ORCHARD PARK, NY (FNN Media) — The Robert Griffin III era began Thursday night in fine fashion against the Buffalo Bills.
The second-overall draft pick began his NFL career with a modest handoff to Evan Royster who carried the ball for a one-yard gain up the middle. The second play was another handoff to Royster, but for no gain.
On 3rd and 8 Griffin took the ball out the shotgun and calmly tossed the ball to Pierre Garçon who was unable to keep his feet in bounds to convert the first down.
The three-and-out for RGIII will be forgotten on stat sheets, but Redskins history was undoubtedly made.
On the second series the Redskins again opened with a run by Royster which went for a three-yard loss.
Griffin completed his first NFL pass on 2nd and 13 — a 12-yard completion to second-year receiver Leonard Hankerson — leaving the Redskins in a 3rd and short situation.
But like many first-year players, success was quickly followed by rookie mistakes. The handoff between Griffin and Royster was botched on the next play, setting the Bills up with the ball just outside of the red zone.
Rather than sulk on the mistake, Griffin put it behind him and had his best series of the night on his next outing.
On his third series, Griffin showed the promise the Redskins fans, coaches and players had been waiting for. The team had four plays of ten yards or more on that drive, including a 20-yard screen pass to Garçon that found pay dirt and capped off an 8-play, 80-yard drive.
The Heisman Trophy winner and Garçon also connected on passes of 20 and 18 yards.
Overall, he was 3-of-4 for 58 yards and a touchdown on the scoring drive.
The touchdown pass to Garçon would be his final toss of the night.
Griffin’s stat line for his debut was impressive. He completed 4 of 6 passing attempts for 70 yards, compiling a passer rating of 145.8.
