Perhaps no one can speak with more authority about Sunday's Ravens vs. Commanders game than Robert Griffin III. Griffin has seen it from both sides, knows the starring quarterbacks, and has been in their shoes.
Griffin began his career with Washington in 2012. He finished it with the Baltimore Ravens in 2020. He was Washington's No. 2-overall pick after winning the Heisman Trophy. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is Washington's No. 2-overall pick after winning the Heisman Trophy.
Griffin reinvigorated a struggling Washington franchise. Daniels has done the same this season, leading the Commanders to a 4-1 start and first place in the NFC East. Griffin worked side-by-side with Lamar Jackson for Jackson's first three seasons in the NFL. He had a front-row seat to his growth from a rookie to MVP.
Just like Daniels will do Sunday, Griffin faced the Ravens as a rookie back in 2012. His day ended with a knee injury from a gruesome hit by defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. Griffin was replaced by fellow rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins, who finished off a dramatic 31-28 Washington win. That injury and game shaped Griffin's career.
We caught up with Griffin, who is now in the media business, this week as he prepares to watch the Ravens and Commanders meet in the hottest Week 6 game in the NFL:
How much are you looking forward to this one, and what do you expect?
"I think there's a lot of hype around the matchup, and it's warranted. I'm excited for it. I've seen the videos that are flying around. A lot of people have been calling me asking for my input on it, and for me, it's like this is the team that drafted me, had extreme success with them in Washington early on, and then, of course, the team I finished my career with and had a chance to mentor Lamar. So I was thinking about going to the game but I'm not going. I'm going to stay home, watch the game at home."
What stands out to you about the matchup between Jackson and Daniels?
"It's a matchup of two Black quarterbacks that play the position differently, and I say that, and people are like, what do you mean? They're different players. They don't play the game the same way, even though they're both mobile and athletic. They can both throw the heck out of the deep ball. They get to it in different ways, and that's what is so intriguing for me to watch, and I've studied them over the past few years.
"But I'm just happy that both organizations accept these guys for who they are and maximize what they can do instead of constantly talking about what they can't. That, to me, was so beneficial to see from [John Harbaugh] and Steve Bisciotti, Ozzie [Newsome] and [Eric DeCosta], to just watch how they handle Lamar in a way that allowed him to truly be himself. Listening to Lamar talk at press conferences now. He's no different than he was when he first got into the league. Is he a little more assertive? Yeah, but he's still the same Lamar, still the same lingo, the terminology. He's himself, and it's cool to see the organization do that, and I know they're doing the same for Jayden in Washington.
"They both play the game in such a unique way and it fits with both teams. When I came in the league, I think it was me, [Colin Kaepernick], Russell Wilson, Mike Vick was there in Philly. But they were still kind of trying to force guys to be pocket passers and force guys to play the game one way. And I think that's completely changed since that time. Whereas now, if myself, Russell Wilson or Colin Kaepernick came into the NFL in 2024, teams would more so be completely on board with running the plays that these guys do best, finding ways to protect them the best they can, and not trying to force them to be something that they're not when they first get to the league. You drafted him for a reason. Jayden Daniels last year was the most explosive passer and the most explosive runner in the NCAA. That's why he got the Heisman Trophy. Lamar Jackson, when he came out, was the most explosive downfield passer and the most explosive runner in the NCAA. So when you formulate those offenses around them, you do what they do best. And I got firsthand experience with Lamar, right? I got to see how we called plays. Why we went to the wristband and why we ran the system the way that we ran it, because Lamar's got a beautiful mind and he sees things differently than me, than Joe [Flacco] at the time, you know? And it was cool to watch that because coaches aren't willing to do that in the league. They want one system that all three quarterbacks can run so that if anything happens and a guy goes down, it's the next guy up. But that's not how you build a team. That's not how you build a roster. You have to go all-in on that guy. That happened to me my first year in the league. And I've gotten to see the Commanders do it with Jayden, and I've gotten to see the Ravens firsthand do it with Lamar. And I'm happy for them."
How are they different from each other?
