THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 31, 1994 TAG: 9410310151
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long : 115 lines
Rookie Gus Frerotte maintained his job Sunday. The Redskins maintained their losing streak against NFC East competition. For once this season, everything is as it was with the Redskins.
Officially, it was Eddie Murray's 30-yard field goal with 19 seconds to play that lifted the Eagles to a 31-29 victory over the Redskins at RFK Stadium, Washington's 12th consecutive NFC East setback.
But it was Frerotte's mistakes - including a couple doozies - that helped the Eagles (6-2) stay just one game behind the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East.
``If I could have avoided them, we win the game,'' Frerotte admitted after completing 13 of 30 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns.
The first mistake came with the Redskins ahead, 14-0, halfway through the second quarter. Frerotte lost control of the ball when sacked by Andy Harmon and William Perry. Harmon recovered at the Washington 18. Three plays later, Herschel Walker scored on an 11-yard pass from Randall Cunningham.
Mistake No. 2 came on the opening possession of the second half, when Frerotte tried to hit Henry Ellard with a short pass. Safety Greg Jackson, who three weeks ago thwarted Washington's bid for a comeback victory with a last-second interception, returned this one 54 yards for a touchdown.
``That jump-started us,'' Philadelphia coach Rich Kotite said.
Good thing, too. The Eagles didn't complete a pass to a wideout until Cunningham's 7-yard flip to Fred Barnett with 5:29 left in the third quarter.
But Cunningham guided his offense on one of those last-ditch drives that characterize this series - the last five games have been settled in the final minute.
With the Eagles trailing by a point, he hit Victor Bailey for 11 yards and Vaughn Hebron for 9, gained 8 on a quarterback sneak and feathered a brilliant 14-yard pass to Calvin Williams on third-and-10 from Washington's 48.
Four plays after Hebron, the ex-Virginia Tech star who took Charlie Garner's place and contributed 47 critical yards, gained 17, Murray launched his game-winner.
``I told Eddie, `Hey, we're going to get it down there for you,' '' said Cunningham, who was 18-of-31 for 165 yards and no turnovers. ``He's Eddie Money.''
Much of the time, Frerotte was Gus The Great. But he committed other errors of varying consequence - timeouts burned because he couldn't get the offense lined up in time; an interception thrown because of a missed read; indecision on a two-point conversion try that led to Frerotte being stopped short of the end zone.
``Hey, reality sets in,'' coach Norv Turner said. ``He made a few good plays, but he's still a rookie quarterback. We gave them the couple of plays they needed to stay in the game early.''
The rookie from Tulsa had a bunch of good moments, too.
There was a grand seven-play, 60-yard drive that gave Washington a 7-0 lead. Frerotte hit Ellard in the seam of a zone for 21 yards. Five plays later, Frerotte hit Desmond Howard on a perfect down-and-out over Eric Allen.
On the next possession, he took the Redskins 85 yards in 13 plays, albeit with some help from the Eagles. Chesapeake's William Fuller tackled Ricky Ervins for a loss on third and 9 from the Philly 30 - but the Eagles had 12 men on the field. Three plays later, tight end Ethan Horton beat safety Rich Miano inside and Frerotte whipped him a 15-yard scoring pass for a 14-0 edge.
``He has great vision,'' Kotite said of Frerotte.
Frerotte wobbled momentarily when he fumbled after being hit by Perry with 6:48 remaining in the first half. Then he fired a pass that Mark McMillian intercepted at midfield on the next series. But Murray's field-goal try from 42 yards hit the right upright and bounced backward.
Frerotte regained his composure, firing a 17-yard pass to Ellard. That set up Chip Lohmiller's 54-yard field goal, which hit the crossbar and bounced over, boosting Washington's advantage to 17-7.
``I told him he came back and played like a man on that two-minute drive,'' quarterbacks coach Cam Cameron said.
Jackson's interception got Frerotte's second half off the a rocky start. But this time, the Redskins' offensive line stepped forward to give the kid time to compose himself again.
With tackle Ray Brown playing tight end in tandem with James Jenkins, the Redskins suddenly began blowing big holes in the Philadelphia line. Ricky Ervins, who gained 85 yards on 16 carries before spraining an ankle, ran for 7 yards before Brian Mitchell took over.
On consecutive carries, Mitchell gained 12, 1, 8, 2 and 4 yards. Then Frerotte found Tydus Winans across the middle for 23 more yards. After a 5-yard run by Mitchell, the drive stalled and Lohmiller kicked a 23-yard field goal. Washington led, 20-14, with 6:17 left in the third quarter.
Walker scored his second touchdown of the day on a 1-yard run to slice the deficit to 1 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Four minutes later, Hebron rammed 7 yards to put Philly up, 28-20.
Frerotte hit Ellard for 18 yards, then launched a bomb for Winans down the right sideline. McMillian was called for interference, giving Washington first-and-goal at the 1. A wide-open Jenkins caught Frerotte's scoring pass the next snap, drawing Washington to within two.
But Philly's defense and Frerotte's indecision defused the two-point attempt. Washington sent Ellard and Winans into the same corner of the end zone, one up front, the other deep. Frerotte was supposed to have his pick, but both were covered. He didn't break for the end zone until too late and was swarmed under.
However, Washington retook the lead when Lohmiller kicked a 40-yarder with 3:58 to go - more than ample time for Cunningham to show Frerotte how to operate down the stretch. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by PAUL AIKEN, Staff
Eagles running back Charlie Garner found the going rough Sunday,
held to 38 yards on 12 carries. With the game on the line,
Philadelphia went to the air and pulled out a two-point victory.
The Eagles' Mark McMillian, right, was called for interference on a
pass intended for Tydus Winans, setting up a Washington touchdown as
the Redskins rallied to take a late lead.
Photo by PAUL AIKEN, Staff
The Redskins' Tom Carter tries to bring down Philadelphia's Fred
Barnett on a rare completion to an Eagles wide receiver.
by CNB