warum » the lineup had its share of key performances. Freema

(SportsNetwork.com) - The St. Louis Rams hope they saved some points from their previous win and will visit the Washington Redskins Sunday at FedEx Field. The Rams annihilated the lowly Oakland Raiders, 52-0, at home this past weekend and took advantage of five turnovers by the visiting team, including a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown by Trumaine Johnson. All three phases worked in St. Louis favor and the team rode the legs of Tre Mason, who ran for a season-high 117 yards and two scores. He had an 89-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and posted just his second 100-yard game of the season. Mason also scored on a 35-yard screen pass. We practiced with a purpose, we met with a purpose, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said. Weve been doing that all year long. It all just came together for us today. St. Louis improved to 5-7 and has rotated wins over the past eight games. Veteran quarterback Shaun Hill made his third start since replacing rookie Austin Davis and threw for 183 yards with two touchdowns on 13-of-22 passing. Hill won his only career start against the Redskins as a member of San Francisco in 2008. Oakland used two quarterbacks after rookie Derek Carr was intercepted twice and passed for 173 yards. Matt Schaub came on in relief and was intercepted, completing 5-of-9 attempts for 57 yards. Johnson had two interceptions and was excited for his pick-six. This is my first pick six, Johnson said. I scored and forgot what it was like to be in the end zone. My celebration was trash, but Im just glad I caught it and put some points up for our team. E.J. Gaines posted the other interception for the Rams, who recorded six sacks, three of which by Robert Quinn. Quinn has nine sacks on the season and is 10 shy of matching his 2013 total. The Rams are on the road, where they have lost two in a row and four of the last five games. Washington is a dismal 3-9 this season and mired in a four-game losing streak. It will play three of four games at home to close the season. The Redskins made a statement by benching franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III after a 17-13 loss at San Francisco. The move to Colt McCoy produced some numbers, but it wasnt enough to overcome Sundays 49-27 loss in Indianapolis. McCoy threw for a career-high 392 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in his second start of the season, and Jordan Reed was his favorite target. Reed caught nine passes for 123 yards and DeSean Jackson finished with five receptions for 84 yards and a score. Wide receiver Santana Moss recorded his first reception of the season in the second quarter, gaining 13 yards. Players have to start stepping up and taking some accountability at some point, Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. Weve got to do a better job coaching, thats all I can say. The Colts had 487 total yards to Washingtons 425. Ryan Kerrigan posted the lone sack for the Redskins and has 9 1/2 this season. He also posted the 13th forced fumble of his career for the Redskins, who had three takeaways for the second straight week. Washingtons defense has seen better days and is ninth in rushing yards allowed (102.8), 11th in total yards (344.0), 15th in passing yards (241.2) and 27th in points allowed (26.8). The Redskins are 14th in sacks (28.0) and 29th in interceptions (5). I think everybody in our room works hard, Redskins defensive back Ryan Clark said. I love these dudes. I like the guys I work with. I love the way they work. I love the way they prepare, but you got to bring it to the grass and we need to bring it to the grass as a group. The Redskins lead the all-time series with the Rams, 24-12-1, but have lost four of the past six meetings between the two teams. St. Louis won the latest installment of this series by recording a 31-28 win on Sept. 16, 2012. RG3 passed for 206 yards with a TD and an INT, and also ran for 82 yards and two scores. Alfred Morris posted 89 yards on 16 carries in defeat. Washington is 11-5 all-time in regular season home games against the Rams. WHAT TO WATCH FOR The Redskins are 10th and 11th, respectively, in passing yards (260.5) and total yards (370.2) this season. The Rams are allowing 245.2 passing yards and 356.3 total yards on defense, so this could turn out to be a win for the hosts. St. Louis sacked the Raiders six times and Quinn led the way. Now he gets to face McCoy, who was sacked six times on Sunday and 11 times in three appearances this season. Quinn has nine sacks and four forced fumbles in his last seven games. McCoy and the Redskins are closing out the season with pride and effort. We have unity. We have good guys in that locker room. We have good coaches and we know this isnt how the season, this isnt how we drew it up, McCoy said. But we all still have a lot of pride and certainly in that receivers