Washington quarterback Alex Smith was still uncertain on Monday for next week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. The 36-year-old suffered a right calf strain in Sunday’s 23-15 over the San Francisco 49ers, though X-rays were negative and coach Ron Rivera said Smith could have gone back in an emergency.
Rivera said Monday that he did not have an update on Smith’s status.
If the quarterback, however, is unavailable, Rivera expressed confidence in backup Dwayne Haskins.
In his first action since Week 4, Haskins was uneven in a 51-yard performance that saw the 23-year-old complete seven of his 12 passes. Haskins took over just before halftime and finished the game.
“I think Dwayne will be ready,” Rivera said. “I do. … If Alex can’t go, we know that Dwayne will get all the work. He’ll get an opportunity to focus in and game-planning will be directed towards Dwayne. And we’ll see how that goes. We’ll look at that and go from here.”
Haskins, of course, began the season as starter, but lost his job in October after repeated struggles. The coaching staff was unhappy with Haskins’ lack of growth and with the NFC East still up for grabs, Rivera made the change. Despite trade rumors, the team kept Haskins at the deadline and Rivera said he has not given up on the former first-rounder.
If Haskins gets an opportunity to start, the game will be his latest chance to show that he can be properly prepared and execute on the field. Last month, Rivera said Haskins would have the opportunity to “truly see how to prepare for a game as a starter” in a backup role — a nod that the coach was unsatisfied with Haskins’ previous preparation.
When Haskins was benched, Washington quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese said the team was trying to “accelerate (Haskins’) learning curve” by talking about how to take notes. He said quarterbacks are tested at the end of the week to see how they retain knowledge of plays.
Against the 49ers, Washington’s play-calling became largely conservative once Haskins entered the game. The team ran 30 plays in the second half — only 13 of which were pass attempts (Haskins was sacked once). While some of that was dictated by the game situation —Washington was playing with a lead and had some success running the ball — the team looked like it was trying to prevent Haskins from turning the ball over.
According to Pro Football Reference, Haskins’ average in intended air yards — the distance the ball travels through the air — was just 3.6, a career low. That means the quarterback was resorting to largely check-downs and short passes to get rid of the ball.
Even then, Haskins almost had a disastrous turnover. Leading 23-15 with 5:34 left on third down, Haskins sailed a pass far above Terry McLaurin’s head and almost into safety Jihad Ward’s hands. The play was initially ruled an interception before it was overturned when replays showed the ball first hit the ground.
Despite that pass, Rivera told reporters after the win that he saw growth in Haskins. He said he felt the quarterback managed the game well and made good decisions. Haskins, too, got Washington into scoring territory, where Dustin Hopkins drilled a field goal.
When reviewing the tape Monday, he backed his initial assertion.
“I liked the way he came out early on,” Rivera said. “He seemed to handle that pretty good. I got a little concerned — We put a lot of pressure on him early on because we didn’t have success early in the downs. It would have been hard for any quarterback. He’s got some things still to learn, but he’s working at it. He’s doing things the right way. He’s done the right things in practice and in meetings and we expect him to continue.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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