Atlanta is looking to continue its recent winning streak in the series against Washington as the Falcons enter Sunday's contest having captured three straight, including last year's 24-17 win in the nation's capital.
In Week 2 of the 1987 season, the Falcons hosted the Redskins at Fulton County Stadium in the home opener for the team under new head coach Marion Campbell.
The hero of the day was QB Scott Campbell, who was making his first start in a Falcons uniform. His deep passes opened up the middle and RB Gerald Riggs made the most of the opportunity.
The Redskins struck first as RB Kelvin Bryant caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from QB Doug Williams to put the visitors ahead 7-0. Falcons NT Tony Casillas then recovered a Washington fumble at its own 22-yard line and Campbell wasted no time as he found WR Floyd Dixon on a 19-yard strike to tie the game.
The Skins re-took the lead when Williams found WR Gary Clark from 18-yards away, but the crucial extra point was muffed and would prove costly in the end.
Birds WR Stacey Bailey was on the receiving end of a Campbell dart from 23-yards out to put the Falcons back on top 14-13 late in the third quarter.
Washington managed to forge ahead early in the fourth quarter on a short 6-yard score from WR Art Monk.
But Campbell led the charge back for the Falcons.
The former Purdue Boilermaker orchestrated an impressive 80-yard, 11-play drive that was capped by a strong 4-yard touchdown run by Riggs with under seven minutes remaining.
The Falcons defense shut down the high-powered Redskins offense the rest of the way, which was punctuated by rookie S Tim Gordon's interception with 25 seconds left on the clock to seal the 21-20 victory.
Campbell's first NFL start produced 271 yards through the air on 17-of-34 passing with the two scores. Riggs galloped for 120 rushing yards while Dixon accounted for a game-high 105 receiving yards on five grabs.
The momentum gained from this come-from-behind victory in the second week of the season for the Falcons was quelled when the players went on strike the next week. Replacement players were signed for three games for those veterans that decided to take to the picket lines instead.
