thistime, he turned defender and batted down Campbell's errant throwthat was headed into the waiting hands of Dolphins cornerbackMichael Lehan, who faced nothing but 40 yards of wide-open fieldbetween himself and the end zone.


On the final play of regulation from Washington's 43, Campbellattempted a "Hail Mary" pass to James Thrash in the end zone.Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor batted the ball back ontothe playing field and Randle El hauled it in and was knocked outof bounds at the 3 as time expired.


"He's a heck of a football player," said Cameron, who was theonly college coach to offer Randle El a scholarship to playquarterback at Indiana. "And what is he? A receiver? A puntreturner? I don't know, but he's a football player."

During his tenure at Indiana, Cameron was responsible for thecreative utilization of Randle El, one of the most versatileathletes in college football history.


Randle El finished hiscareer as the NCAA Division I-A rushing leader amongquarterbacks and was the only player in major college footballhistory to both rush for 40 touchdowns and pass for 40touchdowns in a career.


Other than losing three yards on an end-around play, about theonly thing Randle El did wrong Sunday was leave the Redskins'locker room before talking with reporters.


"Randle El came through and stepped up for us today," saidCampbell, who completed 12-of-21 passes for 222 yards with twointerceptions. "We were trying to give our guys an opportunityto catch some deep balls and open up their defense. Randle Eldid a good job of getting open down the sideline."

Portis, who was limited to eight games last season because ofhand and shoulder injuries, rushed for 98 yards on 17 carries.Betts added 59 yards, also on 17 attempts.


Portis isn't concerned about critics who doubted him for sittingout the exhibition season.


"It doesn't shut them up," he said. "We're 1-0 going intoPhiladelphia next week. We don't need anybody to jump on ourbandwagon or say that the Redskins are the greatest team all ofa sudden.




"Continue to leave us at the bottom of the barrel and doubt us,and let me and my teammates stick together and have thedetermination to come through to you all, and we'll be betterthan you all think."


Cameron's gutsy call gave the Dolphins a 7-3 lead on the finalplay of the first half.


With four seconds remaining, Cameron elected not to attempt apotential game-tying field goal. The gamble paid off when TrentGreen completed a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end JustinPeelle.


Washington's defense stymied Miami on 9-of-13 third-downsituations and limited the Dolphins to 66 rushing yards.

"Washington had eight men up on the line, especially early, andthey had (strong safety LaRon) Landry down in the box," Cameronsaid. "I bet there won't be a lot of people run on that defensewith Landry in the box as the eighth man."


Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown managed only 32 yards on 11carries. Jesse Chatman added 15 yards on seven carries.

"It just wasn't good enough to get a win," said Green, whocompleted 24-of-38 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown with nointerceptions. "We had our opportunities but I thoughtWashington did a really good job on defense today. Theypresented us with a lot of problems. We were able to have somedrives, and then we hurt ourselves. That's the disappointingthing because I think we had some opportunities as an offense todo more."


The Redskins took a big hit early in the game when right tackleJon Jansen suffered a broken right ankle. He could be out forthe remainder of the season.


"I think it was pretty serious, but we are just going to have towait and see what the doctor says," Redskins coach Joe Gibbssaid.