Let's get one thing clear... The Commanders will look better under Heinicke. It's obvious. Heinicke has run the same offense for his entire NFL career, including starting fifteen games for the, then, Washington Football Team last season. The question isn't if it'll look better. The question is how many points can they score?
When it comes to Heinicke, all I can do is judge him on his last start vs the Giants in 2021. Sure, he was the first QB to sweep the Giants in a season since Rex Grossman did it back in 2011, but the team left a ton on the field that day because of his inability to stretch the field.
Outside of that ability, Heinicke can pretty much do anything Wentz can and probably better. I'm intrigued to see how he'll look with a full complement of weapons. For as much as Week 18 in 2021 pissed me off, Heinicke is capable of putting up some decent numbers. Last season he had a few games where he snapped but, that arm is a severe limitation on his overall game and most likely will continue to be. Hope I'm wrong, though.
Can I show some love to the defense for a second? They've played well enough to win the last two games. JDR and the crew still have some things to clean up, like Kendall Fuller's weekly torching and Holcomb's field sense; but besides that, the rest of the unit is playing well. Especially the defensive line. Forget about Allen, Payne, and Sweat... Can I shout out Efe Obada? My goodness, I've been hearing his name all season. He has been impactful and will be a nice rotation piece once Chase Young returns. Also, shoutout to Kam Curl. That’s been my guy since day one and he’s been one of PFF’s highest-rated safeties this season.
The season is hanging in balance. The defense is improving and a lot of people are excited (some are TOO excited) about the potential of #4 playing.
Heinicke SZN is unstoppable. We're going to feel it one way or another.