Monday Post-Mortem: Heinicke Has Brought Hope Back to DC

For many, the lasting image of Washington’s 23-21 win over Green Bay will be the future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers lying on the ground in defeat as the clock hit double zeros. But for those in DC, the lasting image will be the other quarterback in this game, Taylor Heinicke, being fired up with star receiver Terry McLaurin. The second straight win for the Commanders was the first of the year for the backup quarterback who has injected hope back into the season.

The Heinicke performance closely resembled the old Clint Eastwood classic film, “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.” The Old Dominion alum started the day with a pick-6 and had several other throws that were closer to landing in the arms of Packers defenders rather than Commanders receivers. But, Heinicke started to get more comfortable as the game went on, and honestly that was to be expected for someone who was called in to start off the bench for the third consecutive season. 

Heinicke finished the day 20 of 33 for 201 yards with a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio, admirable stats for someone who had a 0.0 passer rating at the end of the first quarter. The roller coaster performance swung back upward on the first drive of the second half when Heinicke hit Terry McLaurin down the sideline for a 37 yard touchdown strike. Which brings me back to the lasting image from this game, a quarterback and a star receiver hyping each other up.

The energy seen between the two was unlike anything I have seen all year from this team. It was indicative of all the intangible aspects that a guy like Heinicke has. His presence as the starter inspired his teammates, who have shown time and time again that they love to play for him. McLaurin nearly said as much in his postgame interview, remarking that having that level of trust with a quarterback is all a receiver could ask for. 

That level of emotion was something that was lacking when Carson Wentz was under center. Height, arm talent, and draft capital/salary commitment all matter when evaluating NFL players; but buy-in, chemistry, and heart matter just as much. Just ask the pro bowl wideout who he would rather play with, the guy who couldn’t be bothered to look his way or the guy that was willing to drop his arm slot to sidearm a pass around a defender just to hit him on a crossing route?

It wasn’t just the connection with Terry McLaurin that was a noticeable improvement with Heinicke at quarterback, it was also the sack rate. Carson Wentz was among the most sacked quarterbacks in the league this season, and he did that despite entering the year with a consensus top ~12 ranked offensive line. However, yesterday Heinicke was only sacked once. 

There was a study done a few years ago which showed that sacks are actually more of a quarterback stat than people give credit. Oftentimes the offensive line is blamed for the quarterback going down but on Sunday we saw that this isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, Heinicke was only sacked once despite missing starting right tackle Sam Cosmi who was out due to injury. 

It doesn’t matter which way you slice it, Washington was a better football team with Taylor Heinicke starting at quarterback than Carson Wentz. Heinicke even got running back Antonio Gibson some work in the passing game as he found him in the endzone for a 9 yard score. The former college wide receiver at Memphis was finally more involved as a pass catcher, and even continued to outplay his drafted replacement. Gibson averaged nearly 6 yards a carry on 10 touches compared to a 3.7 average for the rookie Brian Robinson Jr on double the amount of carries (don’t show Ron Rivera these numbers).

This football team keeps winning; despite its poor personnel decisions, despite its inept coaching, and despite its toxic ownership. At 3-4 the Commanders sit firmly in the hunt for a NFC wild card spot, tied with 4 other teams who are only a half game back of the Los Angeles Rams who are on a bye. Washington even got better news today as their next opponent, the Indianapolis Colts, have named Sam Ehlinger their starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. With a friendly matchup coming up, a third consecutive win is certainly on the horizon, as is hope for a little more Heinicke magic.

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