Commanders try to guard against letdown
HOUSTON — Riding the wave from their big win over the previously undefeated Philadelphia Eagles, the Washington Commanders are guarding against a letdown against the struggling Houston Texans today.
Quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who will start a fifth straight game for the injured Carson Wentz, said the team was reminded this week that although the Texans have one win, they’ve been competitive in almost every game.
“They’re close . ... We can’t take them lightly,” Heinicke said. “Obviously, we had a huge game against the divisional opponent, undefeated, big win. The worst thing that we can do is go and lay an egg on Sunday. So again, we’re just trying to keep the ball rolling, keep working hard.”
And coach Ron Rivera is quick to remind his team that at .500 and in last place in the NFC East, it still has a long way to go despite the win over the Eagles.
“We’ve not arrived by any means . ... So, let’s get refocused, let’s get ready to face Houston,” he said. “I’ve always appreciated and respected the way coach [Lovie]
Smith does things and I think our players have to understand that.”
The Commanders have won four of five after opening the season 1-4. The Texans are the only team in the league with just one win and are searching for a way to end a four-game skid.
Heinicke again
Heinicke will start today, with Rivera saying Wentz has not yet been designated to return from injured reserve after having surgery to repair a broken finger. It’s a game-by-game proposition for the Commanders, who are 3-1 since Heinicke took over for Wentz.
“We have time,” Rivera said. “That’s the really good thing that is on our side. [Heinicke has] done some good things, and we’ll see how it happens this week.”
Heinicke, a former star at Old Dominion who was out of football two years ago before joining Washington in December 2020 as its quarantine quarterback, tries not to think too much about the pressure of being in a leading role.
“At the end of the day when I’m driving into the facility, I’m like, ‘This is a game that I grew up wishing to play, and it’s a game that young people play,’ ” Heinicke said. “It’s supposed to be fun, so I try and keep it very simple and fun.”
Limited Chase?
More than a year since tearing the ACL in his right knee, Chase Young could make his season debut for Washington today. Young has been on the physically unable to perform list and slowly working his way back from surgery, which involved grafting part of his left patellar tendon to fix the tear on the other side.
If he does play, Young will be on what Rivera called a “pitch count” of snaps.
“The big part of it is, especially right now, is wanting to get as close as you can to live action, and you really can’t,” Rivera said. “So, we have to try and figure out how he can get as many as good reps in the next couple of days to get a good gauge of where he’s at.”
The Commanders have been patient and clear they won’t rush back the second overall draft pick in 2020 who became Defensive Rookie of the Year and should be a franchise cornerstone for many seasons to come.