Getty Image / Kevin Sabitus
The Washington Commanders have been on an absolute tear recently. After starting the season 1-4, they have now won 4 of their last 5, with the one loss coming by 3 against a strong Minnesota Vikings team. They even managed to hand the Philadelphia Eagles their first loss of the year on Monday night.
The team’s recent success has coincided with a major change. Carson Wentz was injured during the team’s win over the Chicago Bears in Week 6. In Week 7, Taylor Heinicke took over as the team’s starter after being replaced by Wentz during the offseason.
Heinicke has gone 3-1 as the starter and has seemingly rejuvenated a struggling squad.
This week, Wentz became eligible to be activated from IR, leading some to wonder if his starting job would be waiting for him upon his return.
Wentz hasn’t been activated yet as the medical staff hasn’t cleared him, but the Commanders have already made their decision on who will start for them. Head coach Ron Rivera made the announcement today that Heinicke would start on Sunday against the Texans.
Ron Rivera announced that QB Taylor Heinicke will start Sunday vs. the Texans.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 16, 2022
Even once Carson Wentz is cleared, it’s hard to see how the Commanders could name him the starter. The offense was struggling with Wentz under center, scoring just 8 points the first time the team played the Eagles, 10 against the Cowboys, and 12 against the Bears.
The offense hasn’t been great with Heinicke and you could make the argument that he hasn’t been any better than Wentz, but right now the team has momentum. When you’re deciding between 2 quarterbacks who haven’t firmly grabbed a hold of the job, that should be enough to make the decision.
Luckily for Heinicke, he gets to play a bad Texans team in a game where the offense will likely revolve around the run game, so he should be able to keep the momentum going ahead of Wentz’s return.
It will be interesting to see what they do once Wentz is activated or if they stop winning with Heinicke.