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Washington Football Team: 3 quotes that prove Taylor Heinicke was built for this

By Jerry Trotta

LANDOVER, MARYLAND - AUGUST 20: Taylor Heinicke #4 of the Washington Football Team scrambles out of the pocket in the second half during the NFL preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at FedExField on August 20, 2021 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MARYLAND - AUGUST 20: Taylor Heinicke #4 of the Washington Football Team scrambles out of the pocket in the second half during the NFL preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at FedExField on August 20, 2021 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Washington Football Team
Washington head coach Ron Rivera. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

2. Ron Rivera believes

A relationship between a head coach and quarterback is imperative in today’s NFL.

Look no further than Sunday night’s game between the Chiefs and Ravens when John Harbaugh asked Lamar Jackson if they should go for a fourth-and-short in their own territory to ice the game. Jackson didn’t even make it to the sidelines before the offense ran back on the field and pulled off the upset on a QB draw.

While Heinicke and Ron Rivera don’t flaunt that kind of chemistry (yet), it speaks volumes that Rivera advocated for Washington to sign Heinicke.

Rivera is the type of coach who embraces the tough love philosophy. He’ll praise his players, but they have to earn it. After Heinicke’s big-time performance on Thursday, well, Rivera couldn’t help but speak glowingly about his QB.

In fact, Rivera had a hunch that Heinicke would put the game on ice after what he threw what looked to be a game-deciding interception.

"“That’s exactly how he played, it was very gutty,” Rivera added. “The thing that was real impressive about him was the way he bounced back after the turnover. Prior to that, he went down and, in what, three plays, he scored a touchdown and turned around, and we were trying to kill the clock, and he made a bad read, made a bad decision.” “He has a little swagger to him, and his teammates feed off of him. When you watch the way those guys do feed off of him, it is pretty impressive."

Bouncing back in the face of adversity is one thing, but for Rivera to have the utmost confidence in Heinicke to lead a game-winning drive after he just threw a potential confidence-shattering INT proves nothing fazes him.

Those are must-have intangibles for franchise QB, and we’re having serious trouble finding a box that Heinicke doesn’t check in that regard.

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