5 negatives for Washington Football Team vs Chiefs

The Washington Football Team took another major step in the wrong direction on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs in a battle at FedEx Field.  The visitors from the Heartland won a mistake-filled slugfest and left the home team to deal with plenty of soul searching.

Was it a must win game?  The Washington Football Team had hopes of keeping their playoff dreams and a second straight NFC East title alive.  Those dreams are all but dead and there are major concerns for the remainder of the 2021 season.  With a very tough stretch of games ahead, the reality of a lost season is quickly coming to fruition.  Washington is now 2-4 on the season and it could be much worse.  A bone-headed penalty saved them against the Giants.  Last minute heroics saved them against the Falcons.  In reality, the Burgundy and Gold could be 0-6 right now.

The Chiefs and the Saints (the prior game) exposed Washington as an undisciplined, unprincipled, uninspiring, and unprepared team on many levels.  Is Washington a playoff team?  It’s not a division title team at this moment, but it is an over-hyped team that lacks several tangibles to be a consistent winner.  Is the Burgundy and Gold a dumpster fire that continues to spread to the forest with no end in sight?  Is it time to push the panic button and realize that the Washington Football Team employs good players that lack focus and the will to win?

Welcome to this week’s analysis of the latest disaster that unfolded on Sunday.  Yours truly missed the analysis of the Saints game due to medical challenges, but we are back this week with an analysis of the Chiefs game and a few mentions of the Saints game.  The examination this week will be succinct, but honest and fiercely detailed.  This is not done in anger or frustration, but most fans are certainly feeling these emotions and understandably so.

The five negatives this week could be easily multiplied by ten and that is only scratching the surface.  We’ll keep it centered on what occurred on Sunday and do so in an abstract and constructive manner.  The grades and evaluations will be somewhat harsh, but fair.  For better or worse, let’s get to the sordid details.  Do you have a strong stomach?

5 negatives for Washington vs Chiefs

1. Taylor Heinicke is not an NFL starter

It had to happen at some point, but Taylor Heinicke difficulties against the Chiefs and Saints were on display.  He has looked very pedestrian for the last two weeks.  The former ODU standout resembles, well, an undrafted free agent rookie and is simply in over his head as a starter in the league.  He has been an inspiration to fans since late in the 2020 season and analysts loved his feel good story.  Does it end here?  That could be somewhat premature and only time will tell, but the overall assessment is not encouraging.

The most troubling aspect of Heinicke’s play the last two weeks were the easy misses to wide open receivers and several passes that were severely underthrown.  He turned in a 47.6 rating against the Saints and was mostly ineffective against the Chiefs – a team that is the 32nd ranked defense in the league.

The Washington Football Team has been plagued with poor quarterback play for nearly three decades now and Heinicke could be the latest in a long line of disappointments.  Is more time needed to see if he is that guy?  No.  Heinicke is a decent backup, but he is gaining some experience this season and that could help Washington in future seasons if an injury occurs to the starter.  Unfortunately, number 4 is the first negative for this week.