During the first quarter, though, it was obvious that Griffin re-aggravated his knee injury, and he was limping much more noticeably afterwards. He left the field to get his knee checked on, then remained in the game until the fourth quarter. The decision to keep him in eventually led to what looked like a more severe knee injury, and the Redskins didn’t score after his knee got re-injured.
Shanahan said later that Griffin told him he was “hurting, but not injured,” according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Griffin told the media after the game that he felt he could help the team despite his knee injury and, if Shanahan had told him to come out of the game, he would have gone right back out onto the field.