Dwayne Haskins Benched for Taylor Heinicke by WFT Amid Struggles vs. Panthers

The Washington Football Team had a chance to clinch the NFC East title with a win Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. It was a huge moment for young quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr., who was starting in place of the injured Alex Smith.  

But Haskins played so poorly that he was benched in the fourth quarter in favor of Taylor Heinicke, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

Haskins' day ended with Washington trailing 20-6. He was just 14-of-28 for 154 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. He was also sacked twice and lost a fumble. 

Heinicke, 27, had appeared in all of seven career games (one start) after joining the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2015, throwing for 330 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. 

He did provide Washington with a spark Sunday, finishing 12-of-19 for 137 yards and a touchdown. It wasn't enough to pull off the comeback, however, as Carolina won 20-13. 

The good news for Washington is that it controls its own fate next week. A win over the Philadelphia Eagles would guarantee it the NFC East title as it holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dallas Cowboys and has a one-game lead on the New York Giants.

The bad news is that Haskins, in just his second year, has likely proved he is not the long-term answer at quarterback. The 23-year-old opened the 2020 season as the starter but was benched after just four starts and a 1-3 record in favor of Kyle Allen. Eventually, Alex Smith, who hadn't played since 2018 as he recovered from a life-threatening leg injury, moved ahead of him on the depth chart. 

Wins may not be quarterback stats, but Washington is now 1-5 in Haskins' starts and 4-1 in Smith's starts. Washington went just 2-5 in Haskins' starts last season. Those are troubling numbers. 

And this all happened during a week in which Haskins was stripped of his captaincy. He will be playing NFL football next season, but it's hard to imagine it will be for Washington.