It seems like only days ago, Washington fans were clamoring for head coach Ron Rivera to bench quarterback Taylor Heinicke and turn the reins over to Kyle Allen. Rivera stood by his decision to keep Heinicke in the lineup but did say he wished the quarterback would be more of a game-manager type.
Heinicke tried adjusting his style, and he struggled. He stayed in the pocket more and was less hesitant to run and make plays outside the offensive structure.
Now, Heinicke is back to playing his style of football, and Washington has won two consecutive games against the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers.
Heinicke has completed 42 of 54 passes for 462 yards and four touchdowns in his last two games. He’s also rushed for 45 yards and, most importantly, not turned the ball over.
On Monday, Rivera spoke to the media and said he sees some Alex Smith in Heinicke.
“Alex was a consummate leader, and you see those things starting to develop as far as Taylor is concerned,” Rivera said, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.
“What is interesting for Taylor after what he did last year, for the most part, guys have gravitated toward him because they felt with this guy that we have a chance. I think now you not only see him giving these guys hope and believe that we have a chance, but he is leading them. Very similar in style to the way that I thought Alex did.”
Smith earned the respect of his teammates for a variety of reasons. He was one of the most respected players in the NFL, and his comeback was legendary. Heinicke is different, although he also commands the same type of respect.
After his performance in the playoff loss to Tampa Bay, Washington players believed in Heinicke, despite a lack of arm talent, his size and pedigree. When Ryan Fitzpatrick went down, Heinicke’s teammates weren’t concerned about his sudden elevation to the starting lineup. And, during his struggles this season, the entire team kept playing hard.
While there is still a long way to go for Heinicke to prove he should be Washington’s starter in 2022 and beyond, he’s accustomed to proving people wrong.
Rivera also discussed Heinicke’s in-season improvement in 2021.
“He’s been really good with the windows in terms of understanding those,” Rivera said. “The thing I like, too, has been when he has been throwing outside, he’s been throwing it to the spots and not trying to lay it into the spots.”
Heinicke made several good throws in the win over the Panthers. One of the knocks on Heinicke was his accuracy, that he was leading his receivers into hits, rather plan placing the ball in front of them to create yards after the catch.
On Sunday, this completion to Terry McLaurin was my favorite.
This is where Taylor Heinicke has shown the most improvement.
Once he saw the corner mirror Adam Humphries (13), he knew Terry McLaurin would have open space to the boundary.
He quickly identifies man with a stacked box = easy pitch and catch to 17 on the crosser. pic.twitter.com/pbizaF9q7E
— Ryan Fowler (@FowlerRyan1) November 23, 2021
Heinicke perfectly placed the ball in front of McLaurin so he could continue to run. That’s an improvement for him. The more he does those types of things, the better his chances are of showing he can be a long-term starter in the NFL.
Don’t look now, but Heinicke has Washington in the playoff race.