group, theres a lot of pride. So I can be better and I think we all can be better. And we just have to continue to grind and continue to improve. The most important thing is to find a way to get a win. Were going back home this week, so Ill put my best foot forward and keep going. Speaking of the receivers, wide receiver Pierre Garcon surpassed 5,000 career receiving yards and Jackson posted his 400th career reception. Jackson eclipsed 7,000 career receiving yards and is a deep threat for the Skins. He has 10 catches for 40 or more yards this season, and is nursing a leg bruise. Jackson has faced St. Louis twice in his career as an Eagle, posting 12 receptions for 208 yards and a touchdown. Redskins safety Brandon Meriweather suffered a sprained toe and his status for Sunday is unknown. Other defensive players who sustained injuries against the Colts were cornerback Chase Minnifield, linebacker Will Compton and defensive lineman Kedric Golston. Gruden said its not looking good for Meriweather to play this week. Golston could be out with both a back and foot ailment. St. Louis hopes to run up the score on Washington like it did versus Oakland, and can take advantage of a nicked-up Redskins defense. Mason will face a Washington defense allowing just over 100 yards a game. The Colts had 126 rushing yards on Sunday and Dan Herron had 88 yards and a TD on eight touches. Mason is riding a strong wave from the Oakland game and will try to carry it over into FedEx Field. I want to be the best player to ever touch a football, and thats what Im heading after, Mason said. Thats a goal of mine. While those aspirations may be a bit far-fetched, Mason should have similar numbers Sunday. My mindset is that if Ive done it once, why not do it again? Mason said. I told myself coming into the league to be the best, to be the greatest. And Im trying to do it. Mason leads NFC rookies with 562 rushing yards and has led the Rams in rushing in all eight games played. Rams defensive end Chris Long returned against the Raiders after suffering an ankle injury in Week 1. Long had a sack and his coach is happy hes back. Its great to get him back. Hes not 100 percent yet, but I brought him back just to get him off my rear end, Fisher said. He was just wearing me out to come back and play. Chris understands the game, he plays with leverage, hes a good run defender. Its great to get on the board from a sack standpoint. OVERALL ANALYSIS Shutting out the Raiders in blowout fashion was no fluke by the Rams, but theyve struggled on the road all season. The Rams are out of the playoff mix and would like to end the season on a positive note with high expectations for 2015. And so would the Redskins. With a new QB in tow for a second straight week, the home team has the edge in this one. Gruden liked the way McCoy competed against a tough Indy squad and had admiration for his QB, which has been rare this season. Colt competed, Gruden said. There are some things I wish we would have done differently, play calls and execution-wise, but I feel like he competed and did a nice job out there. Washingtons defense may be banged up a bit, so its up to McCoy, Morris and some talented receivers to keep team pride intact. Sports Network predicted outcome: Redskins 26, Rams 21 Under Armour Wholesale Australia . Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Shawn Marion had 22 and the Mavericks beat undermanned Philadelphia 124-112 Friday night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss. Discount Under Armour Australia . -- Albert Pujols is thrilled to have a reason to forget about his first two disappointing seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. http://www.cheapaustraliaunderarmour.com/ . Johns, N.L., to Thunder Bay, Ont., after a deal was announced to build a new $106-million "event centre" in the Lake Superior community. Under Armour Sale Australia . Bilbaos first victory in four rounds lifted it four points clear of Real Sociedad and kept it in command of Spains last Champions League berth for next season. In contrast, Betis was left 11 points from safety after a dismal performance that at times bordered on self-destruction amid some questionable refereeing decisions. Under Armour Clearance Australia . PETERSBURG, Fla.CHICAGO -- The title was right there, across the front of the soaked grey T-shirts that each of the Atlanta Braves wore. "WE OWN THE EAST," it read. The Braves wrapped up the NL East crown, and then rode two homers by Andrelton Simmons to a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs that touched off a wild party in the cramped visitors clubhouse at Wrigley Field. The game was in the sixth inning when Washington lost 4-2 to Miami, giving the Braves their first division championship in eight years. There were a few high-fives in Atlantas dugout when the Marlins won, and a couple of Braves fans did the tomahawk chop in the stands. Manager Fredi Gonzalez high-fived a fan as he