Ron Rivera’s supposed QB plan for rest of season makes no sense

The Washington Football Team’s season is all but over.

In a vacuum, in order to make the playoffs the club must win its final two games, which starts at home against the Eagles this Sunday, and watch sheer chaos ensue amongst the squads ahead of it in the standings.

So yeah, Washington needs a miracle.

Given the team’s back is up against the wall, a large chunk of the fan base is clamoring for a quarterback change after Taylor Heinicke’s latest forgettable performance in Sunday night’s 56-14 beatdown vs the Cowboys.

While Kyle Allen is by no means the future in Landover, he did reasonably well after Heinicke was pulled in the second half of that game. Based on merit alone, the 25-year-old deserves to start the last two games.

Despite that being obvious to seemingly every fan, Ron Rivera is planning on using both quarterbacks in Weeks 17 and 18.

Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera’s QB plan for the rest of the season is tough to swallow.

"“We’re gonna stick with Taylor right now,” Rivera told reporters on Monday. “Will we play Kyle? Probably, and not as an indictment of Taylor or anything like that, but just that we also wanna make sure we get a really good look at Kyle.”"

Um, why is this the plan? At this point, Rivera shouldn’t feel obligated to give Heinicke another start for the rest of 2021. Over the last two games (both against Dallas), Heinicke is 18-of-47 (38.3%) for 243 yards and two touchdowns to three interceptions, equating to a passer rating of 43.8.

Does that output really warrant another start?

Everybody and their grandmother could point out Rivera waited longer than he should have to pull the plug on Heinicke against Dallas. Now, he wants to give Heinicke another crack…but not for the whole game?

It sure feels like a play it by ear situation. If so, fans deserve better.

We understand Heinicke’s been the guy all season, but he’s given Washington no chance of winning his last two starts. Both of those games were blowouts. The only reason the Week 14 scoreline even looks respectable is because Dak Prescott gift-wrapped a pick-six for Cole Holcomb late in the fourth quarter.

Let’s also not forget Rivera invested a fifth-round pick in Allen last year and he went on to supplant Dwayne Haskins as the starter. Why is Rivera suddenly so apathetic about seeing Allen play now?

It’s not like Heinicke is setting the world on fire and making this a difficult call. Both his stats and the ever-reliable eye test tells you he’s played like one of the worst QBs in the league over the last two-plus games. Truth be told, it’s a miracle he only has 14 interceptions on his resume this season.

What does Washington have to lose by starting Allen? He’s made 17 starts in his career and his arm strength, which is leaps and bounds better than Heinicke’s, could stand to benefit an offense that’s dead-last in yards per game (239.3), 26th in points (17.0) and 25th in passing yards (239.3) over the last three weeks.

Enough beating around the bush. Give Allen the last two games and see if he can inject some life into Washington’s listless offense.