Washington Football: 3 takeaways from road win over Oregon State in Week 11

2. Jacob Eason is not the answer at quarterback for Washington

Last year the questions about the Washington team centered on the continued regression to the mean of quarterback Jake Browning. It felt on some levels that the 2019 season might end up being far better than last year’s Pac-12 championship run. One of those levels was at quarterback, as former Georgia recruit Jacob Eason took over under center for the departed Browning.

With more than three-quarters of the 2019 season behind us now, it is safe to assert that Eason was not some massive upgrade over his predecessor at the position. If not for a stingy defense that prevented Oregon State from getting anything going on offense, Eason could very easily have cost the Huskies a win on the road in Week 11.

Oregon State picked off Eason twice, including one that defensive back Jaydon Grant returned 36 yards for a pick-six early in the third quarter. That was ultimately all the scoring the Beavers could muster, but that in no way absolves an abysmal night from Eason. The quarterback finished just 16-of-32 for 175 passing yards and the two turnovers.

Eason is at best a caretaker, and when Washington depends too heavily on him to win games it backfires quickly. His performance on Friday night would have doomed plenty of other teams to defeat. Washington was lucky to have a defense that is adept at bailing out their offense’s mistakes, as they helped keep the Huskies in a game that Eason risked throwing away.