Taylor Heinicke, whose flair for dramatic performances made him a legend at Old Dominion, showed flashes of his old brilliance in his NFL playoff debut Saturday night.
Heinicke, announced as the Washington Football Team’s starting quarterback hours before kickoff, held his own in a dynamic duel during a 31-23 loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FedEx Field.
Heinicke completed 26 of 44 passes for 306 yards and a touchdown. He also was Washington’s leading rusher with 46 yards on six attempts, including an 8-yard TD run with a highlight-reel worthy dive at the pylon.
Starter Alex Smith, nursing a calf injury, was inactive after playing all the snaps in the previous week’s regular-season finale against Philadelphia.
“It was gutsy,” Washington coach Ron Rivera said, referring to Heinicke’s performance Saturday. “It really was. It was one of those things that, a guy like him who works hard at what he does, he creates an opportunity for himself. We’ll see what happens. I was just very proud of what he did, coming out and competing the way he did and helping us get where we are today.”
Heinicke, 27, made his second career NFL start — the first since playing for Carolina in 2018 — and appeared in his first NFL playoff game.
Heinicke’s performance received rave reviews in real time — on the television broadcast from NBC analyst Tony Dungy and on social media.
“Anybody else seeing what I am seeing right now from Taylor Heinicke?,” former ODU coach Bobby Wilder wrote on Twitter. “Look familiar to @ODUFootball fans? This is what he has always done. HS, college, NFL. Nothing has changed.”
Kansas City Chiefs star QB Patrick Mahomes even weighed in, tweeting, “Regardless of the outcome what a great game by Heinicke!”
The positive reactions continued in postgame press conferences.
Veteran Washington offensive lineman Morgan Moses called Heinicke “a true pro.”
“I didn’t catch a pass from him until last week, but I hope we are teammates in the future,” Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin said.
“I have nothing but respect for No. 4,” McLaurin added. “The way he came in and handled his business on a moment’s notice when we found out that Alex wasn’t going to be able to go, he was just prepared for the moment. That’s what this league is about, being prepared for your moment.”
Heinicke just a few weeks ago was taking online classes to finish his ODU degree. But as he prepared for his final two exams, he got a call from Washington, and two weeks ago was thrust into the lineup in the fourth quarter of a game against Carolina.
Heinicke was signed to Washington’s practice squad earlier this month, but was added to the roster when an injured Smith sat out two games. He relieved starter Dwayne Haskins and completed 12 of 19 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown in Washington’s 20-13 loss to Carolina.
Haskins, Washington’s 2019 first-round pick, was released after the game against the Panthers.
Heinicke became ODU’s starting quarterback under Wilder in 2011 and finished his four-year career with 14,959 passing yards and 132 touchdown passes. He was a Football Championship Subdivision All-American and the Walter Payton Award winner as a sophomore in 2012.
At ODU, Heinicke set a number of FCS records — season passing yards (5,076), total yards in a game (791), passing yards (730) and passing attempts in a game without an interception (79).
Heinicke was undrafted after leaving ODU, and had short stints and limited success with four NFL teams: Minnesota, New England, Houston and Carolina. He was on the St. Louis BattleHawks’ roster in the XFL this season before the league folded.
Heinicke told The Pilot before the NFL season he was content to finish his classes at ODU and if no NFL team came calling, “I’ll be ready to move on with my life.”
After Saturday night’s performance, Heinicke might have secured an opportunity to keep pursuing an NFL roster spot for next season.
“I’m proud of myself and happy that coaches believed in me,” Heinicke said Saturday night after the game. “Hopefully I deserve to be in this league a little longer.”
Jami Frankenberry, 757-446-2376, jami.frankenberry@pilotonline.com.
The Associated Press and washingtonfootballteam.com contributed to this story.
Players with Virginia connections
Here’s the first playoff week’s update of NFL players with Virginia connections, with jersey number, position, player, connection(s) and statistics:
NFC
Chicago Bears:
69 OL Rashaad Coward (Old Dominion): Reserve; no stats.
23 CB Kyle Fuller (Va. Tech): Started; 3 tackles; defended 1 pass.
36 DB DeAndre Houston-Carson (Massaponax High, William & Mary): Reserve; no stats; left the game early in third quarter after a concussion.
92 DL Brent Urban (UVA): Started at DE; 2 tackles; penalized 5 yards for a neutral-zone infraction.
Los Angeles Rams:
59 LB Micah Kiser (U.Va.): Reserve; recovered a fumble on a Seattle punt return; downed a punt.
Seattle Seahawks:
76 OT Duane Brown (Hermitage High, Va. Tech): Started at LT; no stats.
3 QB Russell Wilson (Collegiate School of Richmond, N.C. State, Wisconsin): Started; 11 of 27 for 174 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 4 carries for 50 yards; sacked 5 times for 32 yards.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
64 G Aaron Stinnie (St. Anne’s-Belfield, James Madison): Not active.
72 OT Josh Wells (Hanover High, James Madison): Reserve; no stats.
Washington Football Team:
93 DT Jonathan Allen (Stone Bridge High, Alabama): Started; 1 tackle; 2 QB hits.
23 CB Kendall Fuller (Va. Tech): Started; 3 tackles; defended 1 pass; penalized 15 yards for a face-mask infraction.
10 WR Antonio Gandy-Golden (Liberty): Not active.
4 QB Taylor Heinicke (Old Dominion): Started; 26 of 44 for 306 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 78.4 passer rating; 6 carries for 46 yards, including an 8-yard TD; sacked 2 times for 17 yards in losses; failed on a 2-point conversion try despite a completion.
32 CB Jimmy Moreland (James Madison): Reserve; 3 tackles.
76 OT Morgan Moses (Meadowbrook High, UVA): Started at RT; no stats.
97 DT Tim Settle (*Manassas, Va. Tech): Reserve; no stats.
82 TE Logan Thomas (Brookville High, Va. Tech): Started; targeted 9 times; 5 catches for 74 yards; also caught a pass on a 2-point try but was short of the end zone.
*Settle graduated from Stonewall Jackson High, which was renamed this year to Unity Reed High).
AFC
Baltimore Ravens:
36 S Chuck Clark (King’s Fork High, Va. Tech): Started at SS; 3 tackles.
Buffalo Bills:
49 LB Tremaine Edmunds (Dan River High, Va. Tech): Started at MLB; 9 tackles; defended 2 passes.
31 DB Dean Marlowe (James Madison): Reserve; no stats.
Cleveland Browns:
77 G Wyatt Teller (Liberty High of Bealeton, Virginia Tech): Started; no stats.
Indianapolis Colts:
81 TE Mo Alie-Cox (VCU): Started; targeted 4 times; 4 catches for 32 yards.
14 WR Zach Pascal (Old Dominion): Reserve; targeted 5 times; 3 catches for 37 yards, including a 9-yard TD; 1 kickoff return for 13 yards.
46 LS Luke Rhodes (William & Mary): Reserve; did long snapping.
Pittsburgh Steelers:
34 S Terrell Edmunds (Dan River High, Va. Tech): Started at SS; 6 tackles (1 for a loss); defended 1 pass.
