Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke is coming off the best two-game stretch of his NFL career in leading the WFT to wins over Tampa Bay and Carolina.
Heinicke has completed 42 of 54 passes for 462 yards and four touchdowns in those two games. He hasn’t turned the ball over and appears to be throwing the football with better timing and anticipation.
After Sunday’s win over the Panthers, some in the national media began to take note of Heinicke’s recent play. One of those media members is former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky.
Orlovsky had an interesting comparison for Heinicke. He compared Washington’s quarterback to longtime Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
I’ll watch Heinicke and McLaurin play ball every weekend. Both play their backsides off and can both play play.
McLaurin is a superstar. SUPERSTAR and Heinicke reminds me of young Romo— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 22, 2021
It’s actually the perfect comparison. First, forget the age. Heinicke is 28 and has had to scratch and claw to get his current opportunity. It wasn’t easy for Romo, either. An undrafted free agent out of Eastern Illinois in 2003, Romo didn’t take over as Dallas’ starting quarterback until 2006. He was 26 when he became a permanent starting quarterback.
Romo would enjoy a 14-year NFL career, in which he passed for over 34,000 yards and 248 touchdowns. Ask any Washington fan how difficult playing against Romo was during his decade under center for the Cowboys.
How many times did Romo escape a surefire sack, run around the backfield and somehow complete a pass 50 yards downfield? Romo was a magician in the pocket and seemingly improved every year after being named starting quarterback.
Some forget that Heinicke, also a former undrafted free agent, has only started 11 career games. If you’ve watched a Washington game this season, you’ve seen Heinicke show improvisational skills, much like Romo did in his career.
There is perhaps no better example than this fourth-down gem.
Taylor Heinicke delivers on 4th & 3! #WashingtonFootball
: #WASvsCAR on FOX
: NFL app pic.twitter.com/WFeXt2Mb9x
— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2021
Heinicke isn’t quite as big as Romo was, although Romo was an average-sized quarterback by NFL standards. However, their style of play is similar.
Now, Washington can only hope Heinicke carves out a long-term career as impressive as Romo’s body of work.