‘I have a lot of trust in him:’ Heinicke, Sims in sync on TD originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
When Taylor Heinicke orchestrated his breakout performance in the 2020 Divisional Round playoffs for his first start in the burgundy and gold, Cam Sims was enjoying one of the biggest games of his young career as well.
Heinicke got all the headlines. He scored two touchdowns, threw for over 300 yards and kept Washington close in a 31-23 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yet Sims stuffed the stat sheet as well, reeling in seven catches on 13 targets for 104 yards — a total he’s only once eclipsed so far in his four-year NFL career.
That Heinicke-Sims connection has only grown since then. Though Sims didn’t see the field a ton in 2021, the duo has spent a lot of time in training camp working on the same unit. It translated into six points during the second quarter of Saturday’s preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, when Heinicke threw a ball up to Sims in the back of the end zone that he reeled in for the touchdown.
“We had a play where I was supposed to go left but the safety floated over, the one high safety floated over and I knew there was going to be a big area for Cam to win and fortunately he did,” Heinicke said in a postgame interview on Commanders Postgame Live.
“I have a lot of trust in him and threw a ball that he could get and he made a good play. So, me and Cam have had a really good connection ever since the Tampa Bay playoff game…every time he’s out there I feel really comfortable throwing him the ball. He’s a big body, a lot of range to catch the ball. Cam is a good player and I like when he’s out there.”
Just a few plays prior, Sims took a shot from a Chiefs defensive back on a ball over the middle. It looked like the hit might have warranted some extended medical attention, but Sims pestered Ron Rivera to put him back in the game and the head coach relented. Heinicke thought he “owed him one” for putting him in that dangerous position and rewarded the 6-foot-5 pass catcher with a red-zone target.
For as comfortable Heinicke feels throwing Sims the ball, the feeling is mutual on the other end.
“I know he’s gonna make some magic happen,” Sims said after the game. “T-Magic, he’s gonna do his thing, I’m gonna do my thing and we just gonna have a great connection.”
