Tag: Taylor Heinicke Commanders QB

When they last met: Commanders and Broncos

These teams last met just two years ago.

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

Denver 17, Washington 10 – Week 8, October 31, 2021

Melvin Gordon’s seven-yard run broke a tie, giving the Broncos a 17-10 win over the Washington Football Team at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.

In a frustrating day for the Washington offense, quarterback Taylor Heinicke was intercepted twice by Denver’s Justin Simmons, two drives ended in missed field goals from new kicker Chris Blewitt, as Washington only managed to generate ten points.

If that wasn’t bad enough center Chase Roullier who had been the most reliable and dependable offensive lineman for the last couple of seasons, broke a bone in his lower leg, was carted off and lost for the remainder of the 2021 season.

Blewitt’s 52-yard field goal with 5:25 remaining in the first half tied the score at 3-3. However, Gordon scored on a 15-yard pass from Teddy Bridgewater with only 1:11 remaining in the half, propelling the Broncos to a 10-3 lead.

With only 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Taylor Heinicke connected with receiver DeAndre Carter for a 20-yard touchdown, tying the score at 10-10.

After the Gordon touchdown, Taylor Heinicke connected with J.D. McKissic for 19 yards and then Dax Milne for 22 yards, taking Washington down to the Denver 29. On 3rd & 6, Heinicke’s pass to DeAndre Carter gained 14 yards for a first down at the 11.

But Heinicke, looking for Cam Sims, was intercepted by Simmons, stopping the drive and clinching the game for the Broncos.

Chase Young then forced a Gordon fumble, and Washington had one last opportunity. But could not move the ball to tie the score.

Denver raised its record to 4-4, while Washington fell to 2-6.

 

Michael Lombardi blasts Commanders HC Ron Rivera

Lombardi does think Sam Howell will be a lot better than Washington’s QBs last season and therefore, win more games.

Former NFL executive Michael Lombardi is not very impressed with Ron Rivera right now.

Lombardi, who was an NFL scout, player personnel director and general manager, offered sharp criticisms of Rivera when he was a guest on the “Grant and Danny Show” on Thursday.

Lombardi expressed that the Commanders really struggled in the 2022 season primarily because of the struggles of their quarterbacks Carson Wentz and then Taylor Heinicke.

As a result, Lombardi does not understand/agree with the Commanders over/ under on 2023 wins, only being at 6.5. He was adamant he believes Sam Howell will be a better quarterback than what they had in 2022.

“How much worse could Howell be than those two guys? He can’t be any worse.”

Lombardi pointed to three items that he thinks reflect poorly on Rivera. Not knowing they could be eliminated from the playoffs following the loss to the Browns, his statements regarding Eric Bieniemy during training camp and now admitting he didn’t realize in 2022 what Sam Howell could do.

“What it does is it shows he was seeing practice but was not observing practice. People that are only seeing don’t get anywhere.”

Lombardi pointed out that Rivera has all the authority, and can make any move he wants to make.

Lombardi feels this reveals there is not enough observation and interaction with Rivera’s assistants regarding the player personnel.

Rivera even became the butt of Lombardi’s jokes as Lombardi compared Rivera to Jedd Clampett of the old Beverly Hillbillies, luckily striking oil.

“The quarterback of the Washington Commanders was costing them games. That’s pretty clear. Lombardi pointed in particular to the 2022 loss to the Titans “because the quarterback couldn’t make a play.”

He was emphatic that Wentz was killing the Commanders in games last year. He also pointed to Heinicke struggling and that Rivera should have noticed what Howell was doing on the scout team last season.

“New Commanders owner Josh Harris should be concerned now,” expressed Lombardi. He asked, “Did the 2022 coaching staff have a meeting after the first quarter of the season to discuss everyone on the roster?”

Were the Commanders making notes of the players on the scout teams, observing their progression and or regression? “But if you are not paying attention to it, if you are not aware of it. You’re the general manager of the team. That is not a good look for you,” declared Lombardi referring to Rivera.

