Washington Football Team, Dwayne Haskins, sunk by five turnovers in loss

The Washington Football Team’s Week 3 showing wasn’t far off from a worst-case scenario.

What might’ve saved the Washington Football Team from fulfilling the worst-case scenario was a 7-0 start in the first quarter, and the possession of a 20-17 lead out of the third quarter. But in the closing quarters of each half, Washington collapsed, and relinquished victory to the Cleveland Browns.

After a 34-20 home victory, the Browns will now enjoy being above .500 for the first time since 2014, while Washington will move into a lopsided Week 4 contest against the Baltimore Ravens at 1-2.

As mentioned above, Washington started the game well, displaying a suitably efficient offense and a defense that managed to stop Cleveland on their first two drives. But the second quarter gave way to a 17-point torrential downpour of points from the Browns, as well as three Washington turnovers. In the second half, it was a similar story.

The Washington Football Team came out of the half strong, scoring two touchdowns to Cleveland’s zero in the third quarter. Dwayne Haskins struck Dontrelle Inman for a score, seemingly rebounding from a ghastly second quarter.

But in the closing stanza, Washington’s offense crumbled again. Haskins first threw an easy interception to Browns linebacker B.J. Goodson, passing off of his back foot and under-throwing Inman. Then, soon after, a Myles Garrett strip-sack snuffed the offense’s hopes yet again.

Haskins turned the ball over four times in this affair, and all four of those turnovers gave Cleveland the ball inside Washington’s 35-yard line. That kind of charity to the opposition guarantees failure for any team, and Washington fell victim to their own inconsistency on Sunday afternoon.

It’s hard to tell how Haskins and the Washington Football Team will rebound from this loss. There were times when the game appeared within reach, but Washington, and notably Haskins, couldn’t stay consistent, and couldn’t stop stepping on their own toes.

Dwayne Haskins will no doubt be given a chance to rebound from this disappointing performance, but a difficult conversation may start to arise if he doesn’t show growth soon. Haskins’ first three weeks have been underwhelming, to say the least, and against Baltimore, a respite may be a tough request to fulfill.