Taylor Heinicke has started the last eight games for the Washington Commanders. Despite having a 5-2-1 record in those games, Heinicke must improve his play to stave off Week 1 starter Carson Wentz.
Heinicke has been at the helm and seemingly won over the Washington locker room since Wentz suffered a broken finger in Week 6 that landed him on injured reserve. However, Wentz was activated last week. Heinicke remains penciled in as the starter. But he must look over his shoulder as Wentz stands as the backup.
Heinicke has managed the game well in some regards. Yet, when Washington has needed a big play from its quarterback, Heinicke has been inconsistent. There has been a lot left to desire.
During Sunday’s 20-12 loss to the New York Giants, Heinicke had two costly fumbles, including one that got returned for a touchdown.
Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said he is sticking with Heinicke for now. However, Rivera left the door open for a possible quarterback change.
“It’s something to be quite frank, I do have to think about at some point,” Rivera said Monday, per ESPN’s John Keim. “But if we get back on track and play the way we’ve played and do the things we’ve done, then we’ll stick where we are.”
Rivera noted the sack-fumble returned for a touchdown by Giants defender Kayvon Thibodeaux, saying Heinicke needs to get rid of the ball as soon as he hits his plant foot.
During a one-on-one interview with NBC Sports’ JP Finlay, Rivera revealed a quarterback change almost happened in the third quarter against the Giants.
“You know going into the second half, scoring early, moving the ball the way we did, it would have been hard for me to make a change right there,” Rivera admitted to Finlay.
Trailing 14-3, Heinicke led the Commanders on a six-play, 91-yard touchdown drive to open the second half. Heinicke capped the drive with a 19-yard TD pass to rookie wide receiver Jahan Dotson. The score cut the Commanders’ deficit to 14-9 while changing the game’s direction.
Following their tough loss to the Giants, the Commanders are 7-6-1 heading into Week 15. Washington is clinging to the seventh and final playoff spot in the NFC. The Seattle Seahawks and the Detroit Lions sit at 7-7 right behind Washington. The Lions own the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Commanders.
The Commanders will have to shake off the loss because they’ll face the red-hot San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers are 10-4 and have already clinched the NFC West division title. But the 49ers may be looking for playoff seeding with a chance to move up to the No. 2 seed. San Francisco also houses the best defense in the NFL.
Heinicke has completed 61.4% of his passes averaging 211.6 passing yards in eight games. He has 11 total touchdowns against nine turnovers.
The pressure is on Taylor Heinicke to play well and give the Commanders a chance against San Francisco and down the stretch. Meanwhile, Carson Wentz looks over his shoulder as Rivera considers what’s needed to salvage the Commanders’ playoff hopes.
