It looked like Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III had authored the most incredible ending of his young NFL career Sunday. MVP chatter about RG3 had picked up on Twitter.
To which New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning responded: Have you watched me at all this season?
Manning delivered a 77-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz with less than 90 seconds to go, keying a 27-23 Giants victory at MetLife Stadium. The aerial strike -- made possible by the terrible Redskins safety group's inexcusable breakdown -- came just 15 seconds after Griffin tossed a 30-yard score to Santana Moss. That had looked like a game-winner, but not for long.
The wild ending came after a sloppy second half by both quarterbacks. Manning was uncharacteristically inaccurate all day, missing multiple potential scores and throwing two second-half interceptions.
Washington's rookie-led offense appeared to finally show its age, committing three turnovers in succession in the second half, two of them by Griffin.
But with the game on the line, Griffin played his very best. He eluded Jason Pierre-Paul in the open field to convert on fourth-and-10. He used his legs on the way to 89 rushing yards. His toss to Moss was a thing of beauty.
If anything, the Redskins (3-4) showed us they're going to be a difficult out all season. They went blow-for-blow with the defending Super Bowl champions, and it took late-game heroics to beat them.
For now, there's still no one better at the end of games than Eli Manning.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
