Snider on Haskins: His "Pocket Awareness and Inner Clock are Rapidly Better"

Dwayne Haskins continues to show improvement. His best game by far as a professional quarterback. Finally, something tangible to hang your hat on and provide hope and excitement for 2020.

It was a breakout game despite ending in heartbreak.

Quarterback Dwayne Haskins shrugged off the early fog of his rookie season and threw two sharp touchdowns and 261 yards overall. He completed 19 of 28 passes with a 121.3 rating despite a receiver corps as green as its quarterback.

It wasn’t enough and Haskins made it look worse on a game-ending fumble that Philadelphia used as a touchdown topping in its 37-27 victory on Sunday. But, no matter. The key was Haskins finally showing the first-round pick has merit and the team doesn’t need to go quarterback shopping in the off-season.

“I’m nowhere close to where I should be,” Haskins conceded after missing a few receivers, too. “That should be an average game for me.”

Well, it was above average versus what Haskins has shown so far this season. In five previous starts and two relief appearances, Haskins’ rating was 61.2 with three touchdowns and seven interceptions. But, the sense was general improvement came each week.

The Redskins knew Haskins was green when selected, one reason why coach Jay Gruden kept the former on the bench. But after an 0-5 start and Gruden’s departure, there was no reason to hide Haskins anymore. He needs the work and the Redskins need some hope that a 3-11 season will lead to better things in 2020.

So, Haskins has muddled through some rough afternoons, but fortunately improves regularly. Haskins’ pocket awareness and inner clock are rapidly better. His footwork no longer seems a problem. Sure, his accuracy needs some improvement and finding secondary receivers should increase, but Haskins hit some throws against the Eagles that would have been interceptions over recent weeks. The biggest example was his five-yard touchdown to Stephen Sims in the middle of the end zone.

Maybe it was the offensive game plan giving Haskins some throws on first and second downs rather than dump offs on thirds that made a difference. The running game only netted 75 yards aside Haskins’ 23-yarder himself, but it was enough to keep Philadelphia’s defense somewhat honest.

“I think when you’re able to throw it on first down, it makes the defense respect what you’re doing,” he said. “As we continue to grow and move the ball offensively, we’ll continue to find out what works in first and second downs.”

Terry McLaurin’s 75-yard touchdown, most of it after the catch, was the game’s highlight. The receiver combined with former college teammate Haskins to show their old Ohio State coach Urban Meyer watching from the owner’s box that they’ve indeed graduated to the NFL.

Good point by the broadcast on the McLaurin TD. #Redskins caught the Eagles on a safety rotation with the jet sweep motion. Skins got them in the first game with that too pic.twitter.com/UxnxPXZpIi

— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) December 15, 2019

“Dwayne did a great job putting the ball in front of me,” McLaurin said, “just wanting to make a guy miss and use my God-given ability to run away from the guy.”

McLaurin has seen Haskins’ continued growth, saying, “I think he’s doing a really good job of controlling the offense, the tempo, making some plays if he has some things break down. I feel like he’s shown some glimpse that if he can get hot and get into the rhythm, his confidence continues to go up.”

So far, it’s starting to reach modest expectations of a first-year passer. With two games to go, maybe there’s more to see.

Rick Snider is an award-winning sports writer who has covered Washington sports since 1978. He first wrote about the Redskins in 1983 before becoming a beat writer in 1993. Snider currently writes for several national and international publications and is a Washington tour guide. Follow Rick on Twitter at @Snide_Remarks.