Colt McCoy is your new Redskins starting quarterback ... for now. (Getty Images)
The Kirk Cousins era is over, and it wasn't even contingent upon Robert Griffin III's health. Cousins was benched Sunday for Colt McCoy -- the same Colt McCoy who coach Jay Gruden suggested last week wouldn't play ... before he later said he might.
Gruden told reporters Monday that McCoy is the starter until RG3 returns from an ankle injury, a development even the most ardent Cousins supporters would have trouble disputing.
Of course, McCoy did the most Cousins thing ever in his debut when, on his first throw of the season, he hit Pierre Garcon for a 70-yard touchdown (the ball traveled roughly 12 yards in the air and the other 58 yards came courtesy of Garcon outrunning the Titans defense).
Assuming Griffin isn't ready to return by next Monday -- Gruden wouldn't rule him out Monday but conceded, "He still has a way's to go" -- McCoy will become the third Redskins quarterback to start this season. It will be first first time that's happened since 2002 when the trio of Shane Matthews, Patrick Ramsey and Danny Wuerffel (or as we affectionately call him, Tim Prebow) pulled it off under then-coach Steve Spurrier.
Patrick Ramsey, Shane Matthews and Danny Wuerffel all started games during the '02 season. (Getty Images)
That team went 7-9.
McCoy, originally the Browns' 2010 third-round pick, started 21 games for Cleveland, amassing a 6-15 record while completing 58 percent of his throws for 21 touchdowns against 20 interceptions. He was shipped to the 49ers before last season, and he signed with the Redskins this spring.
Presumably, fans understand that McCoy is the latest stopgap before Griffin returns. Put another way, despite McCoy's 11-of-12 performance in Sunday's win, it's probably prudent to temper the enthusiasm.
According to ESPN: Colt McCoy's average pass traveled 3.3 yards downfield, second-shortest in any game this season (min. 10 att).
— Andy Benoit (@Andy_Benoit) October 20, 2014Or not. The Redskins won, and in a league where winning is all that matters, McCoy pulled it off in his first appearance. Cousins, meanwhile, retires to the bench with nine interceptions and an 0-4 record as starter this season.
"This league is very unforgiving," McCoy said. "I'm thankful I had the opportunity to still play. It didn't work out in Cleveland. I learned a lot of football last year in San Francisco."
And McCoy's reward is to possibly take the field next Monday night against the 6-1 Cowboys.
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Bills RBs C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson injured
The Buffalo Bills top two running backs, Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller were both injured in the first half of their team's 17-16 win over the Minnesota Vikings Sunday. Both players left the game on a cart and neither returned to action.At the time of injury, Jackson had run for 12 yards on three carries, and caught three passes for 16 yards. Spiller had caught one pass for three yards and peeled off a 53-yard run on his only carry, which was the play he was injured on.Jackson's status is uncertain at this time, but Spiller will miss "an undetermined time", according to head coach Doug Marrone. Anthony Dixon took over at running back and gained 51 yards on 13 carries.
The Bills backfield is one of the biggest headaches in fantasy football year-in and year-out. Unfortunately, that will continue for different reasons now. Spiller is the Bills leading rusher with 287 yards. Jackson is leading the team in total yards, with 500 (239 rushing, 261 receiving). Their loss is a big blow to the Bills offense overall. It hasn't been that good to begin with, but losing two of their weapons will only make it worse. Spiller appears done for a while. We can only hope Jackson's injury isn't as significant. While they're out, expect Dixon to get the bulk of the work at running back. Bryce Brown, who was inactive Sunday, is also likely to see time.
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