CLEVELAND -- Hue Jackson asked for "understanding" of the way Robert Griffin III played Sunday in the Cleveland Browns' 23-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, saying the position Griffin plays warrants it.

It was an interesting take from a head coach who all season shrugged off excuses and maintained accountability for himself and his players.

"I expect him to play well and produce, but you have a guy that's a quarterback," Jackson said after the Browns' march to a winless season continued with loss No. 13. "That's different. That's the most prestigious position in all of pro sports, in my opinion. You're asking a lot. We're sticking him back out here, and it's not like we have training camp. It's not like it is a preseason game, and we are getting ready. This is a real game. And it counts."

Griffin completed 12-for-28 for 104 yards. He surpassed 100 yards only because of three plays as the clock ran down in the final minute.

He had no passing touchdowns (one was dropped), no memorable throws and one interception. He was playing in his first game since he broke a bone in his left shoulder on Sept. 11.

"I don't ever expect anyone to be understanding when it comes to me," Griffin said. "That never crosses my mind. The more I play, the better I will get. It is tough to be off for three months during the course of the season and to come back into the game and expect for everything to go perfectly. It did not go perfectly."

Griffin's rating for the game was 38.4. But Jackson saw beyond the numbers and said Griffin "showed that he belongs."

"Just being out there and moving around again, calling a game, being involved with a game against a good football team, he showed that he belongs," Jackson said. "He's got to get better in some areas. I think we all know that. I'm not running from that. But I thought for the first time back out, late in the season like this, I thought he held his own."

The start was Griffin's second since the beginning of the 2015 season and his third since Dec. 28, 2014.

Griffin was named the Browns stating quarterback during training camp. He missed 11 games before returning against Cincinnati. Two days before the game, Jackson almost seemed to try to temper expectations by saying that if Griffin didn't play well, it would be OK.

"I thought he had good poise," Jackson said. "I didn't feel like it was too big for him. Obviously, there are some plays that we wish we had back and he will wish that he had back. That is Robert's third game where he has really been out there playing in two years.

"Like I said the other day, if things go great, good. If they do not go as good, that is OK too. We have to grow from it."

Griffin threw one pass from his end zone into triple coverage, and it was intercepted, which Jackson called disappointing. Griffin missed some open receivers as he spun out of the pocket to run. At times, it seemed he had trouble reading the field. He guided the Browns to a touchdown and field goal in the fourth quarter but was sacked on consecutive plays when the Browns had the ball down 13 in the fourth.

In the two games he has played this season, Griffin has completed 24 of 54 for 294 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. His rating in two games is 46.4.

"He has to go out there and play well," Jackson said. "And you can't simulate everything that's going to happen in a game in practice. There's just no way to do it. At that position, I think you got to be a little bit more understanding as you go through it."

Jackson said Griffin will start the Browns' next game in Buffalo.