Last week, Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera tested Dwayne Haskins’ situational awareness on a late fourth-and-goal from the 13. Haskins failed according to Rivera, by throwing the football underneath short of the end zone leading to a turnover on downs.
Haskins was ultimately benched this week in favor of Kyle Allen. He was further cast aside by being demoted to third string behind veteran Alex Smith, who hadn’t played in an NFL game since suffering a horrific leg injury in November 2018.
On Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, Haskins was inactive after starting the first four games of the season. In fact, Haskins wasn’t even in attendance as he stayed home due to a reported stomach virus.
Allen, who spent the previous two seasons in Carolina with Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner, had mixed results in the first start following Haskins’ benching. He scored the team’s lone touchdown on a six-yard run in the first quarter. But, the continued struggles of Washington’s defense put Allen in an early 20-7 hole.
Then Allen was knocked from the game late in the second quarter after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Allen suffered an arm injury that forced Smith in his first NFL game in nearly two years.
Smith didn’t produce any better results, as he was sacked six times and Washington lost 30-10 for their fourth straight loss.
Smith completed 9-of-17 passes for a total of 37 yards. Allen was 9-of-13 for 74 yards. The pair was sacked eight times, collectively, netting 70 yards passing and 3.7 yards per pass attempt — Haskins averaged 6.6 yards per pass attempt this season.
The run game was largely ineffective and Smith and Allen didn’t attack the Rams secondary down field. As a result, Washington netted a total of 108 yards of offense. It was the third-lowest total in franchise history since the 1970 merger, according to Pro Football Reference (h/t Ben Standig).
Washington’s offense had minus-six yards in the second half, as the offensive line seemingly regressed further than their below average performances previously this season.
In comparison, the Rams produced 428 yards of offense, including 300 net yards passing from quarterback Jared Goff.
Rivera’s first game without Haskins in Washington was a complete failure. And this is coming off Haskins’ career-best 314 yards passing against the Ravens in Week 4. A game that sealed the deal on his benching.
Fortunately for Washington, they’ll play the winless New York Giants next week. Rivera referenced he benched Haskins to seek “short-term glory” in trying to win the lowly NFC East. In his first game without Haskins the team may have taken a further step backwards in their process, losing ground in the division in the process — as the Dallas Cowboys took a hold of first place with a 2-3 record.
Allen will start next week against the Giants, if he is healthy, Rivera said. Hopefully, Game 2 without Haskins produces more than 108 yards of offense.
