RG3 Still Work in Progress, but Showing Enough to Remain at Helm in Washington

Robert Griffin III's winning performance Saturday night against the Philadelphia Eagles was a strong suggestion that head coach Jay Gruden's decision to bench him in Week 13 against the Indianapolis Colts was premature. 

We may never know if Griffin would have started another game in 2014 had his replacement, Colt McCoy, not injured his neck against St. Louis in Week 14, subsequently landing on injured reserve.

But while the issues Griffin displayed earlier this season—Andy Benoit of The MMQB lists sloppy and erratic footwork, throwing mechanics and ability to read the field among them—are still problematic, Griffin demonstrated on Saturday that he can win games. 

Moreover, he demonstrated that he can do it well. Griffin surpassed his averages in almost every category on the season Saturday night. 

	Completions	Completion %	Yards	TDs	INTs	Passer Rating
2014 Average	20	68.1	207.8	.5	.75	83.4
Week 16	23	69.6	220	0	1	81.8

His start in Week 2 has not been counted here, as he only had three attempts. And it's never a good thing when a quarterback has more interceptions than touchdowns in a game. But on the whole, Griffin looked sharper on Saturday night than he had earlier this season, and it showed up more places than just the stat sheet. 

For one, though Griffin himself did not score, he was instrumental to those drives. On Alfred Morris' touchdown late in the first quarter, Griffin connected with DeSean Jackson on a 51-yard bomb that got Morris in position for the 28-yard scoring run. 

He also orchestrated a 12-play, 76-yard scoring drive early in the third quarter that saw him go 4-of-4 (his incompletion was negated on a roughing the passer penalty) for 40 yards. He scrambled once (on first down), and Washington made good use of its backfield to march down the field. 

He later connected with Jackson again on a 55-yard pass. 

Griffin's confidence seemed much higher on Saturday, and the win will only help.

Perhaps most encouraging against Philadelphia was Griffin's pocket presence. He ran the ball just five times, but he completed 16 of his 23 attempts. His offensive line gave him time. And while he still didn't excel at reading coverage sometimes, he was on the mark for most of his throws from the pocket.

Footwork can be improved. Progressing through reads can be improved. That was Gruden's goal this year when he replaced Mike Shanahan at the helm. Shanahan's offense clearly used more play-action and read-option schemes, allowing Griffin to be more mobile and evade pressure by taking off.

But with all the injuries Griffin has sustained, perhaps switching to a scheme under Gruden that asks him to be a more traditional pocket passer is what will ultimately extend his career and prevent him from another potentially career-ending injury. 

Clearly, the transition was bound to be bumpy. At first, Gruden tried to fit Griffin into a mold in which he couldn't be successful—though he was hired to "fix" Griffin, it seemed, at first, as though the offense he wanted to run was better built around another kind of quarterback. 

Whether benching Griffin for McCoy actually motivated the former to be better, we can't know. And in some ways, it's not so important. After that fiasco—and after Saturday's win—perhaps Gruden and Griffin are finally on the same page. 

When asked prior to Saturday's game if Griffin had reached his ceiling, Gruden laughed.

"No, he is 24 years old, and he is still learning,” Gruden said, via Mike Jones of The Washington Post. "I don’t think we can really judge his future right now based on what he has done. I think it’s a continuing process, and we just all want to see him try to get better every week."

If Griffin can work on his footwork and his ability to read coverage, he can become the type of quarterback who can thrive in Gruden's system. The six games he has started so far this season are not enough to make a complete-picture decision about both his and Gruden's futures in Washington—and whether they will continue down parallel roads. 

Griffin is still a work in progress as he attempts to alter his playing style significantly three years into his career. But he deserves to have the opportunity to continue to make that progress.