Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III suffered an ugly ankle injury early in the game, but backup Kirk Cousins turned in a huge day in an easy 41-10 win over Jacksonville.
The big win will, unfortunately, be overshadowed by the bad news in Washington: Griffin, whose surgically repaired knee has been the subject of great concern in the nation’s capital for 20 months, went down and had to be carted to the locker room. This time it appeared to be Griffin’s ankle that was injured.
But Kirk Cousins was outstanding leading the offense in place of Griffin. Washington scored touchdowns on its first three drives with Cousins at the helm, and Cousins finished 22-for-33 for 250 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Tight end Niles Paul was his favorite target, catching eight passes for 99 yards and a touchdown.
Jacksonville, meanwhile, looked absolutely terrible: This game was never close, with Washington ahead 21-0 before the Jaguars had even picked up a single first down. The Jaguars’ offensive line is a mess, which may be the only justification for continuing to start veteran quarterback Chad Henne ahead of rookie Blake Bortles.
A bad day for the Jaguars got even worse in garbage time, when rookie receiver Allen Hurns, who has shown a lot of promise, had to be helped off the field with a leg injury.
The Jaguars appear to be going nowhere, but if Washington can play like it did today, it may be going somewhere. The bad news is that it will be Cousins, not Griffin, leading the team where ever it goes.