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Michelle Kaufman, The St.Petersburg Times, published 23 October 1989
Washington went undercover to beat Tampa Bay - with QB Mark Rypien leading a secret team meeting in a warehouse. And the I-spy idea paid off, with Rypien reflecting ''We came out of that meeting knowing we have to stick together '' And he added the bottom line is we need to play with emotion and have some fun. You saw it today. We had guys running around looking like they were enjoying themselves ''
But the Redskins needed all the extra enthusiasm they could muster in a 32-28 victory over Tampa Bay. Rypien who has helped Washington become the NFL's No 1 offense threw two TD passes to Gary Clark and Chip Lohmiller
kicked three field goals.
Their lead however barely survived a fourth quarter rally engineered by Tampa Bay’s Vinny Testaverde. The Redskins, who took a 29-7 lead into the final period, surrendered three TD tosses in the final 15 minutes. Testaverde, returning after missing last week’s loss to Detroit with a knee injury, completed 19 of 38 passes for 311 yards and two interceptions. He threw for 197 yards in the fourth quarter to spark the comeback.
The revival came when a key defender, cornerback Darrell Green, went out with a dislocated bone in his left wrist. “I’m really disappointed” said Testaverde, “I’m tired of losing close games. It seems like we lost a lot of game by just a few points.”
Three of the Buccaneers’ four losses have come by a combined nine points. Washington linebacker Wilber Marshall said, “We almost blew a big lead because we couldn’t make the defensive plays at the end of the game. We have to play better that that without Darrell.”
Green was scheduled for surgery on the wrist and could miss at least six weeks, a team spokesman said. “It will be a major problem for us, a major change” said Gibbs. Ricky Reynolds blocked a Ralf Mojsiejenko punt and returned it 33 yards for the first TD off a blocked punt in Tampa Bay history for a 7-0 lead.
Lohmiller kicked a 33-yard fieldgoal and then Washington’s Dexter Manley sacked Testaverde for a safety on 3rd and 25 from the Bucs’ eight to pull the Redskins within 7-5. Rypien scrambled 15 yards to the Tampa Bay 18 on fourth-and-two. Three plays later, he fired his first TD pass to Clark with 13 seconds left m the first half for a 12-7 Washington lead. Rypien's second TD pass to Clark capped a 73-yard drive to open the second half, giving Washington a 19-7 lead. Later in the third period, Lohmiller kicked a 42-yard field goal to make it 22-7.
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