Heinicke just saved the season
LANDOVER — For the next 10 days, at least, he is the franchise quarterback. Work on Taylor Heinicke’s long-term contract extension could begin over the long weekend. The season is saved after it was lost, and this undrafted math student from Old Dominion did the saving.
That it took utter ineptitude from the New York Giants can be forgotten in the haze of the Washington Football Team’s 30-29 victory Thursday night. The Giants dropped a potentially game-clinching touchdown pass at the goal line? Pfft. Heinicke must have willed it that way. The Giants got the gift of a Dustin Hopkins missed field goal at the buzzer — but jumped offside to give Hopkins another chance? There had to be Jedi mind tricks from Washington’s new quarterback. He is a wizard, if you believe in such things.
“A whirlwind, you know?” Heinicke said afterward, ball cap on backward, a winner for the first time as an NFL starter, as casual as a beer league softball player.
There’s no telling where this Washington season will go, but it lives and breathes and has unexpected life because Taylor Heinicke — unemployed for much of last year, an afterthought in the league — led his team from behind not once but twice.
Look at this line for a Washington quarterback: 34 for 46 for 336 yards with two touchdowns and one interception — all of which we will get to. But examine the numbers, even though the numbers are just a fraction of the story. The striking thing: Why, that looks like a regular, normal, competent stat line for a starting NFL quarterback.
Sorry, did I say starting ? I meant winning.
“He’s got that, uh ...” running back J.D. McKissic said, searching for a quality that can’t be described. But think about where McKissic went next, when he described Heinicke on the two-minute drive that won the game.
“He reminded me of Russell Wilson,” McKissic said. “He was calm . ... The only thing on his mind was winning.”
Think about how important this game was to Washington. It doesn’t play another NFC East opponent until December. It was the second straight at home to open the season, meaning Washington’s remaining schedule yields nine games on the road and just six at home. The four participants in last season’s conference championship games await in the weeks ahead.
Odds of an 0-2 Washington team making a playoff run, given all that? Sure, there’s a lot of football left. But there are a lot of obstacles, too — not in small part because Washington’s defense, supposed to be its absolute spine, has appeared supple. Among the quarterbacks that defense is still to face: Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady and Seattle’s Wilson.
That’s established star power. What Washington has is a kid with not a small amount of moxie.
Who rises Friday morning, pining for Ryan Fitzpatrick?
In Washington’s season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Fitzpatrick made the 147th start of his itinerant career. An injury to his 38-year-old right hip has him on injured reserve and gave Heinicke the chance at his second — that’s
right, — regular season start Thursday night.
He opened the night by going three-and-outonhisfirsttwopossessions. He took an ill-advised, 16-yard sack. He looked lost on a third-down scramble in which he flung the ball out of bounds — and desperately. And then he sizzled. “He’s always ready for his moment,” star wide receiver Terry McLaurin said, “and I love guys who are ready for their moment, who are prepared.”
When has Washington’s offense looked as organized and efficient as it did on Thursday night’s first scoring drive, a 13-play, 90-yard clinic that Heinicke concluded with a zinger of an 11-yard scoring pass to McLaurin? (Good poll question: Who is the best player on Washington’s roster? A) Chase Young; B) Tress Way; C) Terry McLaurin. At the moment, I’ll take “C” over and over and over again.)
That eased the tension at FedEx Field, where the fans might not yet own No. 4 Heinicke jerseys, but operators are standing by. These fans seem ready to embrace his mind-set and mentality.
There’s something here, right? It’s not in the measurables, because if the 6-foot-1 Heinicke had those — the arm strength, the stature, the stuff that makes scouts drool — he wouldn’t have gone to Old Dominion, and he wouldn’t have gone undrafted after he threw for approximately 3 million yards there.
His legend, though, will grow in these parts because of what happened in those final moments of the final quarter Thursday night. With a little less than five minutes remaining and Washington trailing 26-20, it was easy to pin an impending loss on the defense, which couldn’tdominateDanielJonesanda decidedly suspect New York offense.
A quarterback’s job isn’t just to come from behind. It’s to close when ahead.LookingforMcLaurindeepin his own territory, Heinicke couldn’t connect. Giants cornerback James
Bradberry stepped in front of his throw — a superior play at the worst time. Giants kicker Graham Gano’s ensuingfieldgoalseemedtohaveleft Heinickewithanobleeffortindefeat.
“Really had to get my composure about me,” Heinicke said.
Darned if that doesn’t seem to come naturally. He got the ball back. And what we know now: Taylor Heinicke, plus the ball, down only one score, means Washington has a chance.
ThefinaldrivethatledtoHopkins’s winning kick was both frantic and organized: 11 plays to plod 50 yards, Heinicke completed 6 of 8 passes. None was longer than nine yards. Each was completely necessary.
The takeaway is that Taylor Heinicke is a fun, competent quarterback who’s worth watching. Against the Giants, he saved the season. He now has his moment. Who knows what happens next?