ASHBURN, Va. — On a day when the Washington Redskins lost three-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker Brian Orakpo for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, it was still all about the quarterbacks for this team.

Coach Jay Gruden plans to start third-stringer Colt McCoy next Monday on the road against NFC East leader Dallas unless usual starter Robert Griffin III can prove that the left ankle he dislocated on Sept. 14 is fully recovered. Griffin is expected to return to practice this week after resuming individual drills last week, not quite six weeks after he was injured again.

“Right now we’re going to move forward with Colt,” Gruden said the day after McCoy shook off nearly two years of rust, replaced faltering second-stringer Kirk Cousins and rallied the Redskins to a 17-16 victory over Tennessee that ended a four-game slide. “He’s very poised and he’s a great competitor. He’s here for a reason. He’s got the intangibles to be a good quarterback. … I’d like to make the decision as soon as I can.

“Robert still has a long way to go to show that he can play, show that ankle’s 100 percent. We don’t want to put him out there (at) 85 percent and have him do something else to it. He has to be honest with himself. If he gets totally cleared by the doctors, can he cut without pain? Can he run without pain? Is he full-speed?”

If not, McCoy, who completed 11 of 12 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown against the Titans, will start his first game in nearly three years in his home state on national television against the 6-1 Cowboys.

“It’s been two years,” the former Texas star said, unable to hide the fact that he was choked up. “I don’t want to get emotional, but … I’m thankful that I have the opportunity to still be able to play.”

Cousins, who was benched after committing his 10th and 11th turnovers in five-plus games and with his reeling team trailing 10-6, doesn’t figure to play again this season unless injury forces him back into the lineup.

“No one ever said it was going to be easy,” Cousins said. “I don’t know if some of it is. I’m so conscious of not throwing an interception that it causes you to throw one.”

In five of the 10 career games in which Cousins has played extensively, he has been very good, with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. In the other five games, including Sunday, Cousins has been very bad with four touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

While Griffin has been sidelined this year, Cousins was excellent in whipping the Jaguars and in a narrow loss at Philadelphia, lousy in a rout by the New York Giants and mostly just turnover-ridden. He has completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 1,710 yards and 10 touchdowns, but has nine interceptions and two fumbles while ranking last in the league on third downs and near the bottom in the fourth quarter.

“When you throw a pick, that always messes with your mind,” said McCoy, who threw 20 picks and 20 touchdowns during 21 starts for the Browns in 2010 and 2011. “It’s like a pitcher getting a home run hit off of him. How are you going to respond? … (Kirk) will bounce back from it. I know that we had full confidence in Kirk every week to go out there and play well, and Robert’s the same way. If I back up Robert, I do the same thing with him. We have a great relationship.”

While the Redskins have started the same quarterback for all 16 games in just three of the last 18 seasons — Brad Johnson (1999) and Jason Campbell (2008-09) — if McCoy starts against the Cowboys, this will be just the second year during that stretch when they’ve started three — Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel and Patrick Ramsey (2002). And it’s only Week 8.

REPORT CARD VS. TITANS

PASSING OFFENSE: B-minus — Kirk Cousins made his fifth straight start and this time the Redskins didn’t lose. However, Cousins also wasn’t in the lineup when they won, having been benched at halftime after throwing his ninth interception and losing his second fumble during those five games. After completing his first pass to tight end Niles Paul for 50 yards, Cousins was 9-of-15 for 89 yards before being yanked in favor of Colt McCoy. The third-stringer’s first throw was turned into a 70-yard touchdown by receiver Pierre Garcon. McCoy completed 10 of his remaining 11 passes for just 58 yards but he still emerged in glory. Garcon had four other catches but for just 17 yards. Receiver DeSean Jackson was held to three catches for 49 yards but he drew the pass interference penalty that set up the game-winning field goal. Tight end Jordan Reed had five catches for 54 yards in his second game back from a hamstring injury. Fullback Darrel Young helped set up a field goal with a 10-yard grab. Right tackle Tyler Polumbus continued to struggle in pass protection and yielded at times to backup Tom Compton. Polumbus was beaten for one of Tennessee’s sacks. The others came up the middle, one on a blitz.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-minus — Washington’s strength the past two seasons is turning into a weakness. Pro Bowl running back Alfred Morris has yet to have a 100-yard game. He managed just 54 yards on 18 carries against the Titans. Backup Roy Helu did gain 29 yards on five carries while fullback Darrel Young surprised Tennessee with a 14-yard run. The blockers lost the battle in the trenches again.

PASS DEFENSE: B — Holding an offense quarterbacked by Charlie Whitehurst to just 160 yards through the air isn’t that unusual, but it was another step forward for a generally weak aspect of the Redskins. Rookie cornerback Bashaud Breeland dove for his first career interception. Third corner E.J. Biggers was whipped for a 38-yard score by journeyman receiver Derek Hagan, but Washington didn’t allow another catch longer than 16 yards. Safeties Ryan Clark and Brandon Meriweather were beaten on a 14-yard touchdown catch by Titans receiver Kendall Wright. The pass rush only sacked Whitehurst once, with that coming from backup nose tackle Frank Kearse.

RUSH DEFENSE: B — The Titans averaged just 3.5 yards per carry, with starting running back Bishop Sankey gaining only 56 yards on 16 attempts. Tennessee’s longest run was 11 yards. Keenan Robinson made a game-high 14 tackles while fellow inside linebacker Will Compton played better in his second straight start in place of the injured Perry Riley with six stops. Breeland and outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan were very active against the run.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A-minus — Kicker Kai Forbath kicked two field goals of 31 yards, another of 27 and the game-winner from 22 as time expired. Three of Forbath’s kickoffs were deep, including two touchbacks, and the coverage was solid. Tress Way averaged 41.3 yards net on his three punts as the Titans’ only return was a muff by Dexter McCluster that Paul recovered for Washington at the Tennessee 24 to set up a field goal. The negative was that Andre Roberts continues to be a dud on punt returns and kickoff returns.

COACHING: B — Beating a bad, penalty-riddled team minus its starting quarterback on a last-second field goal at home isn’t reason to think the Redskins have turned things around as coach Jay Gruden acknowledged. However, Gruden deserves credit for having the guts to bench Cousins for McCoy, who had thrown just one pass since December 2012. That McCoy performed so well is a positive reflection on the coach and offensive coordinator Sean McVay. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett and special teams coach Ben Kotwica won their matchups with their Tennessee counterparts.