LANDOVER, Md. – Washington football team quarterback Taylor Heinicke did not win the game; he still won a team – and maybe more.
Heinicke, starting with the injured Alex Smith, played on Saturday with his arm and legs – only insufficient – in Washington’s 31-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Heinicke did not win, but completed 26 of 44 passes for 306 meters, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for a score.
And a player who left the league for almost two years proved a point.
“I deserve to be in this league a little longer,” said Heinicke, a free agent on hold. “I was on the other side without playing and it’s not fun, not as much fun as this one.”
In the process, Heinicke also received support from his teammates – and even from a star player from another team. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is represented by the same agency as Heinicke, wrote his approval on Twitter of its performance.
After the game, the Washington receiver, Terry McLaurin, spoke to Heinicke when they left the field. McLaurin just wanted to let him know how much he appreciated him.
“I will be number 4 on my team any day of the week, twice a Sunday,” McLaurin said. “I hope to be teammates in the future.
“This man plays without fear. He will give his players a chance to play. He expands the games, runs, gets hit. He does everything you ask a quarterback to do in this league … He gave us a chance.”
Heinicke did not know he would start until coach Ron Rivera told him on Friday afternoon. However, Washington kept its decision quiet until a few hours before the game. Smith was bothered by a straight tense calf, and with Tampa Bay known for his defensive pressure, his inability to escape would be too costly.
“We didn’t want to put him in a bad situation,” Rivera said.
He later said: “We were really sent in connection with the offering [Heinicke] that opportunity. “
Heinicke ran six times for 46 yards and scored on an 8-yard run at the end of the third quarter. On that piece, his first three options were covered and his pocket was pinched. He somehow sank under pressure and slipped through an opening in his pocket. He took off to the left side and entered the end zone, the ball hitting the pillar. In the process, he suffered a separation of the AC joint in his left shoulder.
“I wanted to get that touchdown,” he said.
In the next series, he was hit hard twice and headed to the edge, with obvious pain. Then he ran to the locker room, but returned without missing a series.
“His weight, his willingness to fight, his willingness to compete,” Washington corner Kendall Fuller said when asked what he saw in Heinicke. “It definitely motivated the whole team.”
When Washington called in December, Heinicke was taking four math classes at Old Dominion University. It was the final week; received permission to take two of the finals after the season.
Washington liked that Heinicke knew the offensive system of coordinator Scott Turner, after playing for two years with the Minnesota Vikings and one with the Carolina Panthers. Then it got its only start before Saturday. He came out of the game with an elbow injury that later required surgery. Sustainability was a question for Heinicke of 6 feet-1 and 210 kilograms.
He was released by Carolina in the last pre-season discounts in August 2019 and spent the year outside of football. Eventually he signed with St. Louis BattleHawks in the XFL, but did not play in any of their five games. The end has come almost for the 2015 free agent.
He impressed his colleagues in Washington.
“The way he behaves is a real professional,” said Washington striker Morgan Moses. “I can’t tell you why he was on the street before we picked him up. He has all the qualities of a player you want. I’m glad I got him. No words to explain his performance today “He went on stage and I congratulate him on that.”
Moses had seen Heinicke singing in college.
“The guy is a great player,” Moses said. “He has that ‘It’ factor and you can’t learn that.”
This “It” factor paid off after Heinicke returned from injury. He drove a 75-meter landing unit covered by a beautiful 11-meter pass to Steven Sims Jr., who led him to the corner of the end zone.
“He was brave,” Rivera said. “The young man won an opportunity.”
Now you will have to wait a while to see if, or when, the next one appears.
“Everything that has happened in the last month and a half, to go there and do that, I am proud of myself, happy that the coaches believed in me and gave me the opportunity,” Heinicke said. “I hope I can do it next year.”