Washington Redskins TE Jordan Reed shows guts and resilience

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins have relied on tight end Jordan Reed for four years now and watched him blossom into the game's best pass-catching tight end.

That was hard to dispute after Thursday's 31-26 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. Reed caught a game-high 10 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns - despite playing with a Grade 3 separation of the AC joint in his left shoulder.

That could keep him out of the lineup for a while, according to Redskins HEAD coach Jay Gruden on Friday. And while Washington's potent offense still hummed even without Reed (concussion) for two games earlier this season, they don't want to contemplate life without him for long. The Redskins gave no exact timetable for Reed's return. They next return to the field Dec. 4 at Arizona.

Reed's teammates thought he was done after hurting the shoulder WHILE falling on it in the end zone on the first play of the second quarter of the Cowboys game. Reed came out in a sling.

"I did not expect him to (return). I was a little bit surprised," quarterback Kirk Cousins said. "He can't watch. He wants to play. That's always been his approach."

And so Reed returned to the field for the second half without the sling and began warming up with backup quarterback Colt McCoy. It wasn't a decoy. Reed caught a brilliant, one-handed 33-yard pass late inside the 5-yard line in the third quarter on a third-and-4 play. Two plays later - the first of the fourth quarter - he caught a 5-yard touchdown pass.

In that quarter alone Reed caught seven of eight passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns. Both answered Dallas scores and cut a deficit to five points. And while that wasn't enough to push Washington over the top in a loss to its NFC East rival, Reed had done more than his share. After the game he needed teammate Vernon Davis' help to take off his t-shirt at his locker.

"For Jordan to be able to come out there and play the way he did, his performance was unprecedented," Davis said. "It was amazing. It was beautiful to see him come out there. Despite taking the loss we still kept fighting. It just speaks volumes about who he is as a player."