But is quarterback Taylor Heinicke able to serving to his crew evolve?
Heinicke has achieved immeasurable good for the Commanders. His magic is a major purpose the crew, 2-4 when he took over, is now 7-5-1 with a reliable shot at the postseason. But after one other inconsistent efficiency Sunday in a 20-20 tie in opposition to the New York Giants, it’s troublesome to think about the subpar passing sport will take a big step ahead beneath Heinicke. It’s attainable Rivera will spend the bye week forward contemplating whether or not Heinicke is the proper quarterback to unlock the subsequent stage of the offense (and the crew).
“Who he is — that gave us a chance,” Rivera mentioned of Heinicke’s play Sunday, although he might’ve been describing the season. “[But] again, if we can eliminate some of the missed things, I think he could’ve made a few more plays for us.”
During this stretch, the passing sport has capped the potential of the run-heavy, high-floor offense. The struggles haven’t solely been on Heinicke — move blocking just isn’t the line’s energy — however he has been unable to constantly threaten the opposing protection as a thrower. The limitations of his arm energy have proven in a number of methods, significantly in the purple zone and downfield, and his accuracy has been scattershot. Since Heinicke grew to become the starter, 17 p.c of his throws have been off-target, in accordance to TruMedia, which is the third-highest fee in the NFL.
Perhaps the clearest instance of offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s hesitance to lean on the passing sport got here Sunday. Late in the fourth quarter, Heinicke pulled off one other heroic drive, however in time beyond regulation, he missed a safety name and was sacked, almost for a game-losing security. Two performs later, Washington confronted an apparent passing scenario — third and 10 at its personal 10 — and Turner took the ball out of Heinicke’s palms, calling a run up the center and successfully taking part in for the tie.
“We didn’t want to do anything crazy,” Rivera mentioned.
Going into the bye, does Rivera really feel his crew is lacking something offensively?
“What we’re going to do during the bye week is evaluate that,” he mentioned.
It appears unlikely Turner will help Heinicke any extra as a passer. Turner already makes use of gadgetry, reminiscent of movement and play-action, at a few of the league’s highest charges, and he has developed a various run sport able to success regardless of defenses keying on it. Heinicke is throwing off-target passes extra typically this 12 months than he did final 12 months — he sailed a number of passes Sunday due to a mechanical difficulty, Rivera mentioned — and Turner can’t assist Heinicke on throws with out gadgetry.
This 12 months, Heinicke’s true drop-back stats are amongst the lowest in the league — 34 for 57 (59.6 p.c) for 438 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, in accordance to Sports Info Solutions — and are comparable to his profession charges.
Seemingly certainly one of the solely buttons left for Turner to push could be to use extra no-huddle. Heinicke excels with tempo, and when Washington has used at the least one no-huddle play this 12 months, it has scored on 12 of 16 drives (75 p.c); with out tempo, it has scored on 29 of 71 drives (40.8 p.c). In the previous two months, Heinicke has reiterated a number of instances that he’s “very comfortable” with the two-minute offense, partly as a result of he used it typically in faculty.
More tempo is dangerous, although. Washington’s ball-control offense rests the protection, and if its league-leading time of possession had been to dip, it’d tax defenders and disrupt the components. On Sunday, Washington had an eight-minute drive that didn’t cross midfield, prompting the query: What good is having the ball for all that point if the offense can’t do something with it?
In early November, Heinicke was requested a number of instances throughout a number of weeks about whether or not the offense might incorporate extra no-huddle. He demurred every time, saying tempo won’t be as efficient in conditions apart from two-minute drills as a result of opponents would defend it in a different way.
“Every week I go in, I’m very excited about the game plan that Scott puts together, and we have full trust in it,” Heinicke mentioned Nov. 10. “It’s just [about] us executing it better. I think if we can just do that, [more tempo] wouldn’t even be a topic.”
If Rivera determines there’s nothing extra Washington can do to assist Heinicke, both with scheme or personnel, then he may sooner or later determine to flip to one other quarterback. Carson Wentz (finger) is practising however nonetheless on injured reserve. Sam Howell is a fifth-round rookie who has by no means performed an NFL snap. If Rivera had been to change quarterbacks, it’s exhausting to think about him not selecting Wentz, not solely due to the belongings the crew gave up to get him but in addition as a result of, regardless of the rocky begin, Wentz confirmed flashes of having the ability to stretch the area together with his arm.
And for all of Heinicke’s struggles, Rivera may also determine to keep on with him. He is 5-1-1 as a starter, and regardless that most groups don’t seem to concern his arm, he appears to have that unquantifiable high quality that every week makes him able to doing simply sufficient.
The good distillation of Heinicke got here Sunday, on fourth and 4 late in the fourth quarter. He rolled out to his left, away from stress, and hit extensive receiver Curtis Samuel for a vital conversion on the approach to the game-tying landing. It was exhausting to think about one other quarterback on the roster making that play, which was maybe solely so magnified as a result of most likely no different quarterback on the roster would’ve been in that scenario in the first place.