Studs and duds from Commanders Week 2 preseason loss to Chiefs

Stud: Taylor Heinicke

Heinicke needed a bounce-back game after his lousy showing vs Carolina and he admirably did just that. On his first drive, the fan favorite quarterback went 8-of-10 for 78 yards and a TD while targeting five different receivers. Perhaps this performance will cool the Sam Howell hype, as the rookie QB tossed an interception and held onto the football a little too long for our liking against Kansas City.

Dud: Return Game

Ron Rivera expressed his disappointment with the return game in Week 1 as the group struggled to get beyond the 20-yard line against Carolina. Those struggles were front and center Saturday. Antonio Gibson and Alex Erickson each totaled 17 yards on their returns and Kyric McGowan managed just 13 on his before Matt Cole compiled 26 yards on his lone return in garbage time.

Anyone else miss DeAndre Carter?

Stud: Kendall Fuller, Montez Sweat

OK, we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge Washington’s standout defensive players. Fuller applied sticky coverage in his limited reps, including an outstanding diving breakup on a Mahomes deep ball to the end zone. Sweat, on the other hand, generated consistent pressure and drew a holding penalty. His contributions will get overshadowed by the defense’s dud performance.

N/A: Carson Wentz

We would’ve liked to see more from Wentz in what was likely his final preseason action (Ron Rivera didn’t play starters in Week 3 last year), but there was no sense keeping him in there after Kansas City pulled its starters.

In two games, Wentz is 16-of-22 for 138 yards and zero touchdowns or interceptions. He made some plays (an 18-yarder to Terry McLaurin between the numbers) and missed some; taking a killer sack on 3rd and 5 that knocked Washington out of field goal range, but he’s the least of the team’s concerns right now.