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Brian Mitchell, the number one return man in National Football League.
Let's watch Eugene Steele come in here in the play.
Mitchell goes up, then down on his head.
Just excellent special teams by Houston.
We talked about their special teams, Mark.
The one thing about Houston, their coverage teams are fine.
They're right up there in the top.
It's the return teams that they have a problem with.
And the rest is from their 14-yard line.
The only deep back is Ernest Feiner, who had his difficulties last week.
Against the Giants, who shot him down.
Going in the middle, reaching out near the 20-yard line.
Al Smith, the middle linebacker, made the stop.
Al Smith now, when you're playing middle linebacker, because the risk is like the cutback, watch this.
He gets out on the guard, or on the center, excuse me, and then comes back.
Does not overrun the play, stays head up with Feiner, keeps it down to about a six-yard gain.
I mean, that's his job.
It should have been stopped at the line of scrimmage.
But Al Smith has to play off the center.
First was Japhossick, 53, and then get back into play.
It is a second down and four at the 20.
Houston and Washington, no score with six minutes.
Gone by in the first.
Feiner, close to the marker.
We were chatting yesterday with Jim Eddy, the defensive coordinator for the Houston Oilers.
And he has a very attacking, aggressive style defense.
And he said, even though it's worked well, and they are number one of the AFC,
that is also a concern because they can be overanxious,
and particularly against a club like Washington with all those extra formations
and so successful with play action and misdirection,
they could be over eager, and that could hurt them.
Yeah, it really can.
And their biggest problem, we were looking at Jim Eddy in our meetings with him the last couple weeks.
He's over aggressive.
He's a great guy to talk to.
But the thing about him, what he's talking about,
and people sometimes don't realize is the disadvantage that the Oilers have.
They have no tight ends on their football team.
So when they see the Redskins come out and double tight ends,
which they've been doing this whole drive and the one before that,
and also three tight ends, they don't have anybody to simulate that.
So they're really at a disadvantage.
It's the first down of the 24.
And Ripon able to complete to Monk out of the 29 hit by Lamar Leeson.
You know, you always wonder about Ripon, why he's only been sacked four times.
When you take a look along this line right in here and then look at the back,
you're looking at maximum protection.
When he goes back, they keep a tight end in and then drift out.
You see Biner is back in the backfield with him, so he has time to throw the football.
And once he sets his feet, he has time to pick up Monk, who is only out about five yards,
picks up an extra yard, down a second and four.
Once again, Biner is blown deep back.
The Biner on a delay.
And the Biner getting to the 34-yard line.
Last week, the Giants were waiting for Biner, ganging up on him.
He was smothered only 11 yards on 10 carries, although he's had a very fine season,
averaging four yards per carry.
He's third of the NFC, 602 rushing yards, picked up a first down at the 34.
Gretzky is doing something a little bit different.
They got three wide receivers in the game and only one tight end,
but yet they ran the ball on second and four and picked up the first down.
Now, there is one, just to the left side at the bottom of your screen,
first down at the 34-yard line.
Biner.
Short pick up, Al Smith.
Al Smith is the middle linebacker.
His job is Biner.
Watch Smith.
Here's 54.
He's sliding down a line of scrimmage.
All he has to do now, the guy that makes this whole play is Childress.
Childress keeps Schlereth away from Smith so he can't block him
and gives him a chance to make the play.
Ray Childress, a man who has successfully made the switch from defensive end
to defensive tackle in Jack Pardee's 4-3 scheme.
Second down and seventh.
Biner.
Run well for the first down.
Smart, he did run well, Biner, but the man who makes the play is Art Monk,
number 81.
He is the guy that gets the block.
When Art Monk comes off the line of scrimmage, all he does is scream.
You see him right in the corner of the screen?
Watch this.
You see Monk?
Here is his block.
Right down on Robertson, number 31, he gets the hole.
They get the first down.
Six minutes remaining.
First quarter, Houston and Washington are scoreless.
First down at the 46 for the Redskins.
And it's the second back coming through once again.
Biner with the Redskins controlling the ball.
Richard Johnson made the tackle.
They're going right up the middle and Jim Addie said,
we're going to be tested today up the middle.
We're going to find out how good the middle of our defensive line is
with Smith and Childress.
And that time, the center, Jeff Bostic, got a block on Al Smith,
number 54, the middle linebacker,
and it opened that hole for a six-yard gain.
Yes, Addie said that the Oilers could be vulnerable to runs up the middle.
They have not been challenged by an inside running game.
We have three tight ends in the ball game now.
You've got Middleton, Warren, and Ohr in the game.
And with three tight ends, there is only one wide receiver.
And that's where you really have to be careful.
The one wide receiver is Ricky Sanders.
You just got to not forget about him.
Dickman is playing him now man to man, but he must stay with him.
Second down, three after Houston, 47.
Crowd looking for movement.
Biner stopped back behind the line.
