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Rams blank Redskins to post 2nd straight shutout

Dec 8, 2014 - 1:41 AM Landover, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins, Alec Ogletree and Greg Robinson were in the St. Louis Rams' starting lineup.

Robert Griffin III was still on the Washington Redskins bench, at least for the first 58 minutes.

Shaun Hill tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Jared Cook and the Rams blanked the Redskins 24-0 on Sunday afternoon to record their second straight shutout win.

After Tavon Austin's 78-yard punt return staked the Rams to a 24-0 advantage late in the third quarter, chants of "RGIII, RGIII, RGIII," reverberated throughout FedEx Field.

Griffin, though, never got the call until two minutes remained after Colt McCoy departed with a neck strain.

Brockers, Jenkins, Ogletree and Robinson were among the slew of players the Rams received from their 2012 blockbuster trade with Washington, along with Stedman Bailey, Zac Stacy, Isaiah Pead and Rokevious Watkins. St. Louis sent its 2012 second overall pick to the Redskins in exchange for three first round picks and a second-round selection. Washington had the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

The Redskins made the gamble in the hopes that it would solve their franchise quarterback woes. It reaped early benefits as Griffin won the 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and led Washington to a 10-6 mark and an NFC East crown. But the Baylor product has suffered a pair of knee injuries since, including a torn ACL in Washington's 2012 Wild Card playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and has struggled to adapt his game the last two seasons.

Griffin suffered a dislocated ankle in Week 2 of this season and returned in Week 9 at Minnesota, but was benched after a trio of poor performances in favor of McCoy, who was 20-of-32 for 199 yards with two interceptions Sunday.

Hill was 16-of-22 for 213 yards, while Cook hauled in four passes for 61 yards for St. Louis (6-7), which posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1945. The Rams blanked Oakland 52-0 last Sunday.

"Pretty impressive," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said of the shutouts. "I look at this as we can play better."

The defense recorded seven sacks, two interceptions and eight tackles for loss in the triumph.

Pierre Garcon tallied nine receptions for 95 yards for the Redskins (3-10), who have dropped five games in a row.

"These guys are trying, we just got outcoached and outplayed today," Washington coach Jay Gruden said.

Rams safety Rodney McLeod intercepted McCoy over the middle on Washington's opening drive and St. Louis held the ball for 7:20 on its first touch, but came away with no points.

The Rams drove the ball to the Washington 22, but an illegal use of hands and offensive pass interference penalty on consecutive plays pushed the ball back to the 42 and St. Louis wound up punting.

St. Louis found the end zone on its second drive when Cook hauled in a 35-yard TD pass early in the second. Greg Zuerlein missed the extra point and then pushed a 28-yard field goal to the right on the Rams' next trek. Zuerlein also missed a 38-yard try on the final play of the half.

Zuerlein finally split the uprights on a 34-yarder to cap the Rams' 13-play, 61-yard march to begin the third, making it 9-0.

Bailey's 36-yard catch-and-run to the 1 converted a 3rd-and-12 on the Rams' next touch and Hill flipped a 1-yard TD pass to Cook on the very next play. St. Louis then added two more points when Johnny Hekker tossed a two-point conversion to Cory Harkey on a fake field goal, extending the margin to 17-0.

Game Notes

These two teams played in Week 2 of the 2012 campaign after the trade that April, with the Rams limiting Griffin to 206 yards passing in a 31-28 victory ... Tre Mason carried the ball 20 times for 66 yards for the Rams ... St. Louis outgained Washington 329-206.