Redskins, Robert Griffin III run past Vikings

• A week after a concussion, Robert Griffin III leads the Redskins past the Vikings
• Griffin ran for 138 yards and threw for 182 to lift Washington to 3-3 on the season
• The rookie sealed the game with a 76-yard touchdown run with 2:43 left

LANDOVER, Md. -- There is more to an NFL player's return from a concussion than passing baseline tests of brain function, getting medical clearance and trotting back into the huddle. The case of Robert Griffin III illustrated that Sunday.

Seven days after suffering a concussion, the rookie quarterback of the Washington Redskins made a 76-yard touchdown sprint with under three minutes left to clinch a 38-26 victory against the Minnesota Vikings.

But on about a half dozen other scrambling and running plays, Griffin stepped out of bounds rather than risk the kind of hit that knocked him from the game a week earlier against the Atlanta Falcons. It was a kind of discretion he's learning.

Though it might seem the Redskins took unnecessary risks by using Griffin on some designed runs, Coach Mike Shanahan said that was actually aimed at sparing hits from a regular dose of the Vikings pass rush. And Griffin himself said another element of his return was that he didn't try to hide any post-concussion symptoms -- which he said he didn't have -- from the examining doctors.

On his first scramble of the game in the opening quarter, Griffin took his seven yards and avoided taking a hit for another yard or two.

"I think common sense prevailed," said Shanahan. "I think he'll learn every game maybe when to slide, when to throw the ball away, when to go out of bounds a little earlier. I thought I saw that today in a number of situations."

Said Griffin: "You stay aggressive, but you just try to be smart."

But there is a fine line. Griffin said he thought about stepping out of bounds on that clinching run. But he decided the lane was too big and the route to the end zone too open.

"I took off running, got to the sideline and thought about running out of bounds -- because everyone's been telling me that lately," said Griffin. "But) I felt like I had the guy outflanked, and I just took off running. The rest is history.''

Griffin, who ran for 138 yards on 13 carries, bolted seven yards for a touchdown on a quarterback draw in the third quarter. He ran off tackle and dove into the end zone. On later back-to-back plays in the third quarter, Griffin made option runs, faking a handoff and then darting off tackle. Each netted four yards.

He became the second quarterback since the 1970 merger to run for at least 130 yards and two touchdowns in a game (Michael Vick was the first).

Why risk those kinds of plays with a guy coming off a concussion?

"Sometimes, a designed run helps a quarterback," said Shanahan. "If we would have gotten in a drop back passing game with that defense today and didn't have some designed runs, there would have been a number of sacks. . . . Robert, by doing what he does, is keeping the defense off balance, really giving him a chance in my opinion to stay healthier."

Well, it worked Sunday. Griffin was sacked once. He completed 17 of 22 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown with one interception.

Griffin returned on a limited basis for the Redskins first practice of the week last Wednesday. He said he had no symptoms, and the Redskins said the doctors had cleared him to return. But Griffin said there was another element to that. He said that he had to be frank with the doctors about what he was experiencing.

Under NFL rules, he had to pass baseline tests -- computerized tests which compare his brain performance after a concussion to what it was when he originally took the test in the offseason.

"The tests, they did a good job of making sure I was okay, constantly being on me to be honest with them so I wouldn't go out there and put myself in harm's way," said Griffin. "I told them I would be honest with them. I had no symptoms. I remembered everything since 15 minutes after they took me out of the (Atlanta) game. And it stayed that way. . . . They did the right thing by not letting me go back in the (Atlanta) game.''

Shanahan said during the week that Griffin was being monitored daily. He participated in a full practice Friday but was still listed as questionable on the Friday injury report.

"I told them I was going to be honest with them," said Griffin. "If I went the whole week and showed up on game day and did not feel right, I wouldn't have played because it wouldn't be right for me. It wouldn't be right for the team.''

On one play in the second quarter, Griffin threw a pass away rather than try to run. After releasing the ball, he was shoved by Vikings linebacker Erin Henderson. Griffin went head over heels after being shoved. Henderson was hit with a roughing the passer penalty that gave Washington a first down and set up a touchdown.

Might Griffin have enhanced the impact of that shove? Has he also learned that gamesmanship can accompany discretion Might Griffin have enhanced the impact of that shove? Has he also learned that gamesmanship can accompany discretion?

"I mean, he hit me good. C'mon man," Griffin said with a smile. "It wasn't like a basketball flop, but I definitely sold it pretty well. I mean the ball was clearly gone, guys. It was a great job of me and the ref being on the same page".