"The easiest way I can say it is, in my experience with Lamar, sometimes we get in games, and instead of reading 1-2-3, he would read 3-2-1. Now, if you talk to any quarterback, they would tell you, if there's five reads on this play, five eligibles, you never go 1 through 5. Sometimes you'll go 1-3-5. Sometimes you'll go 2-4-5 based off the coverage. But it's never normally 5-1. That doesn't happen. You don't go 5-3-1. That's just not how the progression goes. But Lamar's got such a beautiful mind, and I'm not telling any secrets here. Sometimes he goes 3-2-1, and it works. And I don't know how it works, but it's a special trait that he has. Just like that pass to Isaiah Likely. Who's making that throw? Who's making that throw in a game where Isaiah Likely was in comparison to where the defense was, and who Lamar had barreling down on him? Not many people are making that throw in general. And if it's intercepted, we're all saying, why did he make that throw? But it wasn't. And Lamar tends to make those plays more than he gets bit for those types of plays. I would see him make throws in games that he'd never make in practice. And maybe it's because Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, he's still processing it all. But when he gets to Sunday, I've never seen a quarterback flip the switch in the way that Lamar would flip the switch.
"So when I look at Jayden, Jayden is more of your traditional pocket passer when it comes to going through his reads. So if you look at his numbers right now, he doesn't have 15 touchdown passes. He's got four. His completion percentage is extremely high. And when you look at any one game, the only game that you can really point to and be like, holy cow, look at how Jayden Daniels just destroyed that defense, it would be the Bengals game. That game was like a coming out party. But the other games, he's just been extremely efficient. He's not trying to do too much. And I'm not saying that Lamar did. So I don't want to make that comparison. But the thing with young QBs coming in is you want to put the team on your back. You want to put the team on your back like Marshawn Lynch and just carry them to victory. And all Jayden is doing is, 'Hey, No. 1 is open, throw it to him. Hey, one's covered, two's open, throw it to him. And then when he runs, he's only running after he's exhausted his entire progression.' So it's a little different than how it was with Lamar early on. We changed the offense in 2018 once Joe went down and Lamar took over. But it was like [the] Lamar Jackson show. He was carrying us to victories. The defense was playing well. The offense line was playing. It was like Lamar was carrying us to victories. It was honestly one of the most unbelievable things I've ever seen.
"Jayden's not really having to carry the Commanders to victories. He's just being efficient. I think last week they scored like 40 points. He had a high completion percentage. He didn't go for 400 yards. He didn't throw for four touchdowns. He just played the position. And I think that kind of makes them dangerous, if you know what I'm saying. What if he does start throwing for four touchdowns? That, to me, is the exciting part because this game is the Ravens versus the Commanders. It's not Jayden Daniels versus Lamar Jackson. Lamar could go out there and throw for 350, run for 150, and the Ravens could lose. And I know Ravens fans don't want to hear that. But me and you have both watched some of these games that Lamar has been in, and that's been the case. So that, to me, is the interesting dynamic here. Are these guys really going to duel it out and compete stats-wise? Or is it going to be more of like who has the best team? I think it will be more who has the best team."
How would you describe what it's like playing the Ravens as a rookie?
"[Hope there's] no Haloti Ngata. Love Haloti, but Haloti's mindset, it's playing like a Raven. The Ravens defense has one calling card and that calling card is they're going to be physical. And they're going to blitz. Now how they get to that blitz? Who knows? I remember Anthony Levine, they're making checks at the line of scrimmage that aren't really supposed to be checks, like 'Hey, you're blitzing, no your blitzing. No you're blitzing, no you're blitzing.' So it's really tough on young QBs to know who's coming, where they're coming from, how much time do I have? And I think that's where Jayden Daniels has excelled so far. Blitz checks, getting the ball out of his hands. Kliff Kingsbury's done a nice job moving him around. They're not asking him to throw the ball 40 times a game. And they definitely don't want that to be the case here against the Ravens. So just knowing that that physicality, it's just a little different. It's like when you get on the basketball court at the YMCA and there's that one dude in the corner that you know, he ain't playing no offense. He ain't going to make no buckets. But guess what? He's going to play some defense and he's going to be in your face the entire game. To me, that's what the Ravens' defense is. They're that crazy guy in the gym who lives for YMCA basketball where he's full-court pressing you from the start of the game to the end of the game. So Jayden's got to be ready for it. And as a rookie, I had my ups and downs or good plays or bad plays [against] the Ravens. But it takes mental toughness because they're not going to stop. They're not going to stop from the first whistle to the last whistle. I think Jayden, because of what he's been through in his life, he's prepared for that. But like I said, it's just a little different."
