Washington Football Team: The curious case of Dwayne Haskins

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LANDOVER, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 20: Quarterback Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Football Team looks to pass against the Seattle Seahawks in the first half at FedExField on December 20, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Who is Dwayne Haskins? That’s the conundrum for the Washington Football Team and the rest of the NFL.

For every step forward that Haskins seems to take, he takes two steps backward, forcing the team to again question if he is worth the wait and worth investing time and effort in.

It has to be infuriating for the Washington fans rooting for Haskins as he continues to show his immaturity and lack of awareness time and time again.

We knew Haskins was raw when he entered the league, having only played one full year of college ball, but nobody can question that he has skills and potential that can be developed.

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This is the same player who was at the helm of Washington’s opening game of the season when the team scored 24 straight points and rallied for a victory after being down 17-0 against the Eagles. While Coach Ron Rivera was getting an IV at halftime, Haskins took the lead of motivating the team for the second half.

This is also the same player that did not take accountability for his mistakes earlier in the season when the media asked him point-blank about staring down receivers. He is also the same player whose practice habits seemed to falter after he received the starting job, with his lack of preparation turning into repeated in-game mistakes.

After showing a lack of awareness on the field against the Ravens when he threw short of the first down marker on a late fourth down and bragging about his stats after the loss, Ron Rivera had seen enough and demoted Haskins to third-string.

When Alex Smith was sidelined with an injury against the 49ers, Haskins got his first chance to get back on the field in over two months. After the game, he was understandably emotional about getting back on the field and seemed to portray a new level of maturity.

With Smith still out, Haskins got a chance to start against the Seahawks, and after being subpar for three quarters, he finished the fourth quarter 20-for-28 for 170 yards and a touchdown, nearly leading the team to a comeback win.

Terry McLaurin, who also played alongside Haskins at Ohio State, noticed a change in Haskins’ demeanor in the Seahawks game as opposed to earlier in the season.

"I feel like he tried to do the best that he could, bouncing back from turnovers. He had us in a position to win the game. He had a short-term memory so I felt like we made some plays and we left some out on the field. But that just doesn’t fall on him, we gotta, including myself, make some of those bang bang plays to help the quarterback."

Was this the Haskins that we were all promised? Was his potential finally coming to light?

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