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LANDOVER, Maryland (Ticker) -- Stephen Davis rushed for 148 yards on 38 carries, including the go-ahead touchdown with 3:11 remaining in the game, as the Washington Redskins rallied for a 20-17 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Davis took a handoff from backup quarterback Kent Graham on 3rd-and-goal and ran to his right through tacklers to put the Redskins ahead for good and completed the play with a two-point conversion as he ran up the middle. The fifth-year back rushed for a career-high 1,432 yards this season and passed former Washington Hall-of-Famer John Riggins for third place on the team's all-time list for total yards rushing. "I knew going into the game I was going to get the ball a lot and we just stuck with our game plan," Davis said. Graham replaced starter Tony Banks, who injured his left knee after throwing an incomplete pass earlier in the fourth quarter. It was the second time Graham came off the bench to lead the Redskins to a victory as he helped Washington (8-8) to a come-from-behind victory at Denver on November 18. "As I told them throughout the season, they exhibited a tremendous amount of heart and a tremendous amount of purpose," said an emotional Washington coach Marty Schottenheimer. "There's no group that I've ever been associated with that had more heart than this group." Schottenheimer, in his first season with the Redskins, has been under fire over the past week with rumors circulating about being replaced as soon as the season ended. "I'm not going to go down that road now," he said, "I need to sit down with (team owner) Dan (Snyder) and we need to talk about the football team and we'll decide what direction to go from here. Would I like to come back? You bet your tail. I love coaching and if this is arrogant, so be it. I'm pretty darn good at it." Arizona (7-9) finished under .500 for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. "We talked about staying away from turnovers and what they can do to us," Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis said. "We had one turnover in the ballgame deep in our own territory that ended up being the one that slammed the door on us." The Cardinals opened the scoring 4:20 into the contest when Banks' pass for Michael Westbrook was intercepted by safety Adrian Wilson at Arizona's 39 and returned for a touchdown. After Brett Conway's 36-yard field goal put Washington on the board, Thomas Jones put Arizona ahead 14-3 with a four-yard run, capping a 76-yard drive which Jones carried four times for 19 yards with nine minutes left before halftime. Conway booted a 33-yarder just over five minutes later and Cedric Ogelsby answered with a 26-yarder just 13 seconds before halftime, giving the Cardinals a 17-6 lead. Washington came within five points with just over three minutes left in the third when Banks found tight end Walter Rasby in the end zone on 3rd-and-goal from the 5. Banks completed four passes for 45 yards on the 12-play, 82-yard drive but threw incomplete to tight end Zeron Flemister for the two-point conversion. Banks was 13-of-25 for 154 yards with one interception. The Redskins began their game-winning drive with 7:53 remaining when linebacker Antonio Pierce intercepted quarterback Jake Plummer on 3rd-and-6 at the Cardinals 24. Three plays later, Graham kept the drive alive with a third-down pass to running back Ki-Jana Carter at the 12. Graham fumbled at the 2 but recovered at the 3 two plays before Davis' game-winning touchdown. "I think what we have here is we have the key ingredients," Schottenheimer said. "Like every team in the league, we need a player here and a player there." Arizona took over on the ensuing kickoff at its own 41 but lost three yards on its four plays, including a controversial incompletion on fourth down, allowing Washington to run out the clock. "I've had a lot of pass interference calls this year and that was definitely pass interference," Cards receiver David Boston said. "We both went up for the ball and (the defensive back) just shoved me." Plummer threw for 154 yards, completing 11-of-25 passes and one interception while Pro Bowl receiver Boston caught just two passes for 58 yards and became the franchise leader with 1,597 yards. "We've got a lot to build on," McGinnis said. "This is a good football team that's going to be even better once we get healthy and add to it." Washington wide receiver Michael Westbrook caught just five passes for 62 yards and had 668 yards reciving on 57 receptions this season. "I've played football for 20 years now and I've never been this diminished in any one system," he said. "To me, it's an insult." |
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