Redskins studs and duds from team’s Week 4 loss to Giants

Dud No. 2 – QB Dwayne Haskins

Dwayne Haskins doesn’t escape the dud list, either. Both quarterbacks managed to perform in line with this title, although the situation didn’t give Haskins any favors.

Haskins came into the game in the second quarter and didn’t look comfortable for most of the game. Taking play calls from Kevin O’Connell, he was able to move the football more effectively than Keenum, and he appeared more mobile in this game. But that was where the positives started to fade for Haskins.

Haskins ended his day with nine completions on 17 pass attempts, 107 passing yards, and three interceptions. It’s worth noting that one interception was on a pretty seam ball that Vernon Davis dropped, and another was on a 50-50 ball to Paul Richardson, which Janoris Jenkins muscled away from the receiver. It’s not as if Haskins was passing to the defense all day. But he took chances, and was introduced to the risks of those chances on multiple occasions.

Haskins’ mind was likely spinning; the Redskins didn’t make it easy for him by thrusting him into the middle of a game for which he’d taken few first-team reps in the previous week. But Haskins didn’t look as sharp as his best preseason moments painted him. He held the ball in the pocket often, took a few sacks, and didn’t always see routes down the field.

Now that the team has switched to Haskins, however, sticking with him might be the best call. This way, they can get him experience, and prepare him better each week, so that he carries more confidence into each matchup, and they can avoid the potential negative consequences of benching a rookie quarterback, in terms of confidence lost. Haskins should keep playing, but he wasn’t supposed to play on Sunday, and it showed.