Taylor Heinicke, Commanders hang on in win over Packers

LANDOVER — Taylor Heinicke probably isn’t the long-term answer to the Washington Commaders’ near-constant dysfunction. He might not ever be viewed as a franchise quarterback. He may not be enough to salvage the season. But at the very least, he makes the Commanders watchable. 

Heinicke helped the Commanders hang on for a 23-21 win over the Green Bay Packers, throwing for 200 yards and two touchdowns in his first start of the season. The quarterback was filling in for an injured Carson Wentz, who was placed on injured reserve over the weekend with a fractured finger he broke in Washington’s previous game over the Chicago Bears. 

The Commanders improved to 3-4 on the season, winning back-to-back games for the first time since last December. 

The performance wasn’t extraordinary, but it was the kind the team’s true believers have come to expect from Heinicke — a fan favorite who dazzled in a 2021 playoff game and started 15 games last season. 

The Commanders were able to win following a tumultuous week for the franchise in which Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay became the first NFL owner to publicly call for NFL owners to weigh Dan Snyder’s removal from the Commanders in wake of the team’s workplace misconduct scandal. 

Washington was able to survive despite a last-second push from the Packers, who have now lost three straight. Green Bay (3-4) advanced the ball down the field with a series of laterals on the final play until Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers got it back and threw it out of bounds. 

The Commanders held Rodgers to just 179 passing yards and two touchdowns on 22 of 34 passing. 

The first half took an excruciating 105 minutes in real time. And together, the two teams combined for just 87 passing yards — the fewest in any game this season. 

The Commanders had a built-in excuse for the struggles. As much as Heinicke is a fan favorite, he was still ultimately a quarterback with enough weaknesses that caused Washington’s coaching staff to pursue an upgrade this past offseason. And in his first game back under center following Carson Wentz’s hand surgery, Heinicke’s flaws were still there. 

The 29-year-old underthrew receivers, got the ball out late and made a number of risky throws. The most obvious example was when, on Washington’s fourth drive, Heinicke stared down running back J.D. McKissic  — leading to linebacker De’Vondre Campbell picking off the pass and returning it all the way for a 63-yard touchdown. 

The pick-six gave the Packers a 14-3 lead. Later, Heinicke almost had another turnover returned for a touchdown as cornerback Rasul Douglas scooped up the quarterback’s fumble and ran it all the way to the end zone. But — in a fortunate twist for the Commanders — the play was wiped out by an illegal contact penalty by Green Bay. 

The Packers, though, had their own problems — issues that prevented them from carving out a sizable lead on Washington. Namely, Rodgers was again out of sync with his receivers. Since trading star wideout Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason, the Packers have been unable to fill his absence.

In the first half, Rodgers mostly stuck to throwing short — his lone passing touchdown of the half came on a four-yard dump off to running back Aaron Jones. But when the four-time MVP did take deep shots down the field, the passes were typically overthrown.

The Commanders, meanwhile, found a rhythm by establishing the run. Washington used a duo of running backs Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson to generate offense. The rushing attack helped the Commanders move the ball down the field, paving the way for a 9-yard passing touchdown to Gibson to cut Green Bay’s lead to 14-10 with 7:26 left in the second. 

Washington also had the opportunity to tack on another field goal later, but Joey Slye missed a 47-yarder by clanging one off the upright. 

Shortly after Slye’s missed kick, Washington co-owner Tanya Snyder was booed when a video of her was shown on the video board during a commercial timeout. Fans then broke out in chants of “Sell the team! Sell the team!” — an embarrassment for the franchise, which celebrated its annual homecoming game Sunday.

But in the second half, Heinicke gave Washington fans a reason to cheer. On the Commanders’ opening drive, the quarterback hit Terry McLaurin on a bomb for a 37-yard touchdown — giving Washington the lead. 

Then, after a series of impressive stops for the defense, the Commanders were able to extend their lead to a two-score game thanks to a pair of Slye field goals. 

The second field goal proved to be critical as Green Bay would respond. Rodgers led the Packers on an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 21-yard touchdown throw to Jones. The Commanders didn’t do themselves any favors on the series with three defensive penalties that extended Green Bay’s drive, two of which happened on third down.