Despite falling short of a comeback victory Saturday night, head coach Mike Shanahan praised the resiliency of his young players, particularly Robert Griffin III.
"I think he's going to get better and better," Shanahan said after the game. "I really liked the way he handled himself; he was very poised. He never seems to lose his composure, and that's the sign of a good quarterback.
"We have to protect him better against an excellent defense."
Griffin III took 29 snaps in the first half, leading the offense on a scoring drive late in the second quarter. He finished five-for-eight for 49 yards, against a veteran pass rush that sacked him three times. "We need to keep on working," Shanahan said of the protection. "You can't get five first downs in the first half and say you're really pleased, but I thought some young guys did a pretty good job."
The Redskins started two other rookies on offense, with Adam Gettis getting his second start at right guard, and Alfred Morris getting the nod at running back.
"We threw a rookie out there, and I thought Adam Gettis got some good experience two weeks in a row," Shanahan said.
Morris led the team in rushing for the second-consecutive week, getting 10 carries for 34 yards. After gaining 21 yards on the first play from scrimmage, Morris struggled to find the holes in the Bears' defense.
"I thought Alfred Morris had some good runs early, but we just couldn't maintain that rhythm," Shanahan said. "I saw a guy who didn't get a whole lot of yards, but the runs he did were pretty impressive."
In the second half, rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins finally found rhythm on offense, finishing 18-for-23 for 264 yards and three touchdowns.
Shanahan was pleased, but not surprised by Cousins's progression from the Bills game to the Bears.
We say kind of what we have been seeing in practice," he said. "Both Robert [Griffin III] and Kirk [Cousins] have done an unbelievable job in their preparation and their studying.
"All of these games will help."
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