What is Ron Rivera thinking with this move? Ron Rivera has turned back to Carson Wentz to be the starting quarterback of the Washington Commanders in what can only be described as one of the dumbest moves all season long.
I’m sorry, Ron, but what in the world are you thinking with pulling Taylor Heinicke and replacing him with Carson Wentz with just two games left? Are you trying to get fired for missing the playoffs for the second year in a row?
Ever since Carson Wentz went down with an injury against the Bears in Week 6, the Washington Commanders have gone on a tear (relatively speaking) with Heinicke under center. In his nine games as a starter, Heinicke has completed 62.2% of his passes for 1,859 yards for 12 TDs and 6 INTs, helping the Commanders go 5-3-1 to improve their overall record to 7-7-1 and sit as the 7th and final Wild Card team in the NFC.
Sure, these aren’t great stats by any means when you compare them to guys like Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers, or Joe Burrow, but they most certainly are the best a Washington QB has produced since Krik Cousins was under center.
Plus, Heinicke is still the only quarterback in the last 7 years to have taken the Commanders to the playoffs as he was the QB that lead the 7-9 Washinton team against the soon-to-be Super Bowl Champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 playoffs. In his three years with Washington, he’s been extremely calm and collected under all of the pressure and circumstances that comes with Dan Synder’s malignant presence, while he has also been productive under center as he has a career 5,415 passing yards, 33 TDs, and 21 INTs with the team.
His energetic leadership style and unwavering commitment to the team has not only made him a fan favorite but has also endeared him to the entire Washington locker room as proven by the Commanders’ winning record with Heinicke under center.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about Carson Wentz.
Yes, the man is tough and willing to fight until the very end, but that usual comes at a price of his accuracy and judgment of where passes should be thrown and where they should not. Simply put, Wentz is not a starting quarterback in this league as his judgment and precision has not developed since his first few seasons in Philly, leading to his teams often losing with him starting.
I mean, the Washington Commanders were an utter mess with Wentz as the QB early on in the season as they had a 2-4 record and were coming off a game against the 3-12 Bears in which Wentz only completed 12 passes for 99 yards. Remember, THAT WAS AGAINST THE BEARS!
Of course, Wentz is the more talented of the two QBs as he was the 2nd overall pick in the 2016 draft and has 62.9% completion percentage, 1,612 passing yards, 11 TDs, and 5 INTs in two less games than Heinicke.
But all of that talent is for naught if he is losing games for the franchise. And that’s why Rivera turning back to Wentz will end up dooming the Commanders to another year outside of the playoffs as the team won’t be beating the Browns or the Giants with Wentz, while the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks will win at least one of their final two games to supplant Washington as the 7th seed.
It was a good run, Washington fans, but you’re head coach has just ended your season prematurely for no reason.
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