Robert Griffin III admitted he didn't play as well as he would have liked in his return to action with the Browns.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Hue Jackson warned everyone ahead of time that RG3 would be rusty, and he didn't disappoint. He creaked and squealed his way through a 23-10 loss to the Bengals, but earned another start next week in Buffalo.
"Unless there's something medically (wrong), he'll go out there and play next week versus the Bills,'' said Jackson.
Jackson, who brought Griffin here and believed he could revive his career, defended the quarterback, who returned to the field after 11 weeks off with a fractured left shoulder. It marked only the second start for Griffin in the past two years, a span of 29 games, and it showed.
He pitched a 0.0 rating in the first half on 2-of-10 passing with one pick, and finished with 12 of 28 attempts for 104 yards with one INT and no touchdowns for a 38.4 rating. He was sacked three times and hit seven. He also rushed seven times for 31 yards, including a 1-yard TD.
The rating would've been better had wide-open fullback Dan Vitale not dropped a sure TD pass at the 2 in the third quarter. As it was, Griffin muscled his way in from the 1 on that drive to trim the deficit to 20-7.
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"He had good poise,'' said Jackson. "I didn't feel like it was too big for him. Obviously, there are some plays he'll wish that he had back. That's Robert's [second] game where he's been out there playing in two years. Like I said the other day, if things go great, good. If they don't go as good, that's OK, too. We have to grow from it. He'll continue to get better."
Jackson, who knew Griffin was a work in progress when he signed him in the offseason, was pleased with some of what he saw, despite the fact it looked pretty raw. This season was supposed to be about honing his pocket presence and other things like intermediate accuracy.
"Just being out there and moving around again, calling the game and being involved in a game against a good football team, he showed that he belongs,'' said Jackson. "He has to get better in some areas. I'm not running from that, but for the first time back out late in the season like this, he held his own."
The evaluation of Griffin is important, because the Browns have big QB decisions to make in the offseason. They have two first-round picks -- likely the first overall and a top 10 from the Eagles - and can use one to either draft a quarterback or try to trade for one such as New England's Jimmy Garropolo.
They must determine if they want to bring Griffin back and let him compete for the job, or cut ties and start fresh. He's due to make $6 million in 2017 and will receive a $750,000 bonus if he's on the roster on the third day of the league year in March. Griffin has durability concerns, which means the Browns will likely have to keep searching, but they've only got a couple of months to decide whether or not to keep him.
"The poise and the ability to run around with the ball and to protect himself (is how he showed he belongs),'' said Jackson. "That's what we're all concerned about - if he did get hit, if he did go down, would he get up? He did, and for the most part, he was pretty team protecting. That he showed that he's made that jump, and that's important."
Adam Jones trashes Terrelle Pryor after the game
Jackson insisted he's not applying a different set of standards to Griffin.
"That's the most prestigious position in all of pro sports and you're asking a lot,'' said Jackso. "You can't simulate everything that's going to happen in a game. At that position, you have to be a little bit more understanding as you go through it. The more guys are around our system and how we play, the better they'll be, but this is a first time for everybody and we're going through it right now."
Griffin, who was told he probably wouldn't play again this season, doesn't expect any special treatment.
"That never crosses my mind,'' he said. "The more I play, the better I'll get. It's tough to be off for three months during the course of the season and to come back into the game and expect for everything to go perfectly. ..(but) we fought back from all those things and put ourselves in position to have a chance at 20-10 in the fourth."
Griffin was pleased with how he overcame the adversity of his barren first half.
"You can either fold or fight through it,'' he said. "I'm happy with how I fought through it. I felt like I saw the field well. I didn't miss many guys, if any.''
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Many of Griffin's 16 incompletions were his own fault, but at least two were drops, Vitale's at the goal line and a flat pass to Isaiah Crowell in the third quarter. Griffin also threw an ill-advised deep ball to Terrelle Pryor off a flea-flicker into triple coverage out of his own end zone. It was picked off by George Iloka and returned to the Browns' 26. The Bengals converted it into Tyler Eifert's second TD catch of the day for a 20-0 lead with 5:06 left in the half.
"That was disappointing, but we took a shot and shouldn't have,'' said Jackson. "At the same time, that's on me.''
Griffin also sailed one 10-yards out of bounds past Seth DeValve at the 2, and the Browns had to settle for a field goal.
Griffin threw deep three times in the first half, including twice to Corey Coleman, and missed all three. But on the second to Coleman, inside the Bengals' 30 at the end of the first quarter, he was mugged by Adam Jones downfield but no flag was thrown.
"I thought one was pass interference,'' said Jackson. "They didn't call it. We can't get those right now for whatever the reason is.''
Griffin, who returned to practice Nov. 23, had no rhythm or timing with any of his receivers. He targeted Coleman 11 times, but connected with him on only three for 26 yards.
"It's not just between me and Corey,'' said Griffin. "It's just about making sure our timing is on. The Bengals did a good job of disrupting that with some of the looks that they showed and some of the pressure that they did get. We've just got to find ways to be high percentage in the passing game.
"As an offense, we just need to figure out ways to get our passing game going, even if it is without those big chunk plays."
He also targeted Pryor only three times, and Pryor caught only one for three yards -- late in the third quarter. They also had a heated exchange caught on camera after the playclock ran down with 10:11 left in the game and they had to call a timeout. Pryor, who was visibly upset after the game and then ripped mercilessly afterwards by Jones, declined to be interviewed.
"Oh yeah, I noticed it,'' said Jackson. "It was because we were trying to get in the right formation. Those things happen from time to time. I don't think anybody should read into that.''
Said Griffin: "It wasn't anything big. He just wanted to run the play.''
Jackson lamented not being able to get Pryor more involved.
"It's not like Robert wasn't looking for him,'' he said. "He was trying, but this guy flashed, that guy flashed and you have to go try to make a play someplace else."
Jackson is hoping those plays show up next week in Buffalo.
