Cousins Impresses with 264-yard, 3 TD performance; Skins' Comeback Attempt Falls Short

Wherever the Washington Redskins travel this season, rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III will steal the spotlight and receive all the media attention. That, however, was certainly not the case once the second half of Washington's preseason Week 2 matchup with the Chicago Bears got underway.

Down 20-10 at the break and a struggling RGIII done for the day, another rookie signal caller for the Skins entered the game and stole the limelight from the hyped No. 2 overall pick in April's draft.

Kirk Cousins, Washington's fourth round selection in April and a Chicago , entered the game and led Washington's reserves to three fourth quarter touchdown drives, bringing them all the way back from a 30-10 deficit. Though Chicago eventually re-took the lead for good following a late 57-yard field goal off the foot of veteran kicker Robbie Gould, Cousins still looked very impressive.

Griffin, finishing the first half with five completions and 49 yards on eight pass attempts, ran for his life in Washington's backfield for much of the first thirty minutes of clock time. Griffin was sacked a couple of times and lost a fumble during one of those sacks, leading to a Chicago touchdown a few plays later.

Griffin simply didn't look comfortable in the pocket and really only had one drive that didn't sputter (9-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a Neil Rackers field goal and ate up 4:30 of the clock).

Washington's questionable selection of Cousins–Michigan State's quarterback who is turning 24 years old today–is starting to look like an ingenious selection on Mike Shanahan's part. Personally, I did not like the selection and thought it was a silly move given how much they are putting into Griffin, but since, at any point in time, RGIII could suffer a season-ending injury, it's nice to have Cousins as insurance.

And I will admit, Cousins' performance last night may have won over a few more supporters in the D.C. area.

The battle for second-string quarterback is a heated one between Cousins and former Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman. But with Cousins playing the entire second half of last night's game, and performing as well as he did, I think he may have the upper hand over Rex at this point in the preseason.

Clearly, whether he struggles or performs well in the last two weeks of August, Griffin is 100% the opening day quarterback for Washington. But Cousins can further solidify himself as his backup and even tighten the gap between him and RGIII if he keeps this up in the coming weeks.

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Two Weeks Later: McNabb Signs Five-year Extension with Skins

Earlier today ESPN reporter Michael Smith broke the news in D.C.

The Washington Redskins, hours before the team's matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, signed 33-year old veteran Donovan McNabb--the former long-time Eagle--to a five-year, $78 million contract extension. The contract reportedly includes around $40 million in guaranteed money.

The signing came just two weeks after head coach Mike Shanahan benched McNabb in Detroit with two minutes remaining in the game. Washington was trailing by six when Rex Grossman was sent on to the field as McNabb looked on. On the first play from scrimmage, Grossman fumbled the ball, which was recovered by rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and returned 17 yards for a game-sealing touchdown.

It was later discovered that, in fact, there was no sort of injury involved with the benching, and that Shanahan made the decision because of his unfamiliarity with the two minute offense. He never even said that he regretted the decision to sit him.

As much of a head-scratcher as this seems to me, and likely many other NFL followers out there, the Skins seem to know what they want. Even if that does happen to be Donovan McNabb under center for at least another five years. Huge risk which may not be worth the price in the end.

Photo Credit

Donovan McNabb: AP Photo/Paul Sancya

Haynesworth Saga: Shanahan Fires Back

More drama in D.C., and yes, it also happens to involve the most expensive defensive tackle in league history: Albert 'not-worth-the-money' Haynesworth.

Not only has Big Al complained about the Skins' new 3-4 scheme, but now he has also been complaining after the Redskins "downplayed" Haynesworth's apparent headaches this past week. We later found out he has been diagnosed with a condition which causes muscle deterioration.

After missing several days of practice last week, head coach Mike Shanahan described it to the press as 'headaches.' But, again, it was later discovered to be much worse than that.

I can certainly see why Haynesworth was so upset with Shanahan and the Washington staff, downplaying his condition the way they did, but they were unaware and, frankly, tired of his excuses. Personally, I'm happy that Shanahan finally lashed back and set Albert straight.

Mike told Fanhouse.com that Haynesworth will not be playing without practicing again. He has gotten away with it in the past, but Shanahan is sending him a message by saying it "wont happen again under this regime."

Finally we get to see a coach publicly rip a player like this. This needed to happen, and it needed to happen to Haynesworth.

Obviously this time Haynesworth has a legitimate argument against the Redskins, but this may have been the final straw. Especially after he publicly stated that he is going to sit out next offseason's workouts, as well.

If I'm Washington, I'm doing everything I can to get Haynesworth out of town. Perhaps Dan Snyder should just sell the team, that may turn this franchise around quicker than anything else.

Photo credit: (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)