It was a surreal scene in D.C. Sunday afternoon. No, we’re not talking about the presidential election results. Rather, it was all about the Washington Football Team and the injury to starting quarterback Kyle Allen. It came nearly two years to the day after Alex Smith suffered a serious injury of his own.
Smith took over for Allen under center in what was ultimately a 23-20 loss to the New York Giants. Seeing his first substantial action since almost losing his life after suffering a freak injury, Alex Smith mixed in some good with some bad.
In the end, the former No. 1 overall pick completed 24-of-32 passes for 325 yards with one touchdown. He also threw three interceptions, including two late in the fourth quarter with Washington looking to pull off the win.
Fresh off news that Allen’s ankle injury will indeed be season-ending, Washington head coach Ron Rivera broke some more news.
Washington Football Team names Alex Smith starting QB for the remainder of the season
This obviously isn’t the way Alex Smith wanted to return under center. Not only did Allen’s devastating injury happen almost two years after his injury, former Washington star quarterback Joe Theismann opened up about said injury. Remember, his career ended 35 years ago this month. We all know the story here.
As for the Washington Football Team, the decision to name Smith its starting quarterback for the remainder of the 2020 season is interesting. It pretty much means that Rivera and Co. have completely moved on from 2019 first-round pick Dwayne Haskins.
After being benched earlier this season, Haskins is in the team’s dog house big time. It led to speculation ahead of last week’s NFL trade deadline that the former Ohio State star might be dealt. With this news comes the reality that Haskins is pretty done in D.C.
Related: Dwayne Haskins trade scenarios
Following their loss to the Giants on Sunday, Washington sits at 2-6 on the season. Despite this, they still have a shot in the horrible NFC East moving forward. In fact, Washington is just one game behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the win column.
Can Alex Smith bring a surprise playoff appearance to the nation’s capital? What happens over the next several weeks will be telling.
Washington Football Team schedule
- @ Detroit Lions (3-5)
- Cincinnati Bengals (2-5-1)
- @ Dallas Cowboys (2-6)
- @ Pittsburgh Steelers (7-0)
- @ San Francisco 49ers (4-5)
- Seattle Seahawks (6-2)
- Carolina Panthers (3-6)
- @ Philadelphia Eagles (3-4-1)
That’s just two games remaining against teams with a winning record. In fact, Washington has a chance over the next three weeks to make a statement.
It’s now up to one Alex Smith to make that come to fruition.