As a Washington Football Team fan, I don’t often have a ton to be excited about. Taylor Heinicke? I love what I just saw from this guy. Am I overreacting? Maybe. Do I care? No.
Heinicke made his second career NFL start for the Washington Football Team in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. Dueling Tom Brady in your second career start is a tough task, especially in a playoff game. With Dwayne Haskins cut and Alex Smith hurt, Taylor Heinicke was next up. And the former St. Louis Battlehawks backup quarterback BALLED OUT.
Heinicke finished the game 26/44 with 352 total yards and two touchdowns. He completed a higher percentage of his passes than Tom Brady. Both his touchdowns were highlight reel plays. Heinicke’s rushing touchdown in the third quarter to bring Washington within two points is the epitome of giving 100%:
His touchdown pass in the fourth quarter was an absolute DIME to Steven Sims. Even Tom Brady knew it was an awesome pass:
Tampa Bay went on to win the game, 31-23, but I don’t think most people expected the WFT to keep the game close. Tampa Bay is a better team and entered the game as favorites. Washington came in as the NFC East champions, but that title admittedly wasn’t saying much this year. Heinicke’s performance kept Washington in the game well into the fourth quarter.
Washington Needs to Keep Taylor Heinicke Around
It’s no secret that Washington needs a quarterback for next season. They will most likely trade for one (Deshaun Watson please?) or draft one with the 19th overall pick. Heinicke absolutely played his way into sticking around though. With Kyle Allen coming off injury, could Heinicke be QB2 to start next year? Is that crazy to think? I get that he was just an XFL backup, but obviously, the dude can play. I’m nowhere close to a professional scout, but he looks surprisingly mobile and has a solid arm. He frequently eluded the Bucs pass rush for nice ground yards and showed he can throw the ball with accuracy.
I’m doing my best not to overreact to just one game, but Taylor Heinicke was undeniably impressive. Twitter already loves him. Patrick Mahomes chimed in with his own praise:
Bottom line, the Washington Football Team needs to bring Taylor Heinicke back for next season. Even if it’s just as a third-stringer, he absolutely earned it with that gutsy playoff performance.
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