The Washington Redskins selected quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the 15th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
That pick was meant to change the franchise. They now had their quarterback of the future, something they had not had in a very long time.
However, things haven't worked out like that so far. Haskins “wasn't ready” to start the year, so Washington turned to Case Keenum.
A concussion in Week 8 knocked Keenum out of the game at the half though, and Washington went back to Haskins. Now entering Week 9 with a 1-7 record, the Redskins are sticking with the rookie. He will make his first career start against the Buffalo Bills. How will it go, though?
Here are three bold predictions for Haskins against Buffalo in Week 9.
Touchdown Pass to Terry McLaurin
Terry McLaurin has been the standout rookie for the Redskins. In fact, he's been one of the biggest standout rookies in the entire NFL.
The wide receiver has 28 receptions this season for 458 yards and five touchdowns. The rest of Washington's offense has just four receiving touchdowns combined.
McLaurin also has a big advantage once Haskins hits that field. The two were teammates at Ohio State.
In 2018 (the only year Haskins was a starter), McLaurin had his best season. He racked up 35 receptions for 701 yards and 11 touchdowns. Those were all career-bests.
With that in mind, it would stand to reason that McLaurin will be Haskins' safety net. When he needs to get the ball to someone, expect the quarterback to be looking McLaurin's way.
The wide receiver has already proven himself to be very adept at getting into the end zone. His five touchdown receptions in seven games are more than anyone on the team had last season.
If anyone is going to sneak past Buffalo's top defense for a score, it's McLaurin. And Haskins will definitely be looking for him early and often.
200-Plus Passing Yards
If we are being honest 200 passing yards might not seem like much. Through 16 games, if a quarterback averaged 200 passing yards per game, they would throw for just 3,200 yards in a season.
That's not a very good season at all. However, sometimes you just need to get through a game. Due to that, there are three reasons why that's a really good number for Haskins.
First of all, he's a rookie getting his first career start. You should go into a game expecting 300-plus yards from him, that's just unfair.
Second, the Washington offense hasn't exactly been a world-beater this year. Sure, McLaurin has been awesome. That's about it in terms of receiving weapons, though.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, the Buffalo defense is really good. So far, they are allowing just 194.4 passing yards per game. That's the third-fewest in the NFL.
With that in mind, 200 passing yards against that offense would be really good. Yes, I know that accounts for sack yards as well, so technically quarterbacks are likely throwing for a few more yards than that.
However, three of their last four games have seen them allowing opposing quarterbacks fewer than 200 yards passing.
Haskins will break that trend as he looks to prove he is not the bust many people are (very) prematurely tagging him with.
No Turnovers
As mentioned multiple times already, the Buffalo defense is elite. They are allowing 303.9 total yards per game (third-fewest in the NFL) and 17.4 points per game (fifth-fewest in the NFL).
However, something the Bills aren't overly skilled at in 2019 is taking the ball away. The defense has just 11 turnovers. Six interceptions and five fumbles. That's tied for 13th in the NFL.
Haskins on the other hand already has four interceptions in 22 passing attempts. That's obviously not good. What you have to remember with him though is the fact that he has not started a game. Twice Haskins has been thrust into a game halfway through.
Now he's had a whole week as the starter in practice and he's getting the ball immediately in Week 9. With that extra time to prepare and not coming into a game cold, Haskins will look much sharper.
That will lead to him keeping the ball out of enemy hands. Haskins will limit the turnovers to zero and help keep the offense on the field.
Even if the Redskins end up losing, this could be looked back upon as a very positive step for the franchise. Haskins will have a lot of say in that.
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