Washington Redskins will start Kirk Cousins over RGIII

“Overall, I thought he did a good job during the game,” Shanahan said of Cousins.

Cousins led the team down for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to pull within one point. Shanahan, showing his nothing-to-lose position, elected to go for two instead of kicking the game-tying PAT. The attempt was no good.

Here’s Cousins taking a hard hit on a pass attempt.

The Redskins had allowed 24 sacks in their last five games coming into Sunday.

It’s official. Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is inactive for Sunday’s game against the Falcons, caught in the middle of a bitter divorce between Mike Shanahan and Dan Snyder. But RGIII isn’t just going to sit around and think up new inspirational sayings to trademark. No way. He’s doing something productive ... like practicing his extra point kicks.

Is that good for his knee?

Shanahan reportedly has the stipulation of running the team “the way he wants,” which could cause problems with owner Dan Snyder. The team will not attempt to fire the coach for cause, Schefter is reporting, and a legal source told the reporter Shanahan’s $7 million contract is “ironclad.” Previously, it was reported that Snyder was unwilling to buy out the remainder of the coach’s contract, suggesting that there will be at least one more season of Shanahan in the nation’s capital.

• Spencer Hall rejects a special offer from the Redskins

The decision by Shanahan that it is “no longer worth it” to coach under his father is one that should sit well with those within the Redskins organization, as reports continue to detail a rapidly deteriorating situation in Washington that will likely result in a complete coaching staff overhaul in the offseason.

La Canfora details a situation in which there is no accountability surrounding the coaching staff, especially in regards to Kyle Shanahan, and that the overall inexperience of the staff has led to the mess that has derailed what was supposed to be a promising season. Former and current members of the organization state that nepotism and favoritism in hiring only good friends as coaches has created an environment that is certainly not conducive to winning.

“If he lights it up, hey, maybe we can bring a first-round draft choice back to this organization, and say hey, who are we gonna take in the first round,” Shanahan said. “And I think by him playing and Robert not playing, it gives us a chance to have a few options for our organization that we wouldn’t normally have, and the safety of our quarterback going into the offseason is preserved.”

In 2011, the Philadelphia Eagles traded backup quarterback Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals for Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie on a second-round draft pick. Kolb was a second-round pick in 2007 and had started seven games across four seasons.

• Spencer Hall rejects a special offer from the Redskins

• PFT Commenter’s roasting of Robert Griffin III

Robert Griffin III was benched for his protection, according to Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan -- but the quarterback is “extremely angry” he was benched, according to a report from Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

Shanahan said the team was concerned by the number of hits Griffin III took in 13 games, with the coach saying he had the blessing of Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to keep their franchise quarterback healthy. Latest reports indicate this was not true. The benching was due to performance, not fear of injury, according to Michael Silver.

Washington Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss believes the organization is putting second-year quarterback Kirk Cousins in a difficult position, and “setting him up for failure” by turning to him with three games remaining in the season.

Moss spoke to the media on Thursday and Mark Maske of the Washington Post reported the veteran wide receiver thinks the timing is wrong.

Griffin confirmed in a Wednesday press conference that he was being shut down for the remainder of the 2013 NFL season.

“I’m sure everybody knows by now that coach decided to shut me down for the rest of the season,” Griffin told the media. “I expressed my desire to play.”

The campaign has been an unmitigated disaster for the Redskins, who are 3-10 after winning the NFC East in 2012. Griffin has struggled throughout the season, completing only 60.1 percent of his pass attempts while tossing only 16 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions.

Cousins, who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2012 Draft, will start the third game of his career this weekend. In two relief appearances this season, Cousins has two interceptions and a fumble on his stat line. His QBR is 0.9, on a scale of 1-100.

The same sources said RGIII has not been made aware of the decision yet, but that they expect the star quarterback to have an opportunity to plead his case before an official decision is made.

Wednesday’s practice will likely be an indicator as to whether Cousins will indeed get the starting nod, according to Jay Glazer.