Too late to make a change
Haskins spearheads late rally, but NFC East leaders unable to overcome earlier miscues
Dwayne Haskins had been grateful and excited for another chance, telling reporters last week that he was looking forward to proving he “can still spin it.” He never lost his arm strength, even as he lost his starting job, and he never lost his confidence, even as he was demoted to third string.
He prepared, and he was ready, and he looked forward to taking over in a pressurepacked situation. But on Sunday at FedEx Field, while starting in place of the injured Alex Smith, the second-year quarterback was inhibited by some of the same mistakes of his past as he threw two interceptions before guiding Washington on a late rally that ultimately fell short in a 20-15 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
The loss ended Washington’s four-game winning streak and delivered a blow to the team’s playoff hopes as it dropped to 6-8 with two games remaining in the season. Washington still holds first place in the NFC East, pending the results of Sunday night’s game between the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants.
Haskins finished 38 of 55 for 295 yards, a touchdown and a 72.9 rating. But his final stat line failed to tell the full story of his up-and-down play, which included a number of impressive throws— such as a 30-yard
completion to wide receiver Terry McLaurin in the third quarter — but also a few bad decisions — such as the deep pass he threw right after the play to McLaurin that sailed into double coverage andwas intercepted.
“When you go and look at it — and we’ll see it on tape tomorrow — there were some missed chances,” CoachRon Rivera said. “We have some plays that we could have made that could have impacted the game, and unfortunately we didn’t make those plays.”
Haskins bounced back late, and he alonewasn’t responsible for the loss.
Receivers dropped passes they should have caught, Dustin Hopkins missed an extra point that affected the team’s comeback chances, and the defense — which held up down the stretch — committed early penalties and allowed a season-high 181 rushing yards.
Yet itwas also because of the defense — which was playing without linebackers Cole Holcomb (concussion) and Kevin Pierre-Louis (ankle) — that Seattle’s lead wasn’t larger. Key thirddown stops forced the Seahawks to settle for a pair of field goals over their first three drives, and Russell Wilson was held to only 121 passing yards.
Washington’s offense, however, couldn’t capitalize when it had opportunities.
Haskins began to find a rhythm with tight end Logan Thomas in the second quarter and, after three previously failed drives, finally led Washington past midfield. But after reaching the Seattle 27-yard line, Haskins was intercepted for the first time. He scrambled right looking for an open receiver, and instead of continuing to run to pick up yards or throwing it away, he took a shot downfield, and the pass was tipped before it was intercepted by Seattle cornerback Shaquill Griffin at the 3yard line.
When Haskins was the appointed starter for Washington in Weeks 1-4, opponents totaled 38 points off takeaways, the second most in the league during that span.
On Sunday, the Seahawks turned the pick into a10-play, 97-yard scoring drive that featured a 38-yard scramble by Wilson and culminated with a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Haskins’s second interception didn’t lead to more points, though his decision-making on the play was arguably worse. In the third quarter, shortly after Washington’s defense gave up a 50-yard touchdown run to Carlos Hyde, Haskins decided to bypass the safe play and instead tried to gamble once more.
With a fresh first down from the Seattle 43, Haskins overlooked the check down to running back Peyton Barber in the flat and instead targeted Cam Sims on a crossing route to the left side. What he didn’t see was Seattle cornerback D.J. Reed slinking back to converge on the pass just in time for the interception.
“I saw the corner, and I thought he was going to run withTerry fromwhat I saw. He was playing in between both players, and he fell off on a deep cross route coming from across the field,” Haskins conceded postgame.
“I’ve got to see him and check the ball down to the running back. Got a little gun-trickery right there, trying to make a big play. I shouldhave just checked the ball down.”
But itwas after that interception that he “got mad” and a switch flipped. He went 21-for-29 for 162 passing yards and led Washington on back-to-back scoring drives over the final quarter-and-ahalf.
“After that play, I put it on myself to do as much as I could to help this team come back,” Haskins said.
Washington’s defense forced a threeand-out in response, and by the end of the third quarterHaskins had settled in, finding a rhythm and a slew of completions to move the offense. He found Robert Foster for a 9-yard completion on a third and six, hit Thomas for 17 yards, connected with McLaurin for 17 yards on a third and 11 and — after collecting five first downs — handed it off to Barber for a 1-yard touchdown to bring the score to 20-9 early in the fourth.
Hopkins missed the extra point, but Washington’s defense again gave its offense a fighting chance whenMontez Sweat deflected a pass by Wilson and Daron Payne — Washington’s 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive tackle — intercepted the ball at theWashington 36.