The Washington Redskins (2-0) won their second preseason game 21-17 against the Detroit Lions (1-1), but Washington lost a key player on Thursday night, which put a damper on their win.
After being sacked three times and fumbling twice, Robert Griffin III was down and he would not get up. The injury that rushed medical staff to the field was later described as a concussion.
After the game, Jay Gruden, the Redskins head coach, said Griffin would be okay. The coach has "no idea" how long the former first round draft pick would be sidelined.
Griffin finished 2-for-5 with eight total yards on four team drives. The play that concussed him was his last play in the second quarter. Griffin fumbled the ball without being touched, but defensive end Corey Wootton attempted to swipe the loose ball and landed on Griffin to knock him out of the game.
As for the Lions, starting quarterback Matthew Stafford was on point, going 6-for-8 with 78 yards. One of his two drives led to a 49-yard field goal by kicker Matt Prater.
The Lions backup job is between Dan Orlovsky and Kellen Moore. On Thursday, Orlovsky shined with two touchdown passes in the rain. Orlovsky, who was the backup last season, went 13-for-17 with 118 yards through the air.
His first touchdown came midway through the second quarter. Jeremy Ross made a nice cut to find himself wide open allowing Orlovsky to easily slot in his first touchdown of the game.
Zach Zenner led the receiving game for both sides with five receptions for 59 yards and one touchdown on the night. His touchdown was a five yard dish from Orlovsky to put the Lions up late in the third quarter.
Zenner, who was drafted as a running back from South Dakota State in 2015, also used his legs in the loss against Washington. He carried the ball four times for 22 total yards. Zenner finished the day with 81 all-purpose yards for Detroit.
The 17-14 Detroit lead was squandered when former Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins led his team to victory. It was a four yard pass to Rashad Ross to give the Redskins a 21-17 lead that lasted the rest of the game.
Before Cousins, Colt McCoy came in as the backup and was excellent. McCoy went 5-for-6 with 80 passing yards and one touchdown. The 2009 graduate of Texas played better than Cousins, but the backup job is still up for grabs.
Moore, who is fighting for a backup spot with the Lions, could not make a late game comeback. He finished 3-for-7 with 31 yards through the air. It seems like Orlovsky is starting to pull away in the race for the backup.
Ameer Abdullah carried the ball twice for seven yards. Theo Riddick rushed three times for four total yards. Most of the offense was either through Zenner on the ground or through Zenner in the air.
The defense for the Lions was led by Travis Lewis, who compiled six total tackles (five solo). Brandon Copeland, Phillip Hunt, Jermelle Cudjo, James Ihedigbo and DeAndry Levy all recorded quarterback hits against Washington.
The Lions will travel to EverBank Field to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 28 at 8:00 PM EST.