What they're trying to do, because Houston is so successful
with pursuing to the ball,
when you take a look at this defensive line and linebackers,
once the movement comes this way,
watch what the line and linebackers do,
and all of a sudden the back wants to go back to this side.
Almost offside by Houston.
They get back.
Now you see them come back, Biner, but when he comes back,
that's because Childress is there, Smith is there.
And Doug Smith is shaken up.
We'll take a break.
We'll be back at RFK after these words.
Number 99, Doug Smith.
The man has become a vocal team leader for Houston.
He's been the leader of the defense.
And he is now on the sideline.
Shaken up, replaced by second year player out of Notre Dame, Jeff Hall.
It's a four down and three.
The Redskins controlling the ball here in the first quarter.
No score with 4-47 remaining.
Look at that, but it hit Monk.
That's a marker.
Let's see where they spot it up here.
But he picked it up.
Marcus Robertson made the stop on Mark Monk.
You know, you really have to like this offense because they give maximum protection.
You see Monk comes out.
He looks.
He knows exactly where the first down is.
Robertson's there.
There's no question about that, but Monk has it by about a half a yard.
And that's all he really wanted.
And this will be the tenth play of the drive.
Art Monk in his twelfth year of Syracuse.
But when you look at this play, Terry Orr, number 89, is the blocker right there.
But he goes in motion to the left.
Once he does that, it holds the safety over there.
Then he comes back and blocks back to the right.
Biner just follows him.
Misdirection again.
And Doug Smith has checked back in.
Fuller, Childress, Smith, and Jones back in back up front.
First down of the twenty-nine for Washington.
Mark, this is where the counter-counter gap comes.
But here's what happens.
You see this tight end right here?
He's going to come this way to seal the back side.
Then you're going to see the right guard and right tackle pull.
And that's the way they run it.
They've got to seal it back.
There he is sealing on the back side.
And once Orr does that, it allows the tackle and the guard to come back into the hole.
Well, this is drive that started on Washington's fourteen.
And it's now second and seven at the twenty-six.
The Irvins has come on.
He usually comes in with the fresh legs.
Goes five foot seven.
He says five-seven and three-quarters.
And he was stopped by Lamar Latham.
Looked like he and Latham exchanged words.
What did we talk to Darrell Green yesterday?
What did he say?
He's five-eight and a half.
I mean, why?
Actually, Darrell claims that he's shorter because he wants it to appear as even a tougher cast going.
Hey, it's Jeffery.
It's tough enough.
It's a third and two at the twenty-one.
Rippin' off the wall.
And half a full stop with Ricky Sanders.
Chris Fissman on the stop.
And this long Washington drive continues.
Hold it for a second.
Ricky Sanders comes out to the right-hand side.
When he comes in motion, Marv, look.
Nobody's there to cover him.
Dishman is down on the five-yard line.
Makes the tackle back up on the thirteen-yard line.
But Sanders was already open for the first down.
This, the fourteenth play of the drive.
Minute and a half to go first quarter.
Washington has had the ball most of the quarter.
First out of the thirteen.
Rippin'.
The reversal on the call earlier in the quarter, looming larger and larger.
Well, you know, you talk about some plays that turn games around.
We're talking about that play, if you just tuned in late.
Moon goes back to pass on third down.
The ball was on the forty-three-yard line.
Completed it on the thirty for a first down.
But there was a blitzing linebacker.
And when the linebacker college came in, hit Moon.
Moon was down on one knee.
They called it down.
And they had the puck the way.
Here's Irvin's on the counter, reaching out for the five.
Ricky Irvin.
Last week against the Giants sparked the offense with 82 yards rushing on 20 carries in the second half.
And he's come out early for Irvin Beiner, who ran so well in his first quarter.
Time running down.
We're down to twenty seconds left in the quarter.
And the crowd reacting to this long rest in drive.
And the other thing about the Redskins, they had 25 seconds left on the clock.
And the Redskins just want to make sure that Houston doesn't get the ball.
And they're content running to 25 seconds off the clock.
Welcome back, RFK Stadium in our nation's capital, Marv Albert with Paul McGuire.
Houston and Washington, no score as we head to the second period.
And the Redskins have controlled the ball for ten minutes and forty-three seconds.
Look at that current drive.
Fifteen plays 81 yards.
The Houston defense on the field for a long time.
It's a fur down and two.
The ball is at the five.
Beiner.
That's the long setback.
He's hit down.
Lamar Latham, the second-year player out of the University of Houston with the hit.
This is interesting.
Marv, when you take a look, they're going to kick a field goal.
They're going to kick a field goal here on this play.
But the Redskins came out with three wide receivers and tried to spread out the defense.
When they did that, they thought that, well, we'll run the ball off tackle.
But Latham didn't take any fake at all.
He made the play actually right at the line of scrimmage.
It was third and two.
It's now fourth and two, the Redskins in the field goal.
Here is Chip Lowmiller attempting from twenty-one yards away.
Jeff Rutledge will hold.
He pounds it through to make it 16-20 for the season.
And a 3-0 lead for Washington.