Robert Griffin III is “full speed, ready to go” on his right knee after returning Sunday from a lateral collateral ligament sprain suffered two weeks earlier, Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said Monday.
Griffin, who missed one game after suffering a second-degree LCL sprain Dec. 9, started at the Philadelphia Eagles and threw for 198 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Barring a setback this week, he’ll start Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys with the NFC East title at stake.
“He’s fine. No problem with his knee,” Shanahan said Monday on a conference call. “There’s no limited performance out of him. The doctors OK’d him, he’s cleared and full speed, ready to go.”
Griffin, who holds the NFL rookie rushing record with 752 yards, had only two carries against the Eagles. But Shanahan implied that the quarterback running less did not have to do with his knee.
“We have a game plan going in. Sometimes there’s more run action than you saw or play-action passes or sometimes we’ll run more,” he said. “In that game, we decided not to go in that direction. Not as much; we did a few times. We did a little bit more quarterback keeps than we did running the football, but that was by design.”
Griffin wore a brace on the right knee, something he also did at Baylor after tearing his ACL.
Gomes has MCL sprain
Safety DeJon Gomes suffered a second-degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in the 27-20 win at the Eagles. Center Will Montgomery played through a similar injury, but it’s uncertain whether Gomes will be in the lineup against Dallas.
“At his position, it’s a little bit different than Will’s,” Shanahan said. “You put a little bit more stress on that as a defensive back, so we’ll evaluate him again on Wednesday and see how he’s handling the situation, how he’s able to move, and we’ll find out more in practice.”
Gomes has been part of a three-man rotation at safety along with starter Reed Doughty and Jordan Pugh. He was injured on a kickoff return in the second half.
Bowen plays through pain
Defensive end Stephen Bowen started and played 67 percent of the snaps Sunday despite playing with a torn left upper biceps tendon.
The pain was there, but that didn’t stop him from fighting through.
“It was still sore, some range of motion was still not there the way I want it to be right now,” Bowen said. “I had to suck it up and just find a way to get it done.”
Christmas schedule
The Redskins went through a normal Monday on Christmas Eve, and Shanahan said assistant coaches will come in later than usual on Christmas Day as they prepare for the Cowboys.
“You want them to enjoy the holidays,” Shanahan said, “and that’s some of the reasons we worked a little bit later on Friday and Saturday to give us the opportunity to do this.”
Extra points
• Right tackle Tyler Polumbus was feeling better Monday after being held out against the Eagles with the post-concussion symptoms. But he cannot be cleared until doctors evaluate him Wednesday at Redskins Park, Shanahan said.
• The team has some “bumps and bruises” but nothing new that will cause players to miss the Week 17 game vs. Dallas, Shanahan said.
• Stephen Whyno can be reached at swhyno@washingtontimes.com.
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