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SunnySide · 10-19-2021, 04:29 PM

In the second half, Washington needed full-tilt Heinicke as the defense faltered against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. But the offense couldn’t manage much against one of the league’s worst defenses; none of its four full drives lasted longer than seven plays or 32 yards. The unit’s woes weren’t on Heinicke alone — it’s without key players, and there is blame to go around — but his play stood out. He missed open throws, couldn’t find running lanes and didn’t push the ball downfield, throwing 13 of 15 passes under 10 yards in the air.

On Sunday, Rivera said, Heinicke was uneven. One of his biggest problems was an inability to hit passes deeper than 10 yards. Heinicke doesn’t need to throw long to win — his 8.2 air yards per attempt are league average — but he finished 2 for 11 on attempts longer than 10 air yards, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The struggles became glaring against a reeling Chiefs defense that didn’t generate consistent pressure.

Washington had a plan to beat Kansas City deep. Heinicke said he could hold the safety in the middle of the field with a pump fake and then target outside, but each time he did, something went wrong. Once, wide receiver Dyami Brown couldn’t reel in a tough catch near the goal line; another time, Heinicke overthrew wideout Terry McLaurin. The misses and check-downs led to an average of 1.7 air yards per completion, the shortest distance for any quarterback in a game this season.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...-short-passes/

Grant Paulsen
@granthpaulsen
·
Oct 18
Terry McLaurin on not being able to link up with Taylor Heinicke on the explosive plays #WashingtonFootball needed yesterday:

"We were beating the cloud coverage, we were getting the one-on-one opportunities, we just didn't connect."

10-19-2021, 04:29 PM	#304
SunnySide Playmaker Join Date: Sep 2019 Posts: 4,568	Re: Taylor Effing Heinicke In the second half, Washington needed full-tilt Heinicke as the defense faltered against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. But the offense couldn’t manage much against one of the league’s worst defenses; none of its four full drives lasted longer than seven plays or 32 yards. The unit’s woes weren’t on Heinicke alone — it’s without key players, and there is blame to go around — but his play stood out. He missed open throws, couldn’t find running lanes and didn’t push the ball downfield, throwing 13 of 15 passes under 10 yards in the air. On Sunday, Rivera said, Heinicke was uneven. One of his biggest problems was an inability to hit passes deeper than 10 yards. Heinicke doesn’t need to throw long to win — his 8.2 air yards per attempt are league average — but he finished 2 for 11 on attempts longer than 10 air yards, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The struggles became glaring against a reeling Chiefs defense that didn’t generate consistent pressure. Washington had a plan to beat Kansas City deep. Heinicke said he could hold the safety in the middle of the field with a pump fake and then target outside, but each time he did, something went wrong. Once, wide receiver Dyami Brown couldn’t reel in a tough catch near the goal line; another time, Heinicke overthrew wideout Terry McLaurin. The misses and check-downs led to an average of 1.7 air yards per completion, the shortest distance for any quarterback in a game this season. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...-short-passes/ Grant Paulsen @granthpaulsen · Oct 18 Terry McLaurin on not being able to link up with Taylor Heinicke on the explosive plays #WashingtonFootball needed yesterday: "We were beating the cloud coverage, we were getting the one-on-one opportunities, we just didn't connect."