- Washington benches QB Dwayne Haskins in favor of Kyle Allen
- Washington will face the Los Angeles Rams at home on Sunday
- Jets will start Joe Flacco vs. Cardinals in place of the injured Sam Darnold
Following just four games, the Washington Football Team is already making a noteworthy change. Head coach Ron Rivera has reportedly decided to bench second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Kyle Allen will instead start Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, while Alex Smith has been promoted from third-stringer to second-stringer ahead of Haskins on the depth chart.
If he does start, Allen will become the 30th quarterback to start a game for Washington since the 1993 campaign.
Washington’s offense has been anemic so far this season. Haskins, who was the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft out of Ohio State, has completed 61 percent of his throws for 939 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Washington beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-17 in Week 1, but enters Week 5 as losers of three consecutive games. The team has scored 20 or fewer points in each of those games, which has reportedly prompted the switch.
Allen’s Familiarity With Washington’s Offense
Allen was traded to Washington this past offseason after an up-and-down season with Carolina. Allen wound up playing in 13 games last season for the Panthers after Cam Newton went down with an early season-ending injury. Across those 13 appearances, the Houston product posted a completion percentage of 62 percent with 3,322 yards and 17 touchdowns to 16 interceptions.
While some may question the decision for a team that doesn’t have serious aspirations of contending this season, the NFC East is still well within reach. The division’s four teams have a combined record of 3-12-1 so far in 2020. The 1-2-1 Eagles lead the division.
Rivera and Allen are familiar with one another after having spent each of the last two seasons together in Carolina. Allen also worked with current Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner with the Panthers.
Haskins’ Struggles
Haskins currently ranks 27th in the NFL in completion percentage and just 26th in yards per attempt. Washington has urged fans to be patient with Haskins, who started seven games last season as a rookie. He was installed as the team’s starter following their 1-7 start last season and the firing of former head coach Jay Gruden.
When he was hired this offseason, Rivera said that he was a fan of Haskins’ ability, but that he would like to see more in terms of the young quarterback’s leadership abilities. The lack of spring practices, a full training camp, and preseason games likely haven’t helped Haskins’ development early in his career.
The Dwayne Haskins Experience:
🔸 Get drafted 15th overall by a HC on the hot seat
🔸 Play for three HCs in 13 games
🔸 Get vote of confidence from Ron Rivera to start the season
🔸 Go from No. 1 to No. 3 QB after four games— Kimberley A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) October 7, 2020
He was named as one of the team’s captains prior to the season, but he will now be watching from the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
Rivera is reportedly comfortable with Allen’s familiarity with the offense. He hinted at the potential for a change at the position last Friday, saying,
“At one point you want to build and you want to build, and now you’re looking at the opportunity to potentially win this. You start thinking along those lines and start thinking, ‘You know what, maybe we need to do that.’”
Rivera admitted that the team faced an “interesting situation” following Washington’s 31-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4.
After their Week 5 showdown with the Rams, Washington faces the winless New York Giants twice in addition to games against the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, and Cincinnati Bengals in what looks like a very winnable stretch of games.
Washington is a 7.5-point underdog at home this week against the 3-1 Rams.
Jets to Start Flacco vs. Cardinals
The Washington Football Team won’t be the only team making a QB change this week. The New York Jets announced Wednesday that veteran Joe Flacco will start on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. That’s because incumbent Sam Darnold is dealing with a shoulder injury suffered in last Thursday’s loss to the Denver Broncos.
Darnold officially suffered a sprain in his throwing shoulder, and head coach Adam Gase says he is week-to-week. The Jets decided to rule Darnold out early as a way to allow Flacco the necessary time to prepare for his upcoming start.
Darnold returned to play after suffering the injury and undergoing an X-ray. Gase defended the decision by saying that the Jets’ doctors “thought that was the right thing to do.”
Sam Darnold is out Sunday vs Cardinals and Joe Flacco will start at QB for the Jets.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 7, 2020
The Jets are 0-6 in games Darnold hasn’t started since his rookie season in 2018. He missed three games as a rookie with a sprained foot, and another three games last season due to a bout with mononucleosis.
Flacco hasn’t started a game since last October as a member of the Broncos. He was inactive for the first three games of this season before being promoted to second-string behind Darnold last week. Flacco completed two passes while taking four snaps while Darnold was sidelined against Denver.
Flacco won two of his eight starts for Denver last season before being benched. He was signed by the Jets this offseason after being released by the Broncos in March.
The Jets, who are just one of four winless teams remaining, are listed as seven-point underdogs at home against Arizona in Sunday’s game.
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith has been a staff writer with GamblingSites.org since early 2017. Taylor is primarily a sports writer, though he will occasionally dabble in other things like politics and entertainment betting. His primary specialties are writing about the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL and domestic and international soccer. Fringe sports like golf and horse racing aren’t exactly his cup of tea, bu …
