Redskins fall to Bengals 23-13; Haskins flashes, while depth has holes

Much like the Redskins first preseason matchup, the game against Cincinnati ended in disappointment, but it yielded some promising developments.

This week, of course, there was more bad to take away than good. In the Washington Redskins 23-13 loss to Zac Taylor’s Cincinnati Bengals, the offense was inconsistent, as was the backup defense, and the special teams unit gave up another punt return touchdown. The Redskins didn’t give up the lead until the fourth quarter, but when they did, the Bengals ran with it, and ended up building a nice cushion before the final whistle.

The Bengals got all of their points with the backups in on both sides. When the Redskins starters were in, the Bengals offense didn’t attain any consistency. The line was disruptive, and defensive backs showed good awareness, most notably Montae Nicholson, who caught a tipped pass and returned it for a touchdown. Landon Collins also flashed in his first action with the Redskins, making a few teeth-rattling tackles.

The Redskins offensive line also looked much better with the starters in. Chase Roullier, Brandon Scherff, and Morgan Moses all held up their end of the bargain. The left side of the line was a bit more inconsistent, but Case Keenum had a bit more time to throw on a consistent basis. Lack of depth was an issue on both offense and defense, and the presence of starters initially made that contrast only more apparent.

But the biggest takeaway from the night? Dwayne Haskins showed noticeable improvement from his first preseason showing. His precise 55-yard touchdown strike to a long-striding Robert Davis, in the face of heavy pressure, understandably got the most attention, but he also showed mental growth from a week-to-week basis. He used his hard count to force a neutral zone infraction at one point, showed more of his scrambling ability, and he didn’t force passes like he did in Week 1. He was more patient and collected this time around, and it showed.

Haskins ended the night with seven completions on 14 attempts, good for 114 yards and a touchdown. It was a promising second outing for him; while his accuracy downfield was a bit inconsistent, he showed the traits necessary to lead an NFL offense. If he keeps developing along this trend, and does so at the same pace, then he could start for the Redskins sooner rather than later.

In preseason, the main goal is never winning. But while the Redskins have positives to take away from this contest, there are glaring issues afoot. The team’s lack of depth has cost them in both of their preseason games, and their special teams unit has contributed to two punt return gaffes in two weeks. Consistency needs to be attained, and the coaches need to use these last two weeks to get the depth players as ready as they can be for the regular season. Otherwise, an injury bout like the ones in 2017 and 2018 might derail yet another campaign.