The Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns will face off on Thursday night for the first game of the preseason. While the final score-line won’t mean much, there are several things to watch for during the action.
Let’s take a look:
Does Dwayne Haskins look comfortable?
The Redskins rookie quarterback is undeniably the biggest storyline going into Thursday night’s game — he’s who everyone is tuning in to see. While he and Case Keenum will share the QB duties on Thursday, the bulk of the load is expected to fall to Haskins.
What will be interesting to see is if he looks like he has a handle on things as the game progresses, or if he is in over his head. One could expect a few missteps here and there, be it a false start or a missed throw, but what will make up for those are the plays he does make with his arm.
We’ve heard a lot in training camp that rookie has the intangibles to be great, now we want to see it on the big stage.
Which Receiver Will Emerge?
This ties into the Haskins conversation, because the production of the receiving group will rely largely on the production of the quarterback, and vice versa.
Washington is yet to find their go-to WR this year, though there are a few candidates. Josh Doctson is in a “show-me” year, Paul Richardson Jr. has a lot to prove, and Terry McLaurin and Kelvin Harmon are looking to snag a starting spot. There’s also Trey Quinn and Cam Sims, who have done nothing but impress in camp.
It’s early, obviously, but whichever pass-catcher puts on a show tonight will easily have the upper-hand going into the regular season.
How does the offensive line look?
There’s no way around it; the offensive line is a giant sore spot for the Redskins. The potentially permanent loss of LT Trent Williams left Washington vulnerable, and they’ve been able to do very little in order to shore up their front line. Veteran Donald Penn might get a couple of drives on Thursday night to prove himself, but the young guns will largely shoulder the load and prove if they’re up to snuff.
There are not high expectations for the men in the trenches going into the first preseason game, but let’s just hope they don’t fall short of those.
