Three takeaways from Washington Football Team’s Week 5 loss vs. Rams

1. Benching Dwayne Haskins solved nothing

Much was made of Dwayne Haskins‘ benching and how it meant that Washington wanted to win now. Ron Rivera clearly trusted Kyle Allen more than Washington’s 2019 first-round pick, and that was why the move was made.

Pulling Haskins, however, didn’t make any sort of difference for Washington. Their quarterbacks were woeful against the Rams. In one half of play, Allen went 9-of-13 for 74 yards and had one 7-yard TD run. He didn’t turn the ball over, but he made zero downfield plays to spark Washington’s offense.

Smith wasn’t good either. Though his storied return was absolutely incredible, his performance was poor. That was to be expected — it had been two years since he played lived reps on a football field and is 36 years old — and the stats showcase that. He went 9-of-17 on the day for just 37 yards and was sacked six times in a half of play.

Smith had some decent throws, but he also overshot Terry McLaurin on a potential big play downfield. Aside from that, he was mostly running for his life behind a shoddy offensive line. Again, it’s great that he was back on the field, but he didn’t help the team to win.

Does this mean that benching Haskins was the right decision? Not necessarily. It’s impossible to say how Haskins would’ve fared in this game down some weapons and playing in horrible weather. The bigger point is that there is no quick fix to the Washington quarterback dilemma.

Right now, it looks like Allen will continue to be the starter so long as he is healthy. He missed time after an arm injury in the first half, but if he’s ready to play, he’ll get to take on the Giants in Week 6. Still, none of Washington’s three quarterbacks look ready to lead this team to anything more than mediocrity at the best.