Is Steelers QB Haskins Proving Washington Coach Rivera Wrong?

Inarguably, former Washington Football Team bust Dwayne Haskins is putting himself on the right path as he gets his NFL second chance with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But if the Steelers turn out to be right in opting to give Haskins a chance to salvage his career ... does that mean the WFT was wrong to give up on him?

Haskins, playing in his second preseason game this weekend against the Philadelphia Eagles, flashed some of the talent that made him a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Haskins completed 16-of-22 passes for 161 yards, with a scrambling touchdown pass. The Steelers' 24-16 win was powered by a Haskins-led comeback.

He's got a shot at being the No. 2 behind Ben Roethlisberger, if he's successful in topping Mason Rudolph. But the so-far success - which rightfully makes plenty of people, even in Washington, happy for him ... is manifesting itself in some odd-ball second-guessing.

Must be wild for Dwayne Haskins to be playing a preseason game for a coach who is actually open to the concept of believing in him.
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) August 13, 2021

CBS Sports' Jason LaCanfora is leading the way there, offering up a hot opinion that makes it seem like Haskins' failures in Washington - which were at least in part about his lack of maturity and professionalism - was actually exclusively about a lack of support.

The truth? While Haskins was forced onto then-Washington head coach Jay Gruden by pushy owner Daniel Snyder, coach Ron Rivera in 2020 handed Haskins the job - and was probably too generous in doing so.

Dwayne Haskins' failure in Washington was multi-faceted and the fault of all involved. His success in Pittsburgh, if that happened, will be multi-faceted, too. But shielding him from the blame for his mistakes, while it may curry favor with the player, actually does the player no favors.

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