There was more, but the overall tone was that Lombardi feels Rivera has revealed he is not working hard enough and not communicating enough with his staff concerning their roster and player personnel.

Lombardi was quick to qualify his comments, stating Rivera is a good man; he was not attacking Rivera as a person. He did reassert he is questioning Rivera as a businessman.

Will Scott Turner and Taylor Heinicke reunite again?

Could Taylor Heinicke follow Scott Turner to Las Vegas?

The Raiders hired Scott Turner as a passing game coordinator on Friday.

Wouldn’t you know it, Taylor Heinicke is now a free agent. You see, the two have worked together now three previous times.

Heinicke was getting no interest and was going to be undrafted in 2015.

Heinicke would have one NFL coach come to see him on his scheduled Old Dominion University pro day, and that lone coach was Turner.

Turner, the son of former Redskins head coach Norv Turner was coaching quarterbacks for the Minnesota Vikings. He had heard about this kid from tiny Old Dominion and his college career. Heinicke had passed for 14,959 yards, 132 touchdowns, 1,338 completions, on a sizzling 73.1 completion percentage, and 7 touchdown passes in a single game.

Heinicke indeed went undrafted but signed with the Vikings in 2015 and played some in the preseason, but was not on the active regular-season roster.

The former ODU Monarch was briefly with the Texans in 2017, appearing in one game, completing one pass for ten yards. Next, he again joined up with Turner, this time in Carolina in 2018, making one start and completing 35 of 57 passes for 320 yards.

Late in the 2020 season, when Denver lost three quarterbacks due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Turner (with Washington) connected again with  Heinicke and found him taking classes, staying on his sister’s couch.

Now three seasons later, Heinicke with Washington started 24 games for a record of 12-11-1. He passed for 5,415 yards on a 64.0 completion percentage. His touchdown/interception ratio has been 33:21.

Heinicke’s value might have gone up considerably, seeing Washington was 5-3-1 in games he started. Then again, he really struggled at times, and the Commanders seemed to win sometimes despite his inconsistent play.

The Raiders and Derek Carr seemed to be in a spat and are separated, looking to divorce. Will Turner’s influence and Heinicke’s availability result in the two reuniting a fourth time in the NFL?

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Why Commanders coach Ron Rivera went back to Carson Wentz

Understanding Ron Rivera’s decision to start Carson Wentz in Week 17.

Washington sports media and Commanders fans today are enjoying target practice at Ron Rivera.

Fans, and yes, the media, are taking their shots at Rivera. I was not a fan of the Carson Wentz trade. Hey, I was out there prior to the trade proclaiming they needed to be careful because their posture was revealing they could be fleeced in a trade. Here it is.

From the day of the trade, every Commanders teammate and coach who spoke of Wentz expressed he has been a good teammate and a good leader in 2022. Taylor Heinicke even spoke of Wentz being a great help to him.

Though Washington initially went 5-1 in games started by Heinicke, the offense was leaving plays and points on the field, resulting in the team going 0-2-1 in Heinicke’s last three starts. In the turning point of the season, the Commanders offense under Heinicke went 1-10 on third downs, falling to the Giants at FedEx Field.

Rivera no doubt contemplated if Heinicke had hit the wall. Why not?  Didn’t Rivera witness this in 2021 when in weeks 14-17, the Washington offense stalled, losing four straight games?

On the other hand, didn’t Rivera know Wentz had won big games in earlier years? Rivera knew Wentz had the experience, the arm talent. If Wentz could hit play-action passes off of successful Brian Robinson runs, perhaps he would make more of the plays that Heinicke was missing. Very reasonable, yes?

You can blame Rivera all you want for being unaware they could be eliminated from the playoffs Sunday. He should have known, yes. In addition, he has enough people on the staff; he should have delegated someone to do the research and report the scenarios to him.

Yet, the offense was fading again down the 2022 final stretch. Heinicke didn’t play well in either game against the Giants. Rivera gets paid big bucks to make the major decisions. I personally don’t fault Rivera for going back to Wentz.

