The Redskins won a football game on Sunday at FedEx Field. It's the first time they could say that since October 21, 2018.
It was not pretty. In fact, it was ugly and littered with errors that normally cost a team a close game, especially a team with such a small margin for error.
However, they won. The defense was very good and, if this were a season where results still mattered, that would be the story. Greg Manusky's unit forced four turnovers and got pressure with exotic looks on third down that haven't been seen often, if ever, during the defensive coordinator's tenure. Fabian Moreau, who has been much maligned with good reason, played the best game of his career and sealed it with his second interception on an attempted hook-and-ladder play with six seconds to go.
The results don't particularly matter in any big-picture sense at 2-9, the Redskins' record after the win. What matters is how the quarterback performed and that was not well.
Dwayne Haskins was just 6-for-16 after three quarters, after going 0-for-3 in the third quarter. The Skins ran just seven plays total in the third as they looked completely inept offensively. In the fourth quarter, Haskins was better and he made plays when he absolutely had to.
The rookie threw for 94 yards on 7-of-13 passing as he led two field goal drives, including a 17-yard completion to Terry McLaurin on a third-and-8 – from Detroit's 38-yard line – that made a potential 56-yard Dustin Hopkins field goal attempt into an eventual 39-yard game-winner.
That is more important than what followed, which was a celebration at a time where he should have been concerned about the clock. It's also more important than the fact that Haskins was taking selfies with fans while Case Keenum took the knee for victory formation, because Haskins thought the game was over.
These are signs of youth and Haskins was unable to control himself in the biggest moments of his first career win. The eyes of the beholder will determine if the "inability to control himself" is more important than the first career win.
So will time. If Haskins grows and matures, this will be a fun thing to look back on. If he can't learn to stay focused and stay in the moment, these will be the times people who doubt him look back at to say "I told you so."
More concerning than all of that, though, was Haskins' consistent lack of accuracy. He says he hurt his wrist early in the game and it affected his accuracy. He also said he knew McLaurin was matched up against Darius Slay, one of the league's best corners, and if he was going to miss, it was going to be away from Slay. He did, but he did so on balls that should have been completed.
We briefly interrupt this Haskins analysis to say that McLaurin has yet to find a corner in this league who can check him. He beat – and in some cases smoked – Slay all day long, and Slay is really, really good. That's not a shot at Slay, but a compliment to McLaurin. He's really good right now.
If Haskins improves and gives him more chances to accumulate the necessary numbers, McLaurin is going to make a lot of Pro Bowls, some All-Pros and I honestly don't think it’s fair to put a limit on how good he could be. He's doing his part and he's less than a dozen games into his NFL career. This kid is special.
The positive side of Haskins on Sunday was that he was looking for McLaurin in the right situations. He was relatively decisive all day. If he just completes the balls he overshoots to McLaurin, he's staring at a 300-yard day and an easy win.
Instead, Haskins had to fight, which he deserves credit for doing. When asked about playing better at the end of games, he said confidently, "I'm a closer. It's what I do."
That seems a little premature in a game where he had less than 100 yards passing entering the fourth quarter. Closers don't just finish games with fourth-quarter comebacks, they finish drives early in games and make throws for touchdowns when they are there.
The response, however, hints at a young player who doesn't get rattled. He never gives in. He never gives up. These are good qualities.
Haskins has now checked winning off his NFL bucket list. Next is performing well. Following that is consistency. There are five weeks left to grow.
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