Robert Griffin III hurt as Redskins edge Ravens in OT

• Redskins keep playoff hopes alive, but Robert Griffin III suffers a knee sprain

LANDOVER, Md. – Later he would shed tears in victory, but now, as his teammates milled around him, Robert Griffin III sat in the glistening sod in immense pain.

Some were focused on the Washington Redskins quarterback, and the trainers surrounding him, ready to oblige his pleas to be helped up. Others looked at the video board 60 yards away above the end zone, which they needed to reach to tie the football game in its final minutes.

On the replay, they saw Griffin sprint downfield, then have his right knee bent backwards by a jarring hit from Baltimore Ravens defender Haloti Ngata.

"It looked pretty bad," said center Will Montgomery. "I said, 'I hope Kirk's getting his arm loose, because that looked pretty bad.'"

Kirk Cousins, Griffin's backup and fellow rookie, was indeed getting ready to enter the game. But tight end Logan Paulsen wasn't convinced of the severity of the injury until he walked over to the seated Griffin.

"I'm not a doctor, but when I saw it I thought 'It's just a contusion," Paulsen said. "I thought 'Oh, that wasn't too bad.' But then I got up to him and he was obviously in a lot of pain so I thought maybe this is something a little more serious."

A Sunday-night MRI showed Griffin suffered no ligament tearing during his scramble downfield, though a timeline has not been provided for his return.

Wide receiver Josh Morgan knew he wouldn't be able to stomach the replay – leg injuries make him ill after the season-ending one he suffered in 2011 – so when he heard the crowd gasp at the image, he knelt down and prayed.

"That's all you can do in a situation like that," Morgan said. "I asked God to heal him, asked God to protect him, just to use His healing powers and get him back to full recovery so he could do what He put him on this earth to do."

Reminded again of the consequences of Griffin's willingness to take great risks with his body when a game is on the line, one has to wonder if what Griffin is able to do is what the Redskins need him to do. A concussion has already knocked him out of a game this season, though he's not missed a start, and doesn't believe he will this weekend at Cleveland.

But Sunday night wasn't one for questions about scrambling as it pertains to the health of the No. 2 overall choice in April's NFL draft. Sunday at FedEx Field was for celebrating a 31-28 overtime win which puts the Redskins at 7-6, with three weeks between them and a possible playoff berth for the first time in five years.

"I'm feeling the positive vibes," Griffin said. "I think the fact that we won the game makes everybody feel a lot better."

Much of that optimism is centered around Cousins, who had thrown two interceptions in spot duty for Griffin this season before Sunday. He's managed to gain the confidence of his teammates as a scout team quarterback who routinely frustrates Washington's defensive starters.

"He tears our first team defense up all the time" said Montgomery, in a moment of candor which had teammate Jordan Black chuckling at his neighboring locker. "He's running scout team, and the defense ends up having to repeat plays a lot because he's carving passes in there."

Cousins, the blonde and fresh-faced Michigan State alum, saw the injury to Griffin and found his helmet. Griffin, seated for more than a minute, insisted that he could play and told teammates and staff to help him to the sidelines so he could sit out for the mandatory single play and return to the game.

"He said, 'Get me up,'" Paulsen said. "At that point you kind of realize that he can't walk well and you're worried that you're making the wrong decision by helping him up."

Cousins came in the game and threw incomplete, but drew a pass interference call resulting in the first down Griffin was shooting for when he took off and had his knee bent backwards. Then Griffin limped back onto the field for three plays, standing gingerly in the pocket and completing passes of 15 and 22 yards to Santana Moss and Pierre Garcon. On first-and-10 at the 16, Griffin chucked the ball out of the back of the end zone, and slumped to the ground, unable to stand.

"I knew I needed to get out at that point," he said. "I couldn't move. At some point you have to do what's right for the team. If I would've played for the rest of the game, I probably would have hurt myself even more. So you just need to trust those guys and trust yourself when you know enough is enough."

Cousins rushed to coach Mike Shanahan's side, and heard him say, "Where is Kirk?"

"Here I am," he answered.

Shanahan said, "Go out there and take his spot."

Cousins sprinted out to Griffin to "make sure he actually was hurt," and Griffin, pained to admit it, answered, "Yeah, I can't do it."

So Cousins continued to the huddle, and the deep-voiced Morgan assumes a child-like pitch to recount what the backup said next.

"He was like, 'All right guys, here we go,'" says Morgan, laughing. "He came in the huddle just like we was at practice, like nothing happened.

"Like they used to say about Larry Bird, that he had ice water in his veins. That's the best thing you could say about Kirk. He don't hear the noise. He's a human computer."

Cousins completed his two pass attempts, finding Leonard Hankerson down the middle for 15 yards, then Pierre Garcon for an 11-yard score on an improvised route.

"They had the original route covered and just from looking at the defense, I just kind of slow played in and went to the open area. Kirk saw me."

The six points brought Washington within two points, 28-26, needing a conversion to tie. The Redskins decided on a quarterback draw for Cousins, because, said coach Mike Shanahan, "We didn't think they'd be expecting it."

Griffin heard the call and smiled. He was laid out on the sidelines, being examined by trainers, but he could hear Cousins through the speaker in his helmet, still tuned to the communication between Cousins and coaches. Even with staffers poking his knee, he was thrilled.

"I was thinking, this is awesome," Griffin said sincerely.

Cousins plunged into the end zone, then in overtime, the defense managed to stop Joe Flacco and the Ravens, and Richard Crawford broke a 64-yard punt return, setting up a Kai Forbath 34-yard field goal for the win. There were roars of "R-G-III" a week ago when Griffin led Washington past the New York Giants here. Now, simply roars.

Griffin wept as he watched his teammates earn the win, and when the game was in hand, he and Cousins embraced.

"That's just his love and passion for the game," said running back Alfred Morris. "I'm not surprised by him wanting to get back in the game, by him shedding a tear or two because he wasn't able to be out there and help his team win."

Cousins said he was channeling the starter when he threw the touchdown pass to Garcon.

"I thought, 'I'm going to make something happen and try to do my best RGIII,'" Cousins said. "He's doing a tremendous job and I'm trying to learn from him as I watch and stay locked into these games when I'm not playing."

The Redskins and Shanahan took some flak for using a mid-round draft choice to select Cousins out of Michigan State instead of using the pick on another position after dealing future choices for Griffin. Cousins played strong in the preseason, enough to ignite a short-lived quarterback controversy in the words of a few local sports radio pundits. Griffin put any conflict to rest, emerging as a rookie of the year candidate.

Cousins' duties today include mimicking the upcoming opponent's offense when facing the Redskins defense in practice, but he stays on the field long after nearly every practice with Paulsen and several practice squad players to go through the Redskins playbook.

"I have a ton of faith in Kirk," Paulsen said. "I may be different, because I work with him every day. I know he holds himself to a high standard. This is a cliché, but he really prepares every week like he's going to play.

"I know he's a very different player than Rob, but he can be dynamic in his own way."

Shanahan is expected to say Monday if Cousins will be called on to be just that.