That one got way too close for comfort.
The scoreboard will read 29-21, but this game was not as close as that would make it seem. Until the Carolina Panthers secured a late touchdown to make it a one-score game, followed by a successful onside kick and a nice attempt to tie the game, the Washington Redskins were blowing the doors off of them, doing whatever they wanted on offense, and stopping everything the Panthers threw at them on defense.
After a tough start to the game, they had an uphill road to travel, but rookie QB Dwayne Haskins and second-year RB running back Derrius Guice forged ahead and were able to put some point on the board. Of course, none of that would be possible without the Washington defense, who held the Panthers scoreless until garbage time after giving up touchdowns on the first two drives of the game. In the end, there will be another celebration in Washington. Here are our biggest takeaways from the game.
Dwayne Haskins is Growing In Front of Our Eyes
Bit by bit, step by step, game by game. It’s unfair to measure a rookie quarterback on a limited body of work, but after four career starts, Dwayne Haskins has started to show some real improvement. His poise in the pocket is palpable, and his accuracy downfield is starting to be dialed in. After a wrist injury caused him to be routinely off the mark in last week’s victory over the Detroit Lions, the QB bounced back on Sunday and went 13-for-5 for 147 yards in his second career victory over the Carolina Panthers. There were no touchdowns, but no turnovers as well.
The progression hasn’t been perfect, and there have still been a number of missteps for Haskins over the past couple of games, but at long last, they are being overshadowed by the good things that he’s done. We don’t want to anoint him as the next great franchise quarterback in Washington, but fans can at least feel confident that they have something to work with under center.
Washington’s Defense was Extremely Impressive
The Redskins defense was hindered from the very beginning after it was announced earlier in the week that All-Pro linebacker Ryan Kerrigan would be held out with a concussion. Later in the game, they also saw Montez Sweat suffer an injury, and Ryan Anderson was disqualified for a helmet-to-helmet hit on TE Greg Olsen.
Regardless of all that, the Washington defense stepped up in a major way against the Panthers, and they managed to bottle up RB Christian McCaffrey, who is a walking highlight-reel at this point in his career.
After coming into this game as the No. 1 overall player in fantasy football, the Redskins held the back to just 102 total yards and 0 touchdowns in the game. They also were able to bottle up the entire Carolina offense after giving up scores on the first two drives of the game. Here is the Panthers’ drive chart for the game:
- Touchdown
- Touchdown
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Interception
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Touchdown
- Fumble
After giving up 14 early points, the defense buckled down and stopped everything that the Panthers tried to do until garbage time. Even without their top-three linebackers — Ryan Kerrigan, Montez Sweat, and Ryan Anderson — the defense flew around and looked like a dominant unit.
Derrius Guice is a Star in the Making
Guice was well-hyped going into his rookie year, and he was well-hyped coming into his second season as well. Both times, unfortunate injuries kept him off the field, but now that we’ve been able to see him lay down a body of work in the NFL, we feel comfortable making the following statement:
Derrius Guice is a very good player, and he has a bright future.
Guice had by far the best game of his career on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, finishing with 129 yards and 2 touchdowns on 10 carries. The Panthers have one of the lesser run-defenses in the NFL, but Washington was able to take advantage of that and get Guice out into space. He routinely made defenders miss on the outside, and he even proved his ability to turn his nose downhill get his shoulder pads cracked up the middle.
There is obviously still the looming veteran in Adrian Peterson that is available in the backfield, but over the past couple of weeks, Guice has proved that he is absolutely the lead back in Washington, and they should treat him as such.
Another Draft Opportunity is Missed
What’s the cost of victory for the Washington Redskins? It may end up being a highly-valuable draft pick that falls down from near the top spot, and had the Redskins lost again on Sunday against the Panthers, they would have seen their pick rise in the order.
It was another crazy day at the bottom of the barrel in the NFL. The 0-11 Cincinnati Bengals got the first win of their season, and the 2-9 Miami Dolphins found a way to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. Had the Redskins lost on Sunday, they would be in a good spot to regain the second overall pick behind the Bengals, but instead, they picked up their second straight victory.
In the end, you could argue that these two weeks of happiness are worth anything that a future draft pick could bring. Then again, you have to consider that Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen can point towards this stretch as a reason to avoid a managerial shakeup this offseason as well…