ORCHARD PARK, NY – NOVEMBER 03: Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Redskins passes the ball during the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, Md. – Sunday’s game between the Washington Redskins (1-and-9) and New York Jets (2-and-7) features two of the worst teams in the National Football League, but Washington’s brightest hopes for future success will be on full display.
Rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins makes his first career start at FedEx Field, joined by fellow rookie and former Ohio State teammate Terry McLaurin. In addition, running back Derrius Guice returns to the field for the first time since his Week 1 injury.
Washington hopes those three, along with the rest of the Redskins’ offense, will help the team do something they haven’t accomplished in 13 quarters: score a touchdown.
For Haskins, a touchdown would be significant because it would mark the first touchdown of his career.
In three appearances this season (one start), Haskins has completed 27 of 44 passes for 284 yards and has been intercepted four times. The 15th overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft has been sacked eight times.
ORCHARD PARK, NY – NOVEMBER 03: Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Redskins. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
“We want to see a consistent progression in his play,” Redskins interim head coach Bill Callahan said regarding what he hopes to see from Haskins for the remainder of the season. “We want to expand the playbook, I think we’ll do that going forward – how much, we’ll see. We face an opponent this week in [Jets Defensive Coordinator] Gregg Williams that has a pretty big inventory of pressures, looks and disguises that he’s going to have to deal with.
“I think it’s a great challenge for him. It’s a huge test and it’s as great a test for Dwayne as it is for all of us. First things first, let’s get him protected up. Let’s try to run the ball and just feature the complimentary play around him.”
Haskins isn’t the only young quarterback starting Sunday. Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, like Haskins, is just 22 years old.
The last time the two faced one another was during their college careers. Haskins led Ohio State to a 24-7 win over Darnold’s University of Southern California in the 2017 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
The last time Washington and New York faced off was in 2015 when the Jets pulled off a comeback win at MetLife Stadium. Sunday marks the first time they play at FedEx Field since 2011, when the Redskins lost 34-19.
Sunday’s game kicks off at 1 p.m.
