Washington Football Team: Dwayne Haskins showing maturity

Dwayne Haskins has shown growth and maturity with the Washington Football Team.

The Washington Football Team entered 2020 with Dwayne Haskins as their starting quarterback. After a 1-3 start, however, he was benched in favor of Kyle Allen. While Haskins was not terrible over that time as Washington had a tough schedule, he was far from great. More importantly, he seemed to be making the same mistakes and was showing very little touch on his throws.

One thing everyone can agree on is that the young quarterback has a strong arm. That’s great, but Haskins tends to give all he’s got into every throw and that leads to a lot of overthrows on some easier passes.

Another reason for his benching seemed to be “immaturity”. While it was not really elaborated on, this was a word thrown around quite a bit. In the weeks following his benching, Haskins was fined for breaking the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol, further bringing this into question.

Allen spent the next few weeks as the starter but a gruesome injury in Week 9 against the New York Giants ended his season. This brought on Alex Smith, who battled back from an absolutely terrible injury himself (the obvious 2020 Comeback Player of the Year before he even took a snap).

Smith has had his ups and downs. He struggled at times and has looked a little scared (rightfully so). However, he’s made some great throws as well and led the offense well and, for the most part, has looked absolutely fearless.

Washington has been rolling with Smith under center. They are on a four-game winning streak and now at 6-7 stand atop the NFC East. That being said, he suffered an injury against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 14. That injury led to Haskins playing the second half.

With Washington leading, the quarterback did not have to do too much. He went 7-for-12 for 51 yards. A few of his throws were absolutely on the money. However, one throw was badly misfired. It was across the middle of the field to an open Terry McLaurin. It would have helped clinched the game earlier. Instead, Washington was lucky it was not intercepted and they still had to rely on the defense to make another stop (which they did).

One bad play does not make a terrible game (of course, that’s how a certain contingency of fans took it but anyway). This is not trying to defend Haskins on that play. He certainly needs to work on that and there are a few things he could be better at.

In 4.5 games this year, Haskins has three interceptions. In about six games, Smith has six interceptions. Guess which one fans seem to call turnover-prone. Smith has never had turnover problems in his career, but it’s not fair to label Haskins with that mark when it is Smith dealing with that issue in 2020.

Yes, the offense has looked better under Smith as well. He has also had the luxury of facing the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions though. With Smith suffering that injury in Week 14 against San Francisco, a question has arisen. Will Haskins be the starter for Washington again in 2020? It certainly seems like a much more likely possibility than it did a week ago.

If that happens, will he be the same player? Or will the team be getting a more mature and refined player? There is some good news on that front.

Dwayne Haskins is displaying signs of maturation right now.

It may sound stupid but one big thing to look for in a benched player is how they react to what is happening on the field. If the team does something good and they are nowhere to be found or just sitting on the bench not showing much emotion, it could easily be interpreted as sulking. In the same breath, though, if the team does something bad and the player is smiling and laughing, it could be interpreted as them not caring.

So what have we seen from Dwayne Haskins? He runs up to his teammates when they make a good play. He did it for Terry McLaurin and Antonio Gibson. The defense got the same treatment as well. Against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving when Alex Smith was tackled by Washington’s sideline late in the fourth quarter, it was Haskins that sprinted over to help the quarterback up.

When Washington upset 11-0 Pittsburgh, he took to Twitter to praise Smith, the man that has what used to be his job. And Haskins is telling the world that Smith is the Comeback Player of the Year.

Finally, when he got back on the field in Week 14 Haskins was emotional, and he said that much.

It is clear that Haskins is not taking this for granted. He understands that nothing is promised and that he has to work hard. However, he also seems to want to do whatever it takes to help the team win. That’s why he was not complaining when Smith was starting and why he was still praising teammates and cheering them on.

This is a more mature Dwayne Haskins that the Washington Football Team has right now. Will that translate on the field? That much is yet to be seen. What we do know is that he has a ton of arm talent and apparently a newish attitude.

The Washington Football Team is 6-7 and the leaders of the NFC East. Alex Smith might be missing time though, and they could be forced to turn back to Dwayne Haskins. He’s ready to take on this challenge, fans need to be patient and watch the growth – he can still be great.