Heinicke!

January 10, 2021  /  0 Comments
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Fifteen years ago, Washington’s safety, Sean Taylor, returned a fumble for a touchdown to beat Tampa Bay 17-10. That was the last time the Washington Football Team won a playoff game. Fast forward from 2006 to 2021 and Washington lost to Tampa Bay 31-23 on a Super Wildcard Saturday playoff game. The 7-9 Washington Football Team won the NFC East and hosted the 11-5 Buccaneers. (Super Wild is an understatement!)

No one, I mean NO ONE outside of the burgundy and gold gave The Washington Football Team a prayer against Tom Brady. Brady has started in 42 postseason games during his 20 seasons in the NFL. Brady holds the NFL record with 31 postseason wins. Second on that list is Joe Montana with 16 postseason wins. There’s a reason Brady is called the GOAT.

This season as a Washington fan has been different from the last decade of sheer embarrassment. The revolving door of changes in coaches and players has been nothing new. But this season, we witnessed real change. (I’ll exclude the team name from this.) In a season that started with a team up in flames in every direction turned into a season that gave you something to cheer for.

When Alex Smith played in his first game since the 2018, the comeback was nothing short of a miracle. When it was announced that Coach Rivera had completed cancer treatments while still coaching was the example of strength and leadership. Sweeping Dallas was the cherry on top. After Thanksgiving, whatever else happened win or lose, it already felt like we had won.

This season was a roller coaster of emotions filled with highs and lows. With Alex Smith in the game, we knew he gave us the best chance of winning. With Haskins Jr. gone, the noise became cheers for a team that was still in the playoff hunt. And then, thanks to Scott Turner and the sports gods, we were sent a scrappy kid from Old Dominion University. A guy who had been out of the league for almost two years, was living with his sister and taking online classes to finish his degree by the name of Taylor Heinicke. Pronounced High-Nah-Key.

For the last decade I have heard this name over and over and over. My parents are ODU alum and if you want to know what love is, just listen to how my dad talks about Heinicke. He’ll tell you how underrated Heinicke is on the field and that he just seems like a great guy off the field too. I can’t even begin to explain the pure joy it was for my dad to see Heinicke in his NFL team’s jersey.

Heinicke came into week 16 against the Panthers showing a lot of grit and moxie. He got his first NFL start against Tom Brady in the postseason. The Washington marketing team posted a dope hype video by Wale with the hashtag #WhyNotUs knowing that the Super Wildcard Saturday game would be David vs. Goliath.

Heinicke was the most talked about player on and off the field. He was electric while throwing for 306 yards, Houdini with his ability to escape and use his legs, fearless of anyone on the field, and definition of playing your heart out. Minus an interception that was tipped by a defensive lineman and receivers dropping almost perfect passes, Heinicke was stunning. On a 3rd & 5 on the 8 yard-line, he steps back from the pocket, ducked, weaved, sprinted and dove from the 4-yard line for the touchdown. Basically, it was like watching Michael Jordan play football. Just a WOW moment.

Heinicke is now one of six other Washington quarterbacks to throw for more than 300 yards in a playoff game. He joins Kirk Cousins, Mark Rypien, Doug Williams, Joe Theismann and Sammy Baugh. No one knows what the future holds for Heinicke, but we hope he is in a Washington jersey.

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