Washington Football Team: Studs and duds from Week 15 loss vs. Seahawks
Washington Football Team Stud: Dwayne Haskins the last 1.5 quarters
Dwayne Haskins was far from perfect on the day, but in the last quarter and a half or so for Washington, he performed well. He did what he could to will Washington back in the game but ultimately, it wasn’t enough to get the job done. Still, Haskins did show improvement today, and that is extremely important.
After starting the game by mostly checking the ball down and trying to get into a rhythm, Haskins took some more chances downfield as the game went along. A couple of the unnecessary risks resulted in massive negative plays (more on that later), but in the latter half of the game, Haskins took calculated risks, threw to open men, and used his arm strength as a weapon. That’s certainly a good sign.
It’s also a good sign that Haskins was able to help lead the comeback. He didn’t fold under the pressure of a 17-point deficit. Sure, the defense kept him in the game, but Haskins led Washington on back-to-back touchdown drives and moved the team at will downfield on the final drive of the game before taking a couple of key sacks that were a result of heavy Seahawks pressure.
More from Commanders News
- What will Emmanuel Forbes bring to the Washington Commanders?
- Highlighting the best Commanders 2023 NFL Draft betting props
- 3 late Commanders rumors drawing buzz ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft
- 4 bold predictions for the Commanders 2023 NFL Draft
- Commanders News: Chase Young trade, draft day, CB riser and Sam Howell
Haskins’ solid second-half performance wasn’t just about him leading Washington back. He showed in-game improvement and learned from his mistakes. This was most apparent when he scrambled out to his right on a play in the second half, looked downfield and saw nothing, and decided to scramble and picked up the first down. When he faced that same scenario in the first half, he decided to make an ill-advised throw that turned into an interception.
That’s the growth that will help Haskins moving forward. He clearly has the physical tools needed to be a good quarterback at the NFL level, but it’s all about him putting it together and pairing those physical tools with a better understanding of the game. He took a step in the right direction in the second half of the game by being able to adjust and find ways to move the ball on the Seahawks defense after only leading one scoring drive in the first half.