Do you think this is a rivalry?
"It's tough because there's just so much of a limited history there. With the Ravens coming down, I know a lot of people don't want to talk about it, but the Ravens weren't always in that market. I think I said it to you guys when I was there. What the Ravens have from a culture standpoint is what the Commanders needed. And my time with Baltimore showed me how an organization should be run. Top to bottom, Bisciotti leads the way. He empowered Ozzie to be a Hall of Fame GM. Now Ozzie's empowered EDC to leave his own mark and start his own Hall of Fame career as a GM. And they all trust and believe in what Coach Harbaugh's doing. So to kind of encapsulate all that, I do think it's a rivalry just because of the distance between the teams. I think because both teams are in the DMV, it's a rivalry. It is. And now it actually can become something for years to come, because it's a box office. At the end of the day, this game is a box office type game with Lamar Jackson, two-time MVP, a guy I'm obviously still, I'm still very fond of Lamar and what he's been able to accomplish. And then you got Jayden Daniels, who's literally revived an entire city. The entire city is buzzing because of Jayden. And if you remember back in 2018 when Lamar became the starter, it was the same thing in Baltimore. So the parallels, how ironic this one is, it's heartwarming for me. I love watching guys have success. And I think this game is going to go a long way and the MVP race. It's going to go a long way in how both teams feel about their actual playoff positions or possibilities of winning a Super Bowl. And Lamar is coming off one of the best games of the year. And Derrick Henry is not slowing down at all. So this is just a game that I'm going to be glued to the TV, live tweeting. It's going to be a blast. But, you know, heart will be torn from the team that drafted me to the team that showed me how it's supposed to be in the NFL."
When you watch Lamar now, where do you see the advancements in his game?
"I think Lamar is just back to playing football. You know, sometimes when you go through the money talks and the contract and you've got to win this way, you've got to do it that way. Regardless of whether people say they listen to it or not, you hear it, right? Family, friends, teammates, you hear it. And I think that affected him a little bit. And I don't think he'll ever say that out loud. But I think he's back to playing Lamar ball. If he needs to run for 150 yards, he runs for 150 yards. If his team needs him to throw for 380 and four touchdowns, he throws for 380 and four touchdowns. So you'll hear all the experts who don't know a lot and don't know the play calls. But I know that offense and have had many, many conversations with Todd Monken. And what I see is his feet are in better rhythm. He's making more decisive decisions, whether it's throwing the football or running the football. And he's not afraid to throw for 120 yards and hand the ball off to big old King Henry and let him go run for 150 if he has to. He's no longer worried about what people on the outside are going to say. And that's cool to see. Because, like I said, we can talk about rhythm and timing and where his eyes are and how he's matching up his drops with the receiver's routes. But Lamar's always done those things in bits and pieces and spurts throughout his career. I just think now he is comfortable with doing whatever he has to do to win the game. And he's got the guys around him to kind of pull that off now. They got the X's and O's and the Jimmy's and the Joe's. So it's been cool for me to see that. I don't see a guy that's trying to prove to people that he can throw it. I just see Lamar relaxed and playing Lamar ball. And that's when he's at his best."
What's it like for you seeing Jayden excite D.C. again and Lamar reaching this level of stardom?
"I love to see other guys be successful. I'm going to stay home and I'm going to use my platform to praise these guys because what they're doing is remarkable. Jayden has revived the city. I've seen a lot of graphics going around, a lot of stuff about my time and his time. And some guys will be like, 'No, he can't do it. He can't do this.' That's not in my personality. It's not who I am. I think he will be the franchise quarterback, the team, and the city deserve for the next 15 years. I want to help him in that. I've been mentoring Jayden for years now. And it's been fun in the same way that I was able to help Lamar Jackson in the three years that I was there. I'm just here to be a vessel and help them achieve their dreams. But it's not my responsibility. They're the ones playing. I want them to do well. And when they do well, they're going to get a salute from me."