One thing for certain, that decision was not a simple one, regardless of how many of you think it was.

How good were the Commanders during Heinicke’s nine starts? Well, Washington only won one game (Eagles) against a team that has a winning record going into the last week.

That is one stat I guarantee Ron Rivera did know last Sunday.

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The Commanders are winning more with Taylor Heinicke at quarterback

For right now, the only stat that matters is wins.

While Taylor Heinicke starts at quarterback for the Commanders, the team is 5-1-1 in their last seven games.

How about Heinicke’s drive late in the fourth quarter, leading to his 28-yard touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson, tying the game at 20-20? On the drive, Heinicke completed six of his eight passing attempts for 90 yards and the tying touchdown.

Remember also the drive included a 4th & 4 from the Washington 27. Heinicke was forced out of the pocket and moving to his left, no less, saw and connected with Curtis Samuel for 20 yards to the Washington 47. If Heinicke does not move out of the pocket and find Samuel, the Giants gain possession of the ball deep in Washington territory up 20-13. Game over.

This tweet by Al Galdi brought some interesting interaction among Commanders fans.

Heinicke has come through wonderfully in the fourth quarter for Washington in most cases. Yet, if we are going to be objective and honest, there was also the Vikings game where his fourth-quarter interception was paramount.

It is also just as true that in the last three Commanders games, the offense has not produced a single pass play gaining at least 30 yards.

One must go all the way back to the Monday Night game at the Eagles when Heinicke connected with Terry McLaurin for 41 yards to locate the last time he had a pass completion for at least 30 yards.

When looking at the NFL passer ratings, 33 quarterbacks qualify for having enough passes thus far this season. Heinicke is 25th of the 33 at 86.3. Heinicke’s QBR is 26th of 33 at 42.9.

His net yards gained per pass attempt is up to 21st of 33 at 5.94. This means you don’t have to have a big arm to succeed in this very important metric. If you can get the ball on target to your skilled receivers in space, they can gain plenty of yards after the catch.

Yet, despite the passing offense often being less than productive, as the numbers reveal, the Commanders are 5-1-1 in games Heinicke has started. They are winning with the formula of running the ball often, winning the time of possession and leaning on your defense to keep you in each game.

It’s not the best formula, but it is showing to be good enough… at least for now.

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A good offensive stat for the Commanders in Houston

An interesting stat coming out of Sunday’s win over the Texans.

While the Commanders defense was sacking Texans quarterback Davis Mills five times, what did you notice regarding Taylor Heinicke being sacked?

Heinicke was not sacked the entire game, and what is significant about that is it was the first time this entire 2022 regular season that the Washington quarterback was not sacked.

In the 32-21 upset win in Philadelphia in Week 10, the Eagles got to Heinicke three times, as did the Vikings the previous week in the 20-17 loss at FedEx. In the 17-16 win in Indianapolis, the Colts sacked Heinicke twice, and in his first start this season he was sacked once by the Packers in the Commanders’ 23-21 victory.

Carson Wentz in his last start was injured against the Bears. Wentz managed to play the entire game but was sacked three times. In the 21-17 last-second loss to the Titans, Wentz was also sacked three times.

In the 25-10 loss at Dallas, Wentz went down twice. But of course, the absolute worst was the Week 3 blowout at FedEx by the Eagles, as they sacked Wentz nine times.

You may recall that Week 2 was pretty bad in a loss to the Lions in Detroit, where the silver and blue defense sacked Wentz five times. In the season-opening win over the Jaguars at FedEx, Wentz was only sacked once.

Thus far in 2022, Carson Wentz has made six starts, while Heinicke has started five contests. Wentz leads Heinicke in completion percentage (62.1 – 60.8), passing touchdowns (10-5), passing yards a game (248-206), and passer rating (84.1 – 81.8).

While Heinicke leads Wentz in yards per passing attempt (7.0 – 6.4), yards per completion (11.5 – 10.3), QBR (46.4 – 33), sack percentage (5.7 – 9.0), sacks (9 -23).

