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Dwayne Haskins makes first NFL start in Redskins vs. Bills

Posted at 8:45 AM, Nov 03, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-03 08:45:56-05

Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Redskins. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

BUFFALO – Washington Redskins (1-7) quarterback Dwayne Haskins makes his first NFL start on Sunday.

Case Keenum remains in concussion protocol heading into Washington’s game against the Buffalo Bills, resulting in Haskins moving into the starting spot.

In week four, he completed 9-of-17 passes for 107 yards and was intercepted three times. Last Thursday (week eight), Haskins replaced Keenum to start the second half and completed three of five passes for 33 yards and threw one interception.

“We’re really excited about Dwayne’s opportunity, a young quarterback going up against one of the top three defenses in the league,” interim head coach Bill Callahan said. “It will be a great challenge for him, a learning experience and a great challenge for all of us to pull together, rally around Dwayne and go up there and compete against a top team in the AFC East.

LANDOVER, MARYLAND – OCTOBER 06: Montae Nicholson #35 of the Washington Redskins intercepts a ball. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

“We’ve seen him progress throughout the week and I think that’s the big thing. His improvement from day to day, from situation to situation, from drill to drill. You see nothing but locked-in focus. Like I mentioned the other day, he had a pretty good early start of the week and finalized today with a lot of red zone work and a lot of moving the ball stuff, so we’re very encouraged.”

 During practice the team played artificial crowd noise and used a variety of play clock times to prepare Haskins for any situation he could see on Sunday.

The last time the Redskins and Bills faced off was in 2015 when Washington won 35-25 at FedEx Field. Sunday marks the first time they play in Buffalo since 2011, when the Bills won 23-0.

Buffalo holds an 8-6 all-time series lead against the Redskins.

Sunday’s game at New Era Field kicks off at 1 p.m.