The Washington Commanders had a golden opportunity in Week 15. Beat the New York Giants, and you have a strong hold on the No. 6 NFC wild-card position. Washington lost but remains in the No. 7 and final position.
Head coach Ron Rivera was understandably upset after the game, blaming missed opportunities, particularly in the red zone, for Washington’s offensive woes.
Rivera met with the media Monday and discussed some of the team’s problems on offense. Naturally, that led to a quarterback discussion and Taylor Heinicke.
Heinicke actually threw the ball reasonably well Sunday, but the Commanders offense continues to stall in the red zone. There are multiple reasons for some of Washington’s red-zone issues, including pass protection, playcalling and Heinicke. Remember Washington’s Week 13 tie against the Giants when Heinicke missed a wide-open Logan Thomas for a touchdown?
Rivera was asked if he was considering a quarterback change.
“No, no. I think that the biggest thing more anything else is sticking with Taylor and what we’re trying to establish,” Rivera said. “It is something though that obviously is talked about, obviously out there and it is something that, to be quite frank, I do have to think about at some point. But if we can continue to get back on track and play the way we’ve played and do the things that we’ve done, then we’ll stick with where we are. Until then, I will do that.”
You can appreciate Rivera’s honesty here. He didn’t give the coachspeak answer that “Taylor is our guy regardless.” Rivera understands the Commanders are in a much different place this week than they were a week ago.
Rivera likely understands that Heinicke or Carson Wentz is not the solution, but it’s about who can help the Commanders win right now. And that’s a difficult decision because there are so many things to balance.
Rivera said he spoke with Heinicke after Sunday’s game.
“I think my conversation with Taylor last night, it was, ‘Hey look, we had some really good moments during this game. We did some really good things, but we’ve gotta build on it now. We’ve gotta finish. We truthfully gotta finish in the red zone,'” Rivera said of his conversation with Heinicke. “I think again, a lot of it, as long as I’m open with him and he understands where I’m coming from, I think we both get the messaging.”
The Commanders have a difficult week in front of them for Week 16. Washington travels to San Francisco for an evening game on Saturday — Christmas Eve. We know the statistics of teams traveling to the opposite coast, so the Commanders have that working against them.
Washington needs Heinicke to answer with a strong performance against a terrific San Francisco defense.
