In-Season NFL

Don’t Be Too Hasty On Dwayne Haskins

Deonta Saleem November 25, 2019

The Washington Redskins won their Sunday matchup with the Detroit Lions, but they let the game be a lot closer than it should have been. They almost let a Matthew Stafford-less Lions team come into FedExField and steal a win, but Jeff Driskel pretty much handed them the game at the end.

The Redskins offense had 7 drives of 4 plays or less, two which resulted in turnovers by Haskins, and four 3 and outs. They did not score an offensive touchdown yet again, and only have 5 offensive TDs since week 4. They simply cannot score enough points to provide and type of wins consistently, as their 2-9 record shows.

Haskins was wildly inaccurate yesterday. He had at least 3-5 passes today that left points unscored or stalled the drive. He missed McLaurin on a crossing route that was a wide-open TD in the first, then missed Sims for a TD the following play. There was also a point at the end of the game when they were marching down to score the game-winning FG. After his 11-yard scramble to give them the first down, instead of getting to the line and running another play, he was flexing and getting too hyped instead of staying in the moment and forgetting the game is still at large.

At the end of the game when they were in victory formation, I was confused to see Case Keenum taking the knee, I was in the stands and didn’t see what was going on. Turns out he was taking a picture with a fan. When asked what that was about, Haskins said he was so hyped that he “thought the game was over with”. And there was something about him showing up about 10-15 minutes before the 11 AM deadline for him to be at the stadium, all these issues I’m sure will get addressed by the coaching staff.

With everything this kid has been through since the draft, I’ll give him a pass…. somewhat. You need to realize what’s going on around you at all times and stay in the moment and pay attention. Just because you were the first-round pick and you’re expected to be the franchise QB for the next 15 or so years, does not exclude you from the rules and scrutiny. Everyone is all-in on Haskins, he needs to be all-in on getting better on and off the field. Just look at the QBs before you Dwayne, things can change in an instant.

Haskins is raw, with the season pretty much being a wash at this point, all you want to see is growth from your young weapons on offense. Can his inaccuracies and mistakes be corrected down the line? Yes, but he needs to learn how to be a professional and perfect his craft and get 1% better every day.

With Terry McLaurin showing that he can truly ball out when needed, Derrius Guice finally being back on the field with his violent running style, and the growth of Dwayne Haskins and company, this offense has a lot of growing to do but has yet to hit their ceiling.