Hurt again, RG3 watches Redskins top Jaguars 41-10

By foxsports
Published

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) Robert Griffin III and DeSean Jackson watched much of the game from the locker room, Griffin with a dislocated left ankle and Jackson with a sprained left shoulder, a mini-collection of premium talent rendered helpless by the physical nature of their chosen profession.

''We didn't necessarily discuss the injuries,'' Jackson said. ''Obviously, we're both in pain.''

At least the quality of the programming was to their liking. They watched their Washington Redskins beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 41-10 Sunday, a promising launching point as the team prepares for an extended RG3 absence amid the inevitable questions as to whether he might just be too fragile for football.

''Moments like this,'' Griffin said, ''you just have to keep the faith.''

X-rays and an MRI will offer more specifics Monday, but best-case scenario has Griffin perhaps playing again by Thanksgiving. There's more than a decent chance he's taken his last snap of the season.

''It is very unfortunate,'' coach Jay Gruden said. ''He put in a lot of effort, time and mental anguish to get ready for this year.''

The prognosis is better for Jackson, who has a sprained AC joint. He might miss a game or two, but he held out hope that he would play next week against his old team, the Philadelphia Eagles.

The injuries have obvious repercussions for the season, but they mattered little Sunday. Kirk Cousins fit right in as Griffin's sub, and the defense sacked Chad Henne 10 times as the Redskins (1-1) dropped the Jaguars to an all-too-familiar 0-2.

''When DeSean came in there, we had a chance to watch the game like fans,'' Griffin said. ''It was good to see everybody go out there and play at a high level.''

Here are some other whys and hows from the Redskins' win, Gruden's first as an NFL head coach:

RG3's ANKLE: Griffin was hurt in the first quarter while being his typical RG3 self. He said his ankle got stuck in the ground as he made a leaping, across-the-body throw near the sideline before tumbling out of bounds.

''It's an excruciating pain,'' Griffin said. ''Anytime you look at your ankle and it's going in a strange direction, you don't want to get up.''

Griffin's young career is as injury-marred as it is promising. He missed all or part of four games in his record-setting rookie season of 2012 due to various injuries, including a torn right ACL that led to reconstructive knee surgery. He tore the same ACL in college at Baylor.

CAPTAIN KIRK: If there's a good thing about all those Griffin injuries, it's that his backup is used to playing. Cousins - who actually looks more at home than Griffin in Gruden's West Coast-style offense - completed his first 12 passes and finished 22 of 33 for 250 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

''He's waited patiently,'' Gruden said, ''and now his time is going to come to really take this thing and run with it.''

HENNE GETS DOWN, AGAIN AND AGAIN: Ryan Kerrigan had four sacks, and the Redskins defense had 10 - both tying franchise records. It was also the most ever allowed by the Jaguars.

Despite the one-sided game - and despite the pounding taken by Chad Henne - Jacksonville coach Gus Bradley said there was ''never a consideration'' to put No. 3 overall pick Blake Bortles in the game.

''I wanted to see Chad fight through it,'' Bradley said.

ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER 0-2: The Jaguars are o-2 for the third straight season and for the fifth time since 2008.

''We're going to have some growing pains,'' said Bradley, who's in his second year with the club. ''And I know that's maybe not an acceptable answer, but we're not slowing things down. We've got to speed up. We're on this race and this race has to speed up, as far as maturity, and our guys have got to play a consistent level of football.''

FILL-INS: This was truly a next-man-up game for the Redskins. Not only did Cousins play well in place of Griffin, but Ryan Grant (five catches) and Andre Roberts (four) helped picked up the slack for Jackson. Niles Paul, playing for sidelined tight end Jordan Reed (hamstring), had a touchdown catch and set career highs with eight catches for 99 yards.

OTHER INJURIES: Tight end Marcedes Lewis, who scored Jacksonville's lone touchdown, suffered a high left ankle sprain on the first play of the third quarter and was carted to the locker room, and Jaguars rookie receiver Allen Hurns injured his left ankle and was scheduled for X-rays.

Three other Redskins players left the game early: Running back Roy Helu strained a quad muscle, guard Shawn Lauvao sprained his right knee, and fullback Darrel Young sprained his back. Gruden said all three will probably be day to day.

---

AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

---

Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP