Redskins sneak away with uneven win; Dwayne Haskins gets his moment

It was an uneven outing for Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins, but he finally got his moment in the final seconds, as the Redskins beat the Lions 19-16, improving to 2-9 on the season.

After the Washington Redskins 34-17 drubbing at the hands of the New York Jets in Week 11, Washington’s squad was motivated to flip the script this week against the Detroit Lions. Or at least, one would assume.

In the first half, that certainly seemed to be the case; the Redskins came out strong, made plays on defense and special teams, and got out to a 13-6 lead after the conclusion of the first two quarters. The defense generated turnovers, and overall, the team was taking advantage of opportunities which the Lions gave them.

In the second half, however, the Redskins momentum all but disintegrated, and the team allowed 10 straight Lions points through most of the final two quarters. They were able to rebound in the final moments, however, as an interception by Quinton Dunbar gave the offense a chance late. Dwayne Haskins then put together an offensive drive to set up a game-winning field goal.

Dwayne Haskins’ performance will cultivate doubt in certain circles, and with modest reason; the Lions defense came into the game as one of the worst statistical units in the league, and Haskins failed to attain any consistent success against them until the very end.

But while Haskins was inaccurate for much of the game, Bill Callahan did not help make his job easier. With frequent runs on first and second and long, Haskins often found himself deep in a hole on third and long, and this contributed to repeated unnecessary risks.

That said, Haskins had numerous opportunities to hit open receivers, and missing high was a nagging tendency for him in this one. The Redskins need to do a better job of getting Haskins in rhythm with short-to-intermediate throws, and Haskins needs to focus on smoothing over his mechanics to negate high throws.

But at the end of the day, Haskins made the throw he needed to make: A first-down completion to Terry McLaurin that set them up for a 39-yard game-winning field goal. Washington is now 2-9, and while the long-term implications of this game are unclear, they at least got a morale boost for their young core, and some momentum to carry into the final stretch.