Washington Football Team Reality Checks for Week 5 vs New Orleans
By Tim Payne
2. The Reality Is, Taylor Heinicke may struggle against this defense.
Heinicke is, deservedly so, riding high after his performance in Atlanta. His playmaking, creativity, toughness and skills were all on display in yet another solid performance for the Washington Football Team in Week 4. He’s silenced the vast majority of the “there’s no way he can sustain this” crowd and is now dealing mostly with those who are true believers and those who “need more time”.
I fall firmly in the latter category as I have ever since his start in the playoffs. I love his story, I love his style, and I love his attitude. And I genuinely think there’s a chance he could be another Jeff Garcia. Along the way, I fully expect some ups and downs, and I am growing more and more confident there will be more ups than down if he’s given the support he needs from teammates and coaches.
But I have a feeling Sunday may be one of those downs. I expect New Orleans to bring a ton of pressure. I expect several key weapons to miss the game on top of Logan Thomas and Brandon Scherff already being listed as out. And ultimately, I think Washington’s defense won’t hold up their end of the bargain to allow the offense to stay as balanced as Heinicke will need it to be this early in his career. I think he’ll fare better than he did in Buffalo, but it won’t be a shining specimen of quarterbacking by any stretch.