The Takeaways, Week 4: Baltimore at Washington

October 6, 2020

by Steve Thomas

If you were surprised by the final score to this game then you haven’t been paying attention.  Ever played in or watched a youth baseball tournament in which the big-time favorite is facing a much lower ranked team that’s playing up one level just to get some experience?  Where the favorite doesn’t have to try very hard or use their #1 pitcher because they know they’re going to win one way or the other?  That’s what this game reminded me of.  In those kinds of games, the result is never in doubt.  Washington didn’t do anything to embarrass themselves and didn’t underperform expectations, so I suppose that qualifies as progress.  The Ravens played like a team who knew their opponent was inferior and that they were going to win the game.  The short history of the 2020 season told us that the Ravens were probably going to score in the 30s and the Redskins WFT the Washington Football Team the Team Washington was going to score in the teens.  Realistically, Washington wasn’t ever going to get a victory without something drastic happening, so that part wasn’t surprising; however, we actually learned quite a bit in this game, both good and bad.  We’ll talk about all of it in this week’s edition of The Takeaways, which is our weekly attempt to give you the “around the watercooler” talking points about Washington’s most recent attempt to play the game of football.  So without further ado, let’s get on with it.

Dwayne Haskins was much better

From a statistical perspective, Haskins was much improved over thee prior three games, posting 32 completions in 45 attempts for 314 yards and a 71% completion percentage, and had a 90.4 quarterback rating.  Those stats will work for an NFL starting quarterback.  He didn’t have a touchdown pass, but he also rebounded from his 3 interception / 1 fumble performance last week to avoid any turnovers entirely.  Most importantly, he looked more comfortable and decisive in the pocket and generally had fewer bad throws and poor decisions.  His offensive line didn’t do him many favors, allowing plenty of pressures, at first glance more than they did last week against the Cleveland Browns.  Most importantly, he was consistent – he was 4 of 7 in the first quarter, 16 for 22 at halftime, and 25 of 36 at the end of the fourth quarter.  He didn’t just produce garbage time stats this week.  He certainly wasn’t perfect and wasn’t really an impact player, and we saw many instances of poor footwork and off-target throws, but all in all, I view it as a step in the right direction.  It should (hopefully) earn him a few more weeks without threats of losing his job.  Haskins doesn’t do himself any favors under pressure – he doesn’t often climb up in the pocket or scramble out of pressure, and instead panic-throws balls off balance that sail high and are off-target.  That’s the next step of his development, and I hope he can continue to make progress in next week’s loss to game against the Rams.

Scott Turner’s playcalling was outstanding

Washington offensive coordinator was a big part of Haskins’ improvement.  He clearly made an effort to call plays that were going to make Haskins more comfortable – lots of screens, flat passes, and quick slants that are for the most part easy throws and quick-developing plays that were designed to keep the pressure off of him as much as possible.  Those are play calls designed to help a struggling quarterback by leaning on his playmakers, some of whom have been good at getting yards after the catch.  According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Haskins posted just 4.7 yards in Intended Air Yards, which was the lowest in the NFL among the Sunday games this week and confirms the eyeball test that Haskins was mostly asked to throw short.  Those same play calls are also intended to help out a struggling offensive line facing an aggressive blitzing defense by getting the ball out early, and in the case of the screens, getting them out in space.  We saw Haskins make a couple throws downfield from the pocket later in the game after he was more comfortable (and the game dictated it).  He also leaned on Terry McLaurin for the final 3 quarters of the game.  McLaurin, who continues to prove that he’s one of the NFL’s best, led all receivers with 10 receptions for 118 yards on 14 targets.  More Terry is good.  Turner has had his moments of up and down during his short tenure in DC, but despite the loss, which was probably inevitable, this week’s game qualifies as an up.

Antonio Gibson had a breakout game

Gibson continues to make strides as a running back.  I don’t think he’s realistically an NFL-quality starting receiver, at least not right now, but each week he improves on his ground game.  Gibson’s ability to see his rushing lanes and decisively hit his gaps has improved over these first four games, and he’s proving that his vaunted collegiate playmaking ability was the real deal.  Gibson seems to have become Washington’s second-most capable playmaker behind McLaurin.  I especially like what he was able to do in the face of an offensive line that just flat-out isn’t very good in run blocking.  He’s obviously a great candidate to make plays in Washington’s new-found screen game.  Gibson has a bright future and he’s only going to get better.

Kendall Fuller’s big game

Welcome home, Kendall Fuller.  He had 2 interceptions in this game, which is a rare feat, and his second interception was a thing of beauty.  There’s no doubt that Washington’s secondary stinks for the most part, but Fuller in particular has played well, with no obvious busts and big plays surrendered.  Washington’s problems in this area have been more with Fuller’s teammates than with him.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that Fuller is going to become a long-term “#1 corner”-level starter, but at a minimum, he’s off to a good start.  After missing the first two games of the season due to injury, he’s stepped up and played well.  The major busts this week came from others, most notably highlighted by a sure deep-ball touchdown for Marquise Brown that Lamar Jackson just missed.  I’m cautiously optimistic that Fuller may be what the team hoped he’d be.

Where was the pass rush?

Ryan Kerrigan was completely invisible on Sunday, and while Montez Sweat appeared to have slightly more success, he still barely registered in the stat column.  This is despite Baltimore lining up a rookie right tackle at left tackle and a guard at right tackle.  Those two should’ve taken advantage of that situation to put alot more pressure on Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.  Also, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne made essentially no impact in the pass rush.  The defensive front seven as a whole didn’t do a terrible job against Baltimore’s fearsome rushing attack, Jackson’s 50 yard touchdown scramble notwithstanding, but they accomplished barely more than zero in pass rushing against an offensive line of which they should’ve been able to take advantage.  Jackson was much too comfortable in the pocket.  He’s obviously a runner, but the Kansas City Chiefs proved last week (and for that matter, last year) that he can be made uncomfortable and less effective if he’s pressured.  Washington failed in this regard, and that failure made an impact on the game. Once again, Washington’s vaunted defensive line, supposedly the strength of the team, underwhelmed.

That’s it for The Takeaways for week 4.  I’ll be back with another edition after next week’s game against the Rams in Raljon.