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Let me preface this article that RGIII's rookie season was a four and half month highlight reel consisting of 20 passing touchdowns and seven rushing TDs. No easy task narrowing them down. I also plan to do a post on the top receiving TDs of the year, because that TD pass to Moss vs two Eagles was really all Moss and deserves it's own attention. Let's roll:
Honorable Mention - QB draw up the middle for the easy TD
The Redskins got back to 2-2 with another fine performance by RGIII. Defenses that refused to defend the Quarterback paid the price, which validated what a weapon RGIII was. Billy Cundiff tried very hard to lose this game with FG misses, but the Redskins prevailed.
#5 - RGIII's Long Bomb Pass to Leonard Hankerson
How long has it been since the Redskins have had a QB that can throw a deep ball accurately? The Jason Campbell no arc missles that were always over-thrown, the McNabb and Brunell bounce passes, the Grossman inconsistencies. On this pass Hankerson never has to dive, slow down, or stutter....the ball is perfectly delivered....and this is week 2.
#4 - Game-winning TD pass at NYG
OK, this of course was not the game winning pass. The Redskins D let Victor Cruz behind them on the next drive and the Redskins lost, but I could watch this gif 100 times every day. The instinct to back foot this throw and drop it right in there is a thing of beauty.
#3 - Play-action Fake to Aldrick Robinson
I'm pretty sure every Redskin fan reacted similarly to me: Standing up from the couch and high-fiving their family as the Redskins continued the whooping in Dallas. This ball travels 70 yards in the air and RGIII makes it look effortless. Another perfect accuracy throw. All week long we heard the Redskins were 0-6 on Thanksgiving and Romo was 5-0. (Honeybadger doesn't give a sh*t.) I just realized that now, like most Redskins fans, when RGIII launches the ball and the WR has yet to come in TV view, I'm already expecting it to be complete. That is a good thing.
#2 - RGIII's first NFL touchdown pass
Robert Griffin III's first NFL game came at the hostile and very loud Superdome. The Saints were heavy favorites and RGIII threw a strike to Garcon, which he took 88 yards to the house. It wasn't picture perfect accuracy, but RGIII never flinched on his pass with a rusher coming in untouched. All the hype was validated at this moment.
#1 - RGIII's Game Clinching 76-yard TD rush
With the concussion versus Atlanta the previous week still fresh on everyone's mind, and the Redskins holding on to a narrow five point lead late in the 4th, on 3rd and 6 RGIII ran up in the middle and then left to what looked to be running out of bounds, which every fan, coach, and teammate was cheering for. As RGIII said post game: "I took off running and got to the sideline, thought about running out of bounds -- because everyone's been telling me that lately," he said with a big smile. "And I felt like I had the guy outflanked, and then I just took off running. And the rest is history."
