The Washington Commanders' playoff hopes took a big hit after a tie and back-to-back defeats eliminating all of the good feelings from November's three-game winning streak.
After a Christmas Eve stuffing in San Francisco, Ron Rivera has two games left to right the ship and when facing a huge decision has decided to bench Taylor Heinicke and start Carson Wentz Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.
Listen to Jay Gruden starting at 36:20 here:
Former Washington head coach Jay Gruden thought benching Heinicke vs. the 49ers was harsh and may have been the right situational call, but may not be the right one for next week.
"I think Taylor played one of his better games in the first half, contrary to belief, he played well,” Gruden told Team 980's Russell & Medhurst on Monday. “He had some good third down conversions, he had a nice touchdown pass, he moved around in the pocket. And then he had the two unfortunate plays to start the fourth quarter, the sack-fumble, which wasn’t on him, and the interception, I don’t think was on him either after watching the tape.”
Gruden said his in-game benching was “unfortunate for Heinicke but as a coach, [when] you’re down three scores and you need to get chunk yardage back, I think it probably was the right call to go to Carson at that time.”
“If you’re grading Heinicke in the first half or the first three quarters [against San Francisco], you have to give him a pretty good grade,” Gruden told Russell & Medhurst. “The thing that happened with their offense is the recipe for success they’ve had over the years, the first and second down runs didn’t net anything. They were in 2nd-and-9, 3rd-and-10 a lot.”
Overall, Gruden said he did not believe Heinicke played poorly to “get the blame,” but “situationally” it was probably the right call to go to the veteran backup.
Related
Having said that, Gruden would not have gone with that Wentz should be the Week 17 starter.
“Heinicke’s the guy that kinda got them in this position to make this playoff run, so I personally would stick with Heinicke, that’s just me,” Gruden said on Team 980. “But, I wouldn’t be surprised if they went to Wentz.”
The former head coach added that he doesn’t believe either quarterback is “head and shoulders” above the other one.
Of course, Rivera may have a quick trigger finger if Wentz struggles against Cleveland.
“Whoever you start, the issue is gonna be how short the leash is gonna be?” Gruden said. “Whichever quarterback starts I don’t think they’re gonna have a good comfort level if they start screwing up. They’re gonna have to play well and protect the football and get some points on the board.”
For the second time in three seasons in Washington, Rivera finds himself having to make changes at the quarterback position late in the season while fighting for a playoff berth.
“It’s a miserable situation to be in when you’re talking about this position this late in the season when you’re fighting for a playoff spot,” Gruden added.
For Commanders fans, the hope is Wentz can do what Alex Smith did in 2020 and earn a trip to the playoffs.
Follow @BenKrimmel and @Team980 for the latest.
Related
