‘Skins pick up first win against Raiders

For the first three games of the 2013 NFL season, the Washington Redskins found one thing in common during each of their games; losing.  Whether it was the defense, offense, or special teams.  Things simply weren’t clicking for the defending NFC East champions.  In week four, however, everything seemed to change, and the Redskins finally broke out of their losing streak.

David Amerson (Above) gathered his first career interception for a touchdown, Sunday.

Sunday, Washington defeated the Oakland Raiders by a score of 24-14.  The Raiders got off to a hot start after converting their opening drive and a blocked punt for touchdowns.  Washington looked like as if they were ready to drop to 0-4 after quickly falling behind 14-0. Jim Haslett and the defense, however, lead the comeback putting the Redskins on the board with an interception return for a touchdown by rookie cornerback David Amerson.  The defensive continued to dominate, and played their best game of the season, coming up with seven crucial sacks.  Brian Orakpo, Ryan Kerrigan, and Barry Cofield each recorded two sacks apiece, consistently putting pressure on back up quarterback Matt Flynn.

The Redskins offense finally found its mojo in the second half as the offense orchestrated an eight play 53-yard drive to give Washington their first second half lead of the season.  The defense continued to be solid, and the Oakland defense crumbled, as Washington extended their lead with a 14-yard touchdown run by Roy Helu Jr, late in the fourth quarter.  The Washington defense stifled Oakland one last time, and the Skins held on for their first win of the 2013 season.

Many around the organization believed this was the spark Washington needed to get back on track.  Also around the conference, Dallas, Philadelphia, and New York lost putting the Redskins just one game back of the conference lead.  The Redskins will now have two weeks to prep for their date with the rival Dallas Cowboys on October 13^th.