By the Numbers: Slow start, tough breaks doom Washington Football Team

There were a lot of mistakes to grow from for the Washington Football Team.

-108: Washington has a -108 point differential in the first half of games this season. The team has found itself behind at halftime in 12 of its 15 games this season. It was only a matter of time before the slow starts caught up with this team. During the two-game losing streak, Washington has entered the second half down 13-3 and 20-3, respectively.

5: Dwayne Haskins has six starts this season, during which the team has gone 1-5. Out of his six starts, Washington has fallen behind by at least 17 points in five of them.

It is clear to see that Haskins isn’t the answer for this franchise, and that’s why the team elected to release him on Monday.

2: Carolina came into the game leading the NFL in fumbles recovered, and it continued on that success against Washington, recovering two fumbles. Carolina scored its first touchdown on a muffed punt that Steven Sims failed to field.

The second fumble recovery was on a play where Haskins was hit while attempting to throw the ball. It looked like a close call between an incompletion and a fumble but ultimately, the ruling on the field stood.

2:1: This number is the epitome of how the game started for Washington. The Football Team finished the first quarter with two lost fumbles compared to only one passing completion. Haskins finished the first quarter going 1-for-5 for only five yards and a lost fumble.

10-80: No Christian McCaffrey, no problem. McCaffrey missed his 12th game of the season, but the Panthers had no issues running the ball on Washington in the first half.

After Washington went three-and-out following Steven Sims’ fumble that resulted in a Carolina touchdown, Carolina’s offense had its way with Washington’s defense. Carolina went on a 10-play 80-yard drive, which constituted only running plays, capped off by a Mike Davis touchdown on fourth-and-goal.

The big play of the drive was a 45-yard run by Curtis Samuel, the longest of his career, where he juked Ronald Darby out of his sneakers and carried Jeremy Reaves for about 15-20 yards.

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4: Washington was playing very undisciplined early in the game, resulting in four first-half penalties. Among the early mental mistakes were 12 men on the field, illegal use of hands, and a neutral zone infraction on Montez Sweat.

36.9: In what went down as his last chance with Washington, Dwayne Haskins did nothing to convince this franchise to give him another chance. He completed 50 percent of his passes for 154 yards, lost a fumble, had two interceptions, and a 36.9 passer rating.

It seems like any time Haskins makes a big play, he follows it up with a boneheaded decision. Case in point, Haskins moved around the pocket and hit Steven Sims on the sidelines for a big first down. On the next play, he threw a poorly placed ball that was easily intercepted.

This pattern was seen last week against the Seahawks as well. Haskins had a 20-yard completion to Logan Thomas and threw an interception on his next attempt. Later in the game, he hit McLaurin for a 30-yard completion followed by an interception on his next pass.

At halftime, commentator Boomer Esiason said, “[Haskins] just doesn’t seem to love the game of football.” Haskins’ time with the Washington Football Team has come to a close, which may be an overall positive in the long run.

-3: After having a +5 turnover differential during its four-game winning streak, Washington has a -3 turnover differential in its past two losses. Washington had four total turnovers against Carolina, which resulted in 13 points.

124-112: Outside of the running game, Washington’s offense was flat in the first half, finishing with 124 total yards. In contrast, Curtis Samuel of the Caroline Panthers finished the first half with 112 total yards, including a 45-yard run and a 44-yard reception.

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Bad Break: Although not a number, it bears mentioning that Washington suffered a bad break when the refs called a Mike Davis run down, despite the RB continuing to push forward. Washington eventually knocked out the ball and returned it for a potential momentum-shifting touchdown. This type of call is not reviewable so Rivera was unable to challenge the call.

At the end of the day, Washington made too many early mistakes and again fell into a hole it was unable to overcome.

The team travels to Philly next week to face a Jalen Hurts-led Eagles team. Just like today’s game, it’s a win-and-you’re-in scenario, so hopefully, Washington shows up to play, unlike it did against the Panthers.