The Washington Redskins displayed their most watchable performance on Sunday in a 37-27 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles — a game that looked like it would end up as a victory for Dwayne Haskins and his team for most of the contest.
Haskins had a career day, completing 19-of-28 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. A change in offensive playcalling and an aggressive mindset allowed the rookie QB to get comfortable early on, and it comes as no surprise that offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell had his fingerprints all over the gameplan.
While head coach Bill Callahan has been adamant about establishing the run early and often in order to open up the passing game, O’Connell believes in quick game concepts early on to get the quarterback comfortable and building a rhythm. That’s exactly what we saw from the Redskins on Sunday, and it seemed to work very well.
“That’s a huge thing for me. Trying to get these quarterbacks comfortable early in the game,” O’Connell said, via The Athletic. “Getting those guys in a rhythm is very important in this league, even for a Hall of Fame quarterbacks. I’ve talked to guys that call plays for them and they say, ‘Rhythm and comfort, and trust that (A) We’ll protect him, (B) get him into a rhythm and (C) We’ll give him opportunities to make plays in the game without it all being on his plate.”
Through a mix of quick slants over the middle, short out-routes to the boundary, and a simple west coast scheme that allowed Haskins to reach the top of his drop, set his feet, and fire downfield, the Washington offense looked supremely competent through much of Sunday’s contest.
Callahan’s run-heavy scheme is sure to remain a staple of the offense, but if he is willing to allow O’Connell to have some say in how the early-down plays are called, we’ve seen first-hand that it can be successful. It also goes to show what an offense run by the OC might look, if he were to be given full control in the future. O’Connell might be young and lack great experience, but his system is one that can be molded around Haskins, and that’s something the Redskins should take into account when they make a head coaching hire this offseason.
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