LANDOVER, MD - Perhaps you may have heard, but there's a pretty big football game happening today.
The Washington Redskins are hosting the Indianapolis Colts, where Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck will square off to show their respective teams and fanbases once and for all who picked the better quarterback in the 2012 NFL draft.
Okay, not really.
The third preseason game for the Redskins this year comes with much hype and anticipation, but at the end of the day, it's still preseason. As is customary with the third exhibition game, the starters will get their usual two-and-a-half quarter tune up before the games begin counting for real in a few weeks.
With that said, here are some questions heading into Saturday's matchup:
1. How will Robert Griffin III look in extended action?
Without a doubt, all eyes will be on Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck, the top two selections in this year's draft. And while that's the sexy headline for this game, what's most important is tracking their development rather than saying who will have a better career.
For Griffin, that means improving upon last week's uneven effort. There were moments where he was able to get the ball out on time, show off his ability to elude pressure, and use his speed to move the chains. However, there were other times where he was indecisive, tentative in the pocket, and on a few throws, inaccurate. He had his struggles for sure, but none of them were outside of the realm of what most would consider "typical rookie pitfalls".
This week, Griffin will get more a chance to show what he can do, as he and the first team offense will play into the third quarter. The offense will likely be simplistic, but it'll give Griffin more reps to help improved pocket presence, accuracy, and general speed of the NFL game.
"RGIII vs. Luck" will draw plenty of opinions after the game, but what happens in an exhibition game shouldn't be considered a definitive glimpse into their respective careers.
2. How will Tim Hightower fare, coming off an ACL injury?
Barring a setback, Tim Hightower will see his first live game action since tearing his ACL during last season's Week 7 game against the Carolina Panthers. And given the state of the Redskins backfield at the moment, his return couldn't happen any sooner.
Washington has had a trouble keeping their stable of runners healthy this preseason, and they will head into Saturday's game once again down two men, this time Evan Royster (knee) and Roy Helu (achilles).
That means it's up to Hightower to shake off the rust starting Saturday night and show the coaching staff that he'll be ready to go come September 9th, when the Redskins open their season against the Saints.
3. How will the first team secondary rebound from last week's disappointing outing?
The new look Redskins pass defense struggled last weekend against the Bears. There were a concerning number of missed tackles, bad angles and poor coverage that led to Chicago receivers having a field day in the first half.
This week, the first team secondary has a chance to rebound from last week's shaky effort. With the team game planning more for the Colts than they did against the Bears a week ago, it'll be important to show that their performance in Chicago was just an aberration.
The perception of the secondary going into this season is that, while they may not be great, they'll have to take advantage of what's expected to be a strong defensive front seven. They'll have to play well consistently to change that.
For more live coverage of the game, follow our Redskins editor Daniel Shiferaw on twitter at @dshif . Keep it here for post game updates as well.