In Sunday's thrilling 34-30 win over the Falcons, Taylor Heinicke, playing in front of friends and family in his hometown of Atlanta, proved once again that he has a gift that's hard to explain.
Where he lacks in height and arm strength, Heinicke is off the charts in intangibles — that special something that makes him able to do whatever it is he did against the Falcons defense Sunday, seemingly willing Washington to a come-from-behind victory with two next-to-impossible fourth quarter scores.
Heinicke threw a Hail McLaurin pic.twitter.com/WQPEej65vo
— NBCSports Washington (@NBCSWashington) October 3, 2021
This play could have easily led to a sack or an interception. But it didn't. Instead, Heinicke threw up a YOLO ball that gave his receiver a chance to make a play and McLaurin came down with it. Somehow.
It's the type of throw that leaves a coach like Ron Rivera scratching his head about how to address it.
"Well I thought he managed it well, obviously," Rivera told reporters when asked how he felt Heinicke managed the game. "The big thing is when we talk about it is make a play when you have to, and he made several. So we appreciate that, that's for sure. Taylor's just one of those dynamic players that knows how to make plays, and as I said, nothing is ever done with him. I mean he's just gonna continue to work."
For starters, the process that led to the play was a train wreck. The textbook would tell you that Heinicke should have thrown it away at the first sign of trouble, considering it was only first down and their red zone field position, where intentional grounding is less of a concern with an entire end zone to heave the ball through. Heinicke took on two pass rushers, narrowly escaping the arms of the first and getting clobbered by the second just as he released the ball.
Had the play resulted in a turnover it would have served as a teachable moment -- of the types of plays to avoid -- in the film room the next day. It in all likelihood would have been the nail in the coffin for Washington in the game. But how do you condemn a touchdown pass? Especially a touchdown pass that puts you two points off the lead with minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
Perhaps Rivera speaks differently of Heinicke away from the media, but if what he says to their faces about wanting the quarterback to be more of a game manager is his true desire, plays like that touchdown pass to McLaurin seem to put Rivera at an impasse. The one characteristic he wants to coach out of Heinicke is what makes him who he is as a passer. With eight touchdowns to three interceptions on the season, Heinicke hasn't been burned by it thus far in Washington.
Even more to the point, Washington's defense is showing no signs of improvement. If anything it's gotten worse since allowing the Bills to hang 43 points on them a week ago. Washington cannot afford a boring game manager at the moment. For better or worse, Rivera has to learn to trust Heinicke and his instinctive style of play, because he needs the 28.3 points per game Washington's averaging with Heinicke as the starter.
How else does he expect to get through this murderer's row of upcoming opponents?
Week 5: New Orleans (2-2)
Week 6: Kansas City (2-2)
Week 7: AT Green Bay (3-1)
Week 8: AT Denver (3-1)
BYE WEEK
Week 10: Tampa Bay (3-1)
Week 11: AT Carolina (3-1)
Week 12: Seattle (2-2)
Week 13: AT Las Vegas (3-0)
And that's before Washington closes out its season with five straight division games.
"He's got tremendous ability to deliver and hats off to him," Rivera said. "He's a courageous dude who plays all-out and his teammates, they feed off his energy. Especially offensive guys really kind of get him and understand that no play is dead, so you see the way they keep working. A great example is J.D. McKissic. Taylor's working, he's working, he's off to the far left and sees J.D. to the right and throws it out there. So that's who he is."
That's who he is. And Rivera needs to accept it. Because right now, this guy's your only hope...
