What Ron Said, What I Heard on Dwayne

Ron Rivera made a couple of curious and certainly questionable decisions during Sunday's 31-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

It's hard to question someone dealing with the sheer enormity of what the head coach is dealing with but ultimately I feel he understands that we have a job to do, just like he does.

One decision that I questioned was set up by one horrific decision his quarterback made. The most egregious mistake of the day. Not the one that everyone was fired up about on Sunday evening and Monday.

Needless to say, Haskins cannot take this sack. Was already 1st and goal from the 15. Haskins has to throw this away if he has nothing available. Set up 2nd and goal from the 33... pic.twitter.com/WPIl8ZDNdr
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) October 4, 2020

Dwayne Haskins decision to not throw the ball away or find his outlet was an egregious error. It wasn't just a mistake. It's the kind of mistake that gets quarterbacks benched.

Obviously Ron wasn't thrilled with the choice by Haskins (Maybe it was line of questioning by yours truly?).

It was towards the end of a very well executed drive stretching from the late third quarter into the fourth quarter of a 28-10 deficit.

The Washington Football Team went from first-and-goal at the 10-yard line to 2nd and a mile (2nd/Goal at 33) with the snap of a finger.

Chase Roullier's false start was bad enough. Haskins sack and loss of 18 was inexcusable.

“Without getting into specifics, we’d like to see him go to his immediate outlet or throw the ball away," Rivera told me.

When you watch the replay without even the All-22 tape, you can see a receiver (I believe it was Isaiah Wright) streaking across from right to left wide open on a shallow cross. I don't how Haskins missed it but he clearly did and it certainly seemed like Rivera saw the same thing.

Rivera alluded to this play without directly mentioning it on Sunday and he was terse with his answer on Monday.

It's the type of decision that gets quarterbacks benched. That's essentially what he was saying without even saying it.

The 18-yard sack/loss on Haskins is and was simply inexcusable. I can't believe that people aren't more fired up by this.

That play alone is honestly enough to get you benched.

1st/15/15 after a Roullier penalty in 28-10 early 4th Q game.

ABSURD mistake by Haskins. Sorry.
— Chris Russell AKA the 🐓🐓! (@Russellmania621) October 5, 2020

Rivera's answer and growing frustration in general with Haskins leads me to understand what I already thought before the season.

Rivera and his staff were very unsure of Haskins when they took over and were willing to give him a chance when he responded with a good offseason.

However, with the bullets flying for real, they are starting to run out of patience if they're not already running on fumes.

Rivera's answer was almost like Duh! 'What do you think he should have done?' and I knew it, but couldn't think of a better way to ask it.

It's that play and that choice that will drive coaches even more nuts than the fourth down underneath throw a couple of plays later. Another test that Haskins' failed miserably on.

Even though I did not like that decision from Rivera, he may have been so annoyed at Haskins about the sack - that's why he went for it and referred to it as a test.

So if that's the case - Haskins flunked twice and ruined a good drive and any potential chance at a comeback.

He also may have ruined any chance that he has at keeping the QB 1 job long term.

Chris Russell is the Publisher of this site, a part of SI.com. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Washington Football Team" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621