Coach Rivera would only offer that his decision to go with Heinicke over Wentz was strictly about winning. Washington is 2-4 in games started by Wentz while 4-1 with Heinicke.

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Commanders upset unbeaten Eagles in Philadelphia 32-21

Some interesting notes from Washington’s upset win over the Eagles.

The Commanders went into Philadelphia and won, played their best game of the 2022 season, and knocked off the previously undefeated Eagles 32-21.

The Eagles had frankly owned Washington recently, having won three straight and nine of the last 11 in the series.

Washington took command (yes, pun intended) of the ball and the clock in Philadelphia. The Commanders literally doubled up the Eagles, owning the ball for 40:24, leaving the Eagles with the ball only 19:31.

The Commanders ran 81 offensive plays to only 47 for the Eagles. Washington did not generate many big plays at all, thus they had 21 third-down plays. However, they converted 12 of those 21 third downs, keeping the ball and drives alive.

Scott Turner kept dialing up runs, and run the ball they did. Not for huge numbers, but they kept converting short-yardage situations. The Commanders ran the ball 49 times gaining 152 yards (3.1).

Some more interesting notes from the big Washington win Monday.

  1. The offense scored their first touchdown in the first quarter since the opening drive of the opening game against the Jaguars.
  2. Darrick Forrest’s interception was the first for Jalen Hurts since Week 4.
  3. Curtis Samuel caught a pass for 20+ yards for the fourth consecutive game.
  4. The Eagles had not trailed in the second half during the 2022 season.
  5. Washington scored on five consecutive possessions (two touchdowns, three field goals).
  6. The Eagles had turned over the ball only three times in their first eight games. They turned it over four times vs Washington Monday.
  7. Washington’s Jamin Davis got away with an obvious 15-yard face mask penalty when John Ridgeway caused a Dallas Goedert fumble, which Davis then recovered.
  8. Terry McLaurin was targeted a season-high 11 times, producing eight completions for 128 yards.
  9. Joey Slye was successful on all four of his field goal attempts (44, 58, 32, 55 yards).
  10. After scoring on five consecutive possessions, the Commanders offense on their final three possessions produced 5 plays for 32 yards, 4 plays for -2 yards, 3 plays for 8 yards, and 6 plays for 6 yards.

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NFC East goes 1-1 in Week 9

The Giants and Cowboys were off in Week 9.

With the NFL schedule having the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys both off for Week 9, the NFC East looked as if it was going to be 2-0.

The Eagles had already defeated the Texans 29-17 Thursday Night in Houston to remain the NFL’s only defeated team at 8-0.

The Commanders had the Vikings on the ropes and struggling to stay alive. Washington led 17-7 in the fourth quarter. The Vikings suddenly rallied, outscoring the Commanders 13-0 in the final quarter for the 20-17 win.

  • Eagles 8-0
  • Cowboys 6-2
  • Giants 6-2
  • Commanders 4-5

The Eagles’ victory means Philadelphia is 8-0 for the first time in franchise history. Jalen Hurts has the longest winning streak for an NFL starter, dating back to his final three games of 2021, for an 11-game total currently.

Hurts was pretty much flawless against the Texans, completing 21 of his 27 attempts for 243 yards, and two touchdowns.

Javon Hargrave was a beast against the Texans. Hargrave contributed seven tackles, three sacks, three tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits. He was clearly the dominant force on the line of scrimmage, Thursday.

The Commanders have to be kicking themselves for leading 17-7 early in the final quarter before being outscored 13-0 in the final frame. Taylor Heinicke had his typical game–inconsistent. Heinicke passed for 149 yards, though completing only 15 of 28 attempts. He only managed to produce 5.3 yards per attempt.

Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen had good games inside for the Commanders. Payne collected four solo tackles, four tackles for a loss, one sack and two QB hits. Allen contributed two tackles for a loss and four QB hits.

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The big win that got away from the Commanders

We explain how the Commanders blew a very winnable game against the Vikings.