made his way to the dugout after a lineup change, and the celebration really picked up when Craig Kimbrel finished for his major league-best 49th save. The Braves poured out of the dugout and bullpen and jumped in a circle near the mound at the 99-year-old ballpark. "What a great feeling," Gonzalez said. "It really is a great feeling to realize weve played 150-some games to get to this point. We knew early on that the Nationals had lost but we still wanted to be able to celebrate and come out with a win. And we did." The Braves sprayed bubbly and doused each other with beer in the clubhouse. Cigars were passed around, and the smoke quickly filled the small room. A couple of players took a quick break to check on their fantasy football teams, and then re-joined the party. "This is only one celebration of four, hopefully," slugger Freddie Freeman said. Simmons hit a solo drive in the fourth and a two-run shot in the eighth, giving him 17 homers on the year. Simmons second career multihomer game was more than enough run support for Julio Teheran (13-8), who struck out seven over six innings of one-run ball. The Cubs had a chance to tie it when they put runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth, but Teheran managed to escape the jam despite a solid at-bat by Starlin Castro. Teheran needed 11 pitches to get Castro for a swinging strikeout, preserving Atlantas 3-1 lead. "We have a lot of close games and we just havent been able to come back or rally at home," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. Freeman also hit a two-run homer for the Braves, who have won three of four. Freeman went got three hits and is batting .356 (26 for 73) with six homers and 17 RBIs in his last 20 games. Freeman went deep in the first against Edwin Jackson (8-17), who allowed three runs and eight hits in six-plus innings. The right-hander leads the majors with 17 losses in his first season with the Cubs. "I kind of feel like I got beat with two pitches," Jackson said, "moreso the slider 1-2 (to Simmons) than the fastball by Freeman." Atlanta is headed to the playoffs for the second straight year and third time in four seasonns.ddddddddddddBut its the first division title for the Braves since 2005, when they won 90 games and then lost to Houston in the division series. The Braves were the NLs top wild card a year ago, trying to make one more playoff run for Chipper Jones in the third basemans final season. Those hopes were quickly dashed when they committed three errors in a 6-3 home loss to St. Louis in their only game of the 2012 post-season. "We know last year what happened," Simmons said. "We played pretty good but not good enough and we had to deal with a one-game playoff thing. Its definitely a different feeling. "Now we know weve got some time, weve got some games to work with. Weve got a little bit of time to rest our players." The only question now is home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs, with Atlanta, Los Angeles and St. Louis in the mix for the leagues best record. Its quite the accomplishment for Gonzalez and the Braves, who were beset by injuries for much of the year. Veteran catcher Brian McCann missed the first month following off-season shoulder surgery. The outfield of Jason Heyward and brothers Justin and B.J. Upton all missed time. Second baseman Dan Uggla had eye surgery and pitcher Tim Hudson broke his right ankle in July, shelving the right-hander for the rest of the season. Atlanta kept going the way it often does -- with outstanding pitching. Teheran, Mike Minor and Kris Medlen helped anchor the rotation, while Kimbrel led the Braves shutdown bullpen, which overcame injuries to left-handers Jonny Venters and Eric OFlaherty to once again be among the majors best relief corps. Of course, the lineup had its share of key performances. Freeman blossomed into one of the majors best first basemen, unheralded rookie Evan Gattis stepped up and Chris Johnson proved to be a more than adequate replacement for Jones at third. The free-swinging Braves lead the NL with 177 homers and are among the league leaders in strikeouts as well. Long after it was over, Gonzalez took his cigar out to the field and took some pictures of the scoreboard. The sprinklers came on as he walked back to the dugout, but he didnt seem to mind one bit. It was quite a fun day. "You want to clinch at home in front of your fans, but if you cant I think clinching in one of these stadiums -- Wrigley or Fenway -- one of those old traditional-type ballparks would be second-best," Gonzalez said. NOTES: The Braves went 5-1 against the Cubs this season ... Minor (13-7, 3.19 ERA) is slated to face Milwaukee RHP Marco Estrada (6-4, 4.26 ERA) when the Braves return home to open a three-game series against the Brewers on Monday. ... Cubs RHP Jeff Samardzija (8-12, 4.42 ERA) faces Pirates RHP Charlie Morton (7-4, 3.35 ERA) on Monday in the opener of a three-game series at Wrigley. ' ' '