Cousins, Thompson lead Redskins to 27-20 win vs. Rams

Sep 18, 2018, 02:24 am

LOS ANGELES -- Kirk Cousins threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Grant with 1:49 to play to give the Washington Redskins a 27-20 victory Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams and rookie head coach Sean McVay.

Cousins capped the winning 70-yard drive by finding Grant in the front left corner of the end zone.

The Rams had tied the game at 20 on Greg Zuerlein's 40-yard field goal with 7:16 to play. It was set up on a trick play, when punter Johnny Hekker completed a 28-yard pass to Josh Reynolds to the Washington 17. But two penalties stalled the drive and the Rams had to settle for the field goal.

Chris Thompson scored on runs of 61 and 7 yards for the Redskins (1-1).

Mason Foster sealed it with 1:37 to go by intercepting Jared Goff.

Cousins had a much better day than in a season-opening loss to Philadelphia, when he had three turnovers. He completed 18 of 27 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions.

McVay, 31, worked for the Redskins for seven seasons, including the last three as offensive coordinator under Jay Gruden, before being hired by the Rams as the youngest head coach in modern league history.

Despite McVay's familiarity with the Redskins, it didn't translate into a win for the Rams (1-1).

Washington was in control most of the afternoon, including jumping ahead 13-0 early in the second quarter after Thompson took a toss and ran in from 7 yards, getting the ball just inside the pylon.

Late in the second half, on second-and-6 from the Washington 39, Thompson took a delayed handoff from Cousins out of the shotgun and burst through the defense for his long TD run and a 20-10 lead.

The Rams, who didn't look near as sharp as they did in routing Indianapolis a week earlier, made a game of it thanks to a spectacular play by Todd Gurley.

Midway through the third quarter, Gurley caught a swing pass from Goff, hurdled cornerback Bashaud Breeland and then reached for the pylon to complete the 18-yard play and pull the Rams to 20-17.

Gurley also scored on a 1-yard run midway through the third quarter. His fumble helped set up a 22-yard field goal by Washington's Dustin Hopkins in the second quarter.

With the Redskins trying to add to a 20-17 lead late in the third quarter, Hopkins' 51-yard attempt bounced off the right upright.

Goff didn't have nearly the day he did a week earlier, when he threw for a career-high 306 yards to get his first win as an NFL starter. He was 15 of 25 for 224 yards, with one TD and one interception.

INJURIES

Washington: Starting RB Rob Kelley suffered a rib injury midway through the second quarter and didn't return. ... Foster hurt his right shoulder late in the second quarter. ... TE Jordan Reed suffered a chest injury in the third quarter. ... S Montae Nicholson hurt a shoulder in the fourth quarter.

Los Angeles: TE Gerald Everett suffered a thigh injury in the third quarter.

UP NEXT

Washington: The Redskins host the Oakland Raiders on Sunday night.

Los Angeles: The Rams play their NFC West opener at San Francisco on Thursday night.

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