Rivera: No decision yet on starting quarterback against Browns

The Washington Commanders have a pivotal game Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, but coach Ron Rivera isn’t ready yet to reveal his starting quarterback for the showdown.

Rivera said Tuesday he has yet to decide whether Taylor Heinicke or Carson Wentz will take the reins, though added he’ll make a decision by Wednesday. The coach said that the team still has meetings to conduct and that he wants to speak with players before finalizing the decision.

Heinicke was benched for Wentz in Saturday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, leading Rivera to declare he would have to evaluate the situation to determine who would start the following weekend.

The Commanders (7-7-1) remain the seventh seed, but are in a competitive playoff race with the Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers — all 7-8 — behind them by just a half-game.

“I just want to make sure I’m able to speak to everybody before I make a decision,” Rivera said. “I want to make sure I have all the thoughts and ideas and concepts. Again, at the end of the day, the decision is going to be made based on what I believe is best for us going forward and I think gives us the best opportunity right now.”

After reviewing the film of Saturday’s loss, Rivera said he came away with the conclusion that “there were a lot of positives” for both Heinicke and Wentz. Heinicke completed a season-high 72.2% of his passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns, though was ultimately pulled because of his back-to-back turnovers to begin the fourth.

Rivera said Wentz was a “little rusty ” before finding a rhythm. The 29-year-old finished with 123 yards and a touchdown on 12 of 16 passing. Saturday marked Wentz’s first game since breaking his finger in a Week 6 win over the Chicago Bears. The injury paved the way for Wentz to lose his starting job to Heinicke, who helped the team get back into the playoff race by winning five of six.

Heinicke’s success led Rivera last month to announce that the quarterback would remain the starter even when Wentz was healthy. But the Commanders have stalled lately, going 0-2-1 over their last three games. With the offense stalling, Rivera chose to turn back to Wentz in the 49ers game.

Rivera praised the way Wentz made quick decisions and how he helped pick up the blitz, the latter of which the coach said was an improvement from earlier in the season. In his first six starts, Wentz was sacked 23 times.

“I think what he showed was that he’s fully healthy,” Rivera said. “He’s got fresh legs right now, and got a lively arm. … He showed us that quick twitch that you look for in quarterbacks and his decision-making seemed to be right on.”

Despite the praise for Wentz, Rivera didn’t commit to Washington’s high-profile offseason acquisition starting against the Browns. Instead, he said was individually talking to players to gauge their opinion on the situation.

“I do think both guys are more than capable,” Rivera said of Heinicke and Wentz.

Rivera arguably faces a more complicated choice of what to do at quarterback this time around. Before, Rivera’s decision to stay with Heinicke was an obvious choice because of the winning steak that Washington was on. But now, with only two games left, Rivera’s decision could possibly make the difference between Washington making the playoffs or staying home.

There’s a scenario, too, in which the Commanders could clinch a playoff berth this weekend. Washington would secure its spot with a win over Cleveland and if Seattle, Detroit and Green Bay all lose. The Seahawks face the Jets, the Lions play the Bears and the Packers host the Minnesota Vikings.

But there’s a possibility that Washington could be eliminated from the postseason, as well. If the Commanders lose to the Browns, then Washington would be eliminated if the Lions and the Packers both win.

The Commanders will need a quarterback who can play well enough to pull out a victory.

“Quite honestly, it’s something that I’ve thought about for 12 seasons, is how would I ever handle this if I ever got to this point,” Rivera said of choosing a quarterback this late into the year. “And this is the first time I’ve really gotten to this point as a head coach.