Tag: Terry McLauring

Redskins found major success by throwing on first down against Eagles

Haskins was given the green light to sling it more on first downs Sunday, and it proved to be highly effective as it led to a scoring boom.

The Washington Redskins have had a scoring problem in 2019.

In 10 of their 14 games, they’ve been held to less than 20 points, and at one point earlier in the season, they went 16-straight quarters without getting into the end zone. Still to this date, they haven’t scored on the opening drive of a game since Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles, when Case Keenum was quarterbacking the team.

So on Sunday, when the team put up 27 points, rookie QB Dwayne Haskins throws for a career-high, and three rookie receivers had impressive performances on the stat sheet, things looked different. But what were the differences, exactly?

According to NBC Sports Peter Hailey, one of the Redskins’ main reasons for success was throwing the ball on first down.

To open the game, most NFL teams choose to take the first snap of their possession and hand it off to the running back, letting him plow his way forward and hopefully get in front of the chains. That has definitely been the case for Washington this season, as they’ve relied heavily on veteran RB Adrian Peterson. However, they went with a different strategy against the Eagles, as offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell chose to get Haskins into an early rhythm, calling for him to sling it on first down, where he found rookie WR Terry McLaurin for nine yards.

Later in the first quarter, Haskins — again on first down — found McLaurin streaking downfield for a 75-yard touchdown pass that gave Washington the lead while setting a tone for the game.

Later in the game, Haskins was also able to find rookie WR Steven Sims Jr. for a TD over the middle; a play that was set up by the Eagles committing a defensive pass interference on a first-down pass down the field.

It’s a small sample size, of course, but in the first showing of this new offensive gameplan, we witnessed the most watchable game the Redskins have played so far this season. Haskins was good, the receivers were great, and Washington almost came out with a victory.

If you’re looking for ways to get the team in a position to win the game, throwing on first down seems to be a key. It will be interesting to see what else O’Connell can unlock in these final two weeks of the season.

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