Leading the Vikings 17-10, the Commanders were facing a 2nd &11 on their own 30-yard line.

With 8:10 remaining, Taylor Heinicke caught the snap standing on his own 25. Looking to his left, he began dropping straight back in his drop. When his right foot landed on the 20, he turned his attention to the middle of the field. He targeted TE Logan Thomas at the 42, but his pass sailed high over the 6-foot-6 and outstretched Thomas into the arms of Vikings free safety Harrison Smith at the 47.

Smith made the interception, broke toward the left sideline, returning it 35 yards to the Washington 12. Two plays later Kirk Cousins perfectly lofted a pass over Kam Curl into the left hand of Dalvin Cook for the tying touchdown as the clock read 7:46 remaining in the game.

I really dislike being simplistic, but leading 17-10, the defense playing well, the home crowd really into the game, Heinicke’s interception literally opened the gate for the Vikings.

The Vikings defense fired up, then held the Commanders to a mere 3 plays and -5 yards, sacking Heinicke on 3rd & 6 from the 29 for a 9-yard loss back on the Commanders 20.

FedEx Field had been rocking throughout the third and into the final quarter. Now the Vikings were taking possession at their own 44.

This final Vikings possession was like waiting all morning into the afternoon for a funeral to begin. The Commanders were now unable to stop the Vikings from producing three first downs. Then a penalty on defensive tackle John Ridgeway gifted a fourth first down to the Vikings.

All that remained was Greg Joseph to convert an easy 28-yard game-winning field goal with 12 seconds remaining, putting the Commanders and their fans out of their misery of watching a 17-7 4th quarter lead evaporate.

The Commanders could smell a fourth consecutive win and a 5-4 winning record being theirs in only a few minutes. Yet, they couldn’t finish off the Vikings when the Vikings were on the ropes and in trouble.

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Commanders face former quarterback Kirk Cousins and Vikings

Kirk Cousins returns to FedEx Field for the first time with the Vikings.

Kirk Cousins returns to FedEx Field Sunday for the first time since wearing the Burgundy and Gold.

Cousins has faced Washington once since departing for the Vikings. It was Oct. 24, 2019, in Minnesota on a Thursday Night Football game in which Cousins completed 23 of 26 passes in the 19-9 Vikings victory.

The last time the two franchises met at FedEx Field was a very competitive, entertaining game during the 2016 season. Washington raced out to a 14-0 lead as Cousins threw touchdown passes to Jamison Crowder (4 yards) and Vernon Davis (38 yards). Sam Bradford answered with two touchdown passes of his own for a Vikings 20-14 halftime lead.

The Washington defense then shut down the Vikings, and Dustin Hopkins contributed field goals from 30 and 37 yards in the third quarter and from 50 and 28 yards in the final quarter for a Washington 26-20 victory.

Cousins was his typical effective self, completing 22 of 33 for 262 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, averaging 7.9 yards per attempt for a 110.9 passer rating.

The 2022 Commanders (4-4) have won three games consecutively, and the Vikings (6-1) enter the FedEx Field contest with a five-game winning streak. Of course, this Sunday we hope and root for Taylor Heinicke and the Commanders to defeat Cousins and the Vikings.

Yet, there are those Washington fans who love to continually dump on Cousins, minimizing his accomplishments. Many of those folks even go as far as to assert Cousins played for himself, his stats and not the team. Yet, the last time Washington had a winning season, wasn’t it Kirk Cousins who started every game?

In addition, the last time Washington enjoyed two winning seasons (2015-16) wasn’t that Cousins who was their quarterback? On Twitter they declare, “9-7 and 8-7-1, you call that winning?” They go further, labeling Cousins a loser.

You wouldn’t take Cousins, rather than what you have had to endure the last five seasons? Wasn’t Cousins certainly much better than the 28 wins and 45 losses that have been recorded since his departure?

I wonder why it is when castigating and excoriating Cousins; these “fair and honest” fans can’t muster the courage to admit the obvious?