Sunday’s performance from Washington Redskins’ rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins was arguably the most encouraging yet this season. It ended in a loss, and his stats were nothing that jumped off of the page, but the rookie showed immense heart throughout the contest that is surely being noticed in the locker room.
Haskins was sacked early in the game by ex-Redskin Preston Smith, and his ankle was hobbled in the process. As the game went on, Haskins became more immobile, and it was posited that he might be pulled at the half in order to preserve his health.
But Haskins refused to come out of the game, and that determination went a long way with his teammates.
“It means a lot,” safety Landon Collins said, via The Athletic. “We need you. You’ve been balling the past couple of weeks, but we need you to stay on the field. We didn’t even have to talk to him. He sucked it up and said, ‘I got ya.’”
“In some situations, there might be some guys, especially young guys that are hurt, banged up and, down two scores, might think, ‘Hey, the game is over. Let me sit out and get myself together for next week,’” running back Chris Thompson said. “But (Dwayne) continued to hobble out there and continued to stay in the pocket. Took some hits. … I loved to see it out of him. He’s a tough kid.”
That kind of heart doesn’t show up on any stat sheet, but it will go a heck of a lot further than any stat ever could. Haskins proved to his teammates on Sunday that he is willing to stick it out through thick and thin, and that he’d always be there for his brothers when times got tough.
He will play for his teammates, and the performance on Sunday will undoubtedly assure that they continue to play for him.
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