Washington falls to Cleveland, 34-20, after five turnovers; Chase Young injured

By Nicki Jhabvala,

CLEVELAND — The Chase Young fan club occupied Section 149 in mostly empty FirstEnergy Stadium. Members wore custom T-shirts and masks bearing his face, and their leader could be spotted and heard from across the field. Carla Young, Chase’s mother, traveled hours to arrive shortly before kickoff and experience a moment she could only imagine before.

“This is the dream,” she said, “to actually see him run out on the field.”

Carla Young’s dream came true Sunday afternoon as her son started his third NFL game against the Cleveland Browns. But it quickly faded into a harsh reality as he limped off the field shortly after and headed back to the locker room, taking with him every ounce of momentum and optimism his team had built up in the early going.

With its prized pass rusher sidelined by a groin injury, the Washington Football Team squandered an early lead and beat itself for a 34-20 loss.

Described by its coach as “young” and “learning,” Washington failed to get out of its own way as some flashes of promise were wasted with five turnovers, a slew of missed tackles, untimely penalties and the worst performance of quarterback Dwayne Haskins’s second season.

“You’re not going to win football games if you don’t win the takeaway battle, and I believe in that, and unfortunately we didn’t get enough turnovers back to help ourselves, either,” Coach Ron Rivera said in a video conference call with reporters afterward. “. . . We can’t make those mistakes right now. We’re not experienced enough to withstand our own personal mistakes as a football team.”

[Highlights and takeaways from Washington’s 34-20 loss to Cleveland]

Throughout the week, Rivera stressed the need for Washington to start games faster — to get points faster, to find an offensive rhythm faster, to get its ­playmakers involved faster, to set the defensive tone faster.

Haskins heeded the call, leading Washington on a scoring drive on its second possession and helping the offense amass 102 net yards and seven first downs in the first quarter. He connected with wide receiver Terry McLaurin to set up his touchdown pass to Dontrelle Inman, and the early success of the offense aided the defense; Washington held Cleveland’s vaunted rushing attack to seven net yards in the first quarter.

But it came undone soon after, when Washington defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis suffered a left arm injury and Young injured his right groin early in the second quarter. The two were ruled out quickly after leaving the field, and though they returned to the bench in street clothes, their support from the sideline couldn’t salvage a victory — or Haskins’s once-promising day.

As soon as Young left the field, Browns kicker Cody Parkey nailed a 42-yard field goal, and then left guard Wes Martin was flagged for holding to negate a run and set Washington back to first and 20, and then Haskins threw his first of three interceptions. An overthrown pass for Logan Thomas landed in the arms of Browns safety Karl Joseph, who ran it back 49 yards before right tackle Morgan Moses brought him down. Moses, who was on the injury report last week with a hip issue, limped off the field after the turnover, but he returned and played the rest of the game.

Cleveland found the end zone three plays later: Running back Nick Chubb shed four tackles during a 16-yard touchdown run.

But it would get worse.

Haskins was sacked on third down to end Washington’s subsequent drive, then threw his second interception of the game in the following series. On third and seven, Haskins attempted a pass to Inman in double coverage that linebacker Malcolm Smith snagged from the air. Cleveland again needed only three plays to find the end zone; quarterback Baker Mayfield found Kareem Hunt for a nine-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the half.

“Just tried to do too much,” Haskins said of his turnover-filled performance, reiterating Rivera’s exclamation that he “tried to force a couple things.”

Washington’s offense did bounce back, for a brief period, during the third quarter. Haskins found McLaurin and running back J.D. McKissic for 15- and 26-yard completions, respectively, to set up a two-yard touchdown run by Antonio Gibson. Washington followed with a ­12-play scoring drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Inman and reclaimed the lead at 20-17.

But the good was soon followed by the bad, and Cleveland took advantage. After the Browns took the lead with a three-yard touchdown catch by tight end Harrison Bryant, McLaurin was called for a questionable offensive pass interference penalty and Haskins threw his third and final interception of the day — an underthrown pass right into the arms of linebacker B.J. Goodson. A few plays later, Chubb scored on a 20-yard run.

“I just got done talking to Dwayne, and I told him, ‘Look, I told you I’m behind you and I’m going to stick with you, so you go out and play football,’ ” Rivera said. “He’s just got to learn and understand you don’t have to make the big play all the time. Plus, you’ve got guys that can make plays, so all you need to do is get the ball into their hands and let them go out and make plays.”

[Chase Young and Dwayne Haskins had a day to forget, but Ron Rivera will remember how they handled it]

Washington had a chance to get back in it, but as soon as it crossed midfield, Haskins was strip-sacked by Myles Garrett and Garrett recovered the fumble. Parkey’s 30-yard field goal sealed the win.

Haskins finished 21 for 37 for 224 yards and a 58.8 rating. When asked after the game if one of Haskins’s three interceptions upset him more, Rivera said bluntly, “They all bothered me.” But he squashed any speculation of a quarterback change.

“The truth of the matter is, how is he going to learn? Is he going to learn by taking the show team snaps? No,” Rivera said. “The only way he’s going to learn and the only way we’re going to truly find out where Dwayne is and what he can do for us is to put him back on the football field and let him get exposed. That’s how he grows.”

Rivera reiterated that he would support Haskins. “I’m not going to pull the plug on him just because something like this happens,” he said.

He also reminded of Haskins’s youth and relative inexperience after only 10 starts in the NFL and 14 in college.

“Coach Rivera and I are very close, and I don’t ever want to just get comfortable thinking, ‘Oh, I’m his guy,’ or, ‘He believes in me.’ That doesn’t matter if you’re not producing on the field,” Haskins said. “I’m definitely appreciative of that and how he feels about me going in that direction, and I want to keep getting better for myself and for my teammates and try to help these guys find a way to win and honestly not be so competitive to where I take myself out of the game.”

Sunday’s game marked a historic moment for the league as the first regular season game to feature female coaches on both sidelines (Cleveland’s Callie Brownson and Washington’s Jennifer King) as well as a female official (Sarah Thomas).

Before kickoff, a handful of Washington players — including Inman and defensive backs Landon Collins, Fabian Moreau, Kamren Curl and Ronald Darby — wore black T-shirts that read “Breonna deserves better,” a response to the recent decision in Kentucky to not charge the officers directly involved in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Read more on the Washington Football Team: Brewer: There’s a lot to like in Dwayne Haskins’s fight. But there’s reason to worry about his ceiling. Offensive line coaches play a pivotal role for NFL teams. Meet Washington’s John Matsko. Ron Rivera’s early approach for Washington signals how much work is left to do