Jay Gruden pleased with Redskins' QB play

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said that he liked what he saw from his stable of quarterbacks after Washington defeated the Cleveland Browns in both clubs' first preseason matchup on Thursday night.

All three passers saw some meaningful time in the 20-17 victory, but Gruden is watching out in particular for progress in his four-year starter, Robert Griffin III, who will be entering what could be a make-or-break season for him.

"I thought it was pretty good, really," he said of Griffin's performance. "I think there was a good mixture of the run and pass. I think Robert moved the ball very well. We had the unfortunate dropped pass to Pierre, which he won't drop many throughout his career."

Wide receiver Pierre Garcon dropped a well-placed pass from Griffin on, if caught, would have been a 61 yard touchdown after splitting double coverage downfield. 

Griffin finished 4-for-8 on 36 yards and reserve signal caller Kirk Cousins went 12-of-14 on 154 yards and rushed for a touchdown.

"Kirk was outstanding, there's no question about that," Gruden added. "The offense clicked. He was efficient with the football and accurate. Had a couple off-schedule plays but I'm happy with the way Kirk played."

Third-stringer Colt McCoy added 33 yards in relief, competing 4-of-6 pass attempts. He saw time last season after Griffin was injured and Cousins threw one too many interceptions, eventually accounting for two of the Redskins' four victories.

"Overall, I thought the quarterbacks did a nice job moving the ball," Gruden said. "I think the balance in our offense was very good, with the running game, the quick passes, the play action, and the keepers."

Though Gruden reiterated the job belonged to Griffin, he said he was particularly happy with what are the most important statistics to any quarterback: sacks and interceptions. There was only one of the former and none of the latter.

"I'm happy with the way all three quarterbacks, the way they're progressing in this offense, making good decisions and obviously, when you look at the stats, you see one sack and no interceptions. And that's a great recipe for us."

Gruden said he liked how Griffin showed more patience in making the right plays and managing the game behind center.

"Robert did good in the pocket, big scramble on third down and four for a first down for us. Colt had one. Kirk had a scramble and found a back for a big gane on a long-yardage play, so I think all very capable quarterbacks in the NFL."

The Redskins are happy to see things for the time being how they hoped they would play out, but the trick now is to sustain it.