Heinicke's magic runs out in crushing loss to Vikings originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
LANDOVER, Md. — Taylor Heinicke played with fire for almost all of Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Vikings. And for much of the game, he was able to avoid disaster.
But ultimately, Heinicke’s luck ran out, with one mistake proving costly in Minnesota’s 20-17 comeback victory that featured 13 unanswered fourth-quarter points by the visitors.
“We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities,” head coach Ron Rivera said postgame. “Enough mistakes to go around for everybody.”
This Sunday was Heinicke’s 18th regular season start for the Commanders since 2021. Washington knows what comes with Heinicke under center. The highs are excellent, evident by the QB’s final drive in Indianapolis last week. The lows are a reminder of why the organization sought to upgrade at the position this past offseason.
The full Heinicke experience was on display throughout the afternoon at FedEx Field on Sunday.
During the first half, at least three of the quarterback’s passes were batted down at the line of scrimmage. Another was tipped before Terry McLaurin made an impressive catch. Then to begin the second half, Heinicke connected with Curtis Samuel on a miraculous 49-yard touchdown pass — one that had a real chance of being intercepted if that back judge could’ve avoided the Minnesota Vikings defensive back Camryn Bynum.
“Definitely need to give a game ball to that ref for knocking down that safety,” Heinicke half-joked postgame.
Washington Football Talk Podcast | Listen and Follow | Watch on YouTube
But after getting away with one dangerous throw after another, Heinicke’s good luck caught up to him.
It started on the Commanders’ second drive of the third quarter. Leading by three and moving the football effectively, Washington faced a fourth-and-1 from the Vikings’ 38-yard line. Scott Turner called a rollout for Heinicke, who appeared to have McLaurin open on the crossing route. Heinicke’s pass didn’t have enough zip on it, though, which allowed Akayleb Evans to break up the pass.
“That was a play we were looking forward to running in that situation. They covered it well,” Heinicke said. “I felt like I could’ve put a little bit more zip on the ball to Terry to really give him a shot to come back and get it. It kind of floated on me and the defense made a good play. … For [the incompletion] to happen, that’s just a little frustrating.”
Heinicke responded well on the following drive, which ended with a Dax Milne touchdown. The Vikings would counter with a field goal on the next possession, bringing the deficit back to seven.
Washington’s next offensive drive was when things truly began to go sideways. Leading by a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, Heinicke sailed a pass over the head of tight end Logan Thomas and into the hands of Vikings safety Harrison Smith.
Heinicke said postgame that he wanted to throw a high pass to Thomas to get the football over the head of Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks, but the pass sailed on him out of his hand. He took full responsibility for the errant throw but was also especially frustrated that his mistake gave the Minnesota offense — one that had struggled since the opening drive of the game — a short field with the chance to tie the game.
“No one is going to be harder on me than myself,” Heinicke said. “It goes back to that interception. If we don’t give them a short field there — our defense is playing lights out — and make them drive the field, they still have to score 10 points at that moment. That was a tough one to swallow, for sure.”
“Unfortunately he gave one away,” Rivera said on the interception. “But that hard part about it was [his read] was right. If he brings that ball down, that’s a first down, we’ve got the ball and we’re still rolling. Unfortunately, we didn’t.”
Two plays later, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins found running back Dalvin Cook for a game-tying touchdown. A 10-point Commanders lead evaporated in roughly seven minutes.
Against both the Green Bay Packers and Colts in wins last month, Heinicke responded to turnovers exceptionally well. But this Sunday, he was unable to pull through. The Commanders went three-and-out on the following drive, giving the football right back to Minnesota.
The Vikings then moved the football, but a Commanders’ third-down stop just before the two-minute warning appeared to force Minnesota into a field goal attempt. But on the try, John Ridgeway was flagged for unnecessary roughness, which provided a fresh set of downs.
With the Commanders down to just one timeout, the Vikings were able to kill most of the remaining game clock before Cory Joseph knocked through a 22-yard field goal with 12 seconds left. The penalty prevented Heinicke and Washington’s offense from getting one more true chance.
“It’s unfortunate,” Heinicke said. “We were hoping to get the ball back and have a chance to go down there and win or tie it. But it’s football. It’s crazy.”
Washington’s inability to close out Minnesota while leading by 10 in the final frame left a hollow feeling inside the locker room following the contest.
“It’s frustrating, especially when you have the chance to win the game,” McLaurin said. “We had the ball in our hands and that’s definitely when it stings a bit more because you put yourself in a situation to win the game against a very good team. When you don’t come out with those, you start thinking back what play you could’ve done to do better.”
“We want to win football games,” tackle Charles Leno added. “We had an opportunity to do that and we didn’t.”
Sunday’s loss to Minnesota was just the latest chapter of the Heinicke experience, something Rivera described as a “roller coaster ride” following the game. The past three games have been just that.
“You’re on top of the world one week and then you feel like everything is crashing down on you the next,” Heinicke said. “It’s a tough one but I’m proud of the guys for how they fought.”
And, even after the disappointing ending, Rivera shared a rather positive view of his quarterback’s play.
“He makes a lot of good decisions where to throw the ball,” Rivera said. “[His play has] been well enough to give us a chance to win two out of the last three games, obviously.”
Things don’t get easier for the Commanders moving forward, as they face the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles next week on Monday Night Football. Washington has no time to dwell on Sunday’s heartbreaking loss if they hope to knock off the NFC’s top team next week.
“We’ve got a big one coming up in Philly [on] Monday night,” Heinicke said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun and I think we’re up for the challenge.”
