WFT Backup QB Taylor Heinicke Mixes Flash, Fumble

Taylor Heinicke won't be named the starting quarterback for the Washington Football Team entering Week 1. That said, he also isn't going down without a fight.

With the second preseason game now acting as the new "dress rehearsal" for most NFL teams, WFT fans expected to see more reps from veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick Friday night against the Cincinnati Bengals. For someone who played only two drives against New England last week, the 38-year-old did expand his time on the field.

Fitzpatrick finished the night hitting his short passes but misfiring downfield in going 7 of 13 passing for 96 yards on four drives. Heinicke took over in the second quarter with the game tied 3-3.

Heinicke won't get credited for the 17-13 victory against the Bengals, but his success in the second and third quarter drove the way for Washington to remain in contention before third-stringer Kyle Allen's game-winning drive.

Heinicke completed his first nine passes and finished 11 of 13 for 80 yards. He looked comfortable moving the ball on first and second down, finishing with three completions of 10 yards, including a 16-yard pass to second-year wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden.

Heinicke also tacked on another 26 yards with is feet.

"I thought we had really good protection tonight," Heinicke told reporters postgame. "We moved the ball well, got a lot of first downs, we got in the red zone but we couldn't score a touchdown. That's something we'll be working on the next week or two and hopefully get better at that."

He nearly had a touchdown throw to Cam Sims just before halftime, but a second look from the referees ruled it incomplete. A perfect spiral left his hand, but placement was just off. An inch or two closer and Heinicke walks into Week 3 with the second touchdown pass of preseason.

Henicke, however, get loose with the football on a second-quarter scramble that led to a fumble.

Proving much more mobile and elusive than Fitzpatrick, Heinicke bought time in the pocket and scrambled for positive yardage when necessary.

"There's always stuff to work on," Heinicke said. "Protection, better balls, stuff like that. For the next couple of weeks, I'm sure we'll get better at that."

Washington converted on third down just twice with Heinicke leading the offense. Then again, they only faced third down four times while he was under center.

In January, Heinicke earned the respect of head coach Ron Rivera and the front office for filling in at QB in a close loss to eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay.

He's likely earned that respect again. This time around, it's to solidify his status at QB No. 2 on the depth chart.

And whose to say that can't soon become QB1?

Fitzpatrick enters his 17th season since being drafted out of Harvard. He hasn't been a full-time starter since 2016 with the New York Jets. The last time he posted a winning record came in 2015, leading New York to a 10-6 finish.

In back-to-back weeks, Heinicke looks that part of a work in progress, but one with upside. In two games, he's averaged under 6.0 yards per throw. However, his average QB rating of 84.1 is higher than Fitzpatrick's 81.1.

Does that mean anything in the preseason? No. Does that at least buy Heinicke a week to prove he could be in the running for QB1?

Why not? What does Rivera have to lose?

After a 7-9 NFC East-clinching season, Washington is looking to build off the 2020 campaign. The defense has a chance to be a top-five unit with new additions in William Jackson III, Benjamin St-Juste and rookie first-round pick Jamin Davis.

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Offensively, WFT is hopeful the passing game can expand with a trio of new wide receivers. Last year, Terry McLaurin finished with nearly 800 yards more than the next receiver. Curtis Samuel, Adam Humphries and rookie Dyami Brown could fix that by midseason.

Everything, however, comes down to the quarterback spot. Rivera can't waste a season on a player who doesn't work due to a higher contract. If Heinicke looks the part, why not give him a shot?

"He seems a little bit smarter," Rivera said. "He's sliding a little bit more. He's running out of bound a couple more times. That made me happy."

For now. Fitzpatrick will remain the starter. He's not the future of the organization, but experience is earned, not taught. Fitzpatrick has 165 games under his belt; Heinicke eight.

If fans can take away anything from Friday night, it's that Heinicke deserves to remain on the roster. Less than 10 months after keeping Washington alive late in the postseason, he showed confidence in leading two scoring on the way to a win.

Maybe Week 1 Fitzpatrick is the starter. After that, the rest is up for grabs. And Heinicke? He's giving Washington a reason to believe he could actually work if asked to start.

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