A minor injury to Washington quarterback Alex Smith’s surgically-repaired leg held him out of the second half of the game on Sunday, which Washington went on to win, 23-15, over the San Francisco 49ers.
With Smith on the bench, former starting QB Dwayne Haskins came into the game and was the guy for two quarters, and he played decently with the opportunity. Neither man was too impressive for Washington, going a combined 15-for-31 for 95 total yards and an interception from Smith, but it was enough to get the job done thanks to an impressive performance from the defense that put points on the board and kept the 49ers without an answer.
Going forward, it sounds like Smith will be good to go, as head coach Ron Rivera said that he was just experiencing some muscle tightness in his calf that they were being cautious with. However, Rivera did not that they felt they saw some growth from Haskins down the stretch.
Rivera said Alex Smith had tightness in his calf. Could never get it loose. Would have gone back in if something had happened to Haskins. No word for next Sunday.
— John Keim (@john_keim) December 14, 2020
Ron Rivera says Dwayne Haskins is “showing growth” and the team will prepare accordingly for Seattle next week
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) December 14, 2020
In his first drive, Haskins looked great, leading the offense on an 11-play, 73-yard drive down the field which ended in a field goal. However, as the game wore on, Haskins started to unravel a bit, and he nearly cost Washington the game with a sailed pass over the middle in the fourth quarter that was nearly intercepted in Washington territory.
He may not be ready to be the starter any time soon, but there was some improvement from the last time we saw him.
