Washington Football Team vs. Rams preview: Matchups, score prediction

Washington Football Team offense vs. Rams defense

There are some other minor storylines regarding ailing skill position players and offensive linemen, but the quarterback change is the biggest offensive storyline for the Washington Football Team in Week 4, and by a wide margin.

Both of these things can be true: It wasn’t entirely advisable for Washington to bench Haskins and erode at his development, but Haskins was legitimately one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL through four weeks. The decision to start Kyle Allen was lamented by many, but if we’re being honest, the play at quarterback couldn’t get much less effective.

With that being said, Ron Rivera emphasized in his press conference today that the quarterback situation will continue to be evaluated week-to-week, so Allen is by no means entrenched as the starter. However, Allen’s experience and familiarity with Scott Turner’s offense should at least help him execute better than Haskins was.

Allen unfortunately won’t draw an easy matchup on the other side in his first 2020 start. The Rams’ defense has allowed only 20 points per game to the opposition this year, and their secondary is particularly strong in terms of playmaking ability. Jalen Ramsey, Troy Hill, and Darious Williams are quickly morphing into one of the better cornerback trios in the league, and they’ll test Terry McLaurin as he attempts to continue his Pro Bowl-caliber campaign.

If there’s a silver lining for Washington, it’s that the Rams’ edge presence isn’t particularly strong, and while Micah Kiser has played well at linebacker, there may be opportunities up the middle as well. Allen will have to be sharp, however; Aaron Donald is still a one-man wrecking crew, and if the better-than-expected Wes Schweitzer can’t play at right guard, that will be a big mismatch.