Buccaneers face Taylor Heinicke (Again) in Washington

Khalil Davis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Khalil Davis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers return to action in Week 10 of the NFL season as they visit the Washington Football Team this Sunday afternoon.  Both teams are coming off tough road losses before their byes last week. The Bucs fell short once again in the regular season against the New Orleans Saints, 36-27, and Washington was beaten by the Denver Broncos, 17-10.

Tampa Bay and Washington have met 24 times overall, including three postseason games. The series is tied at 12 apiece, so this week’s match-up, barring a deadlocked score at the end of overtime, will break the tie,

January 9, 2021, was the last time the two teams played and it was a happy memory for Bucs fans. Tom Brady, in his first playoff game with his new squad, led the Bucs past host Washington 31-23 in the NFC Wild Card Round. That was the first ever playoff start for current Washington starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke.

Bucs fans were happy with the playoff game’s ending, but it was made much too competitive by the attempted heroics of Heinicke. The ex Old Dominion Monarchs signal caller had a coming out party of sorts to the tune of 306 yards passing and two total touchdowns. He added 46 yards rushing yards and was impressive in making things tough for the eventual Super Bowl Champions.

Heinicke didn’t start the season as Washington’s starter however, even with his playoff heroics. He only took over the reins of the Football Team’s offense when the original projected starter, and former Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, was injured during their opening game loss against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The results in 2021 so far for Washington haven’t been as promising for the team or Heinicke as they were at the end of that evening last January. Heinicke won two of his first three starts against not so great competition in the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons. After that, it seems like the league may have figured him out a bit.

The Bucs will be facing a team and a quarterback that has lost their last four games. Washington has scored 13, 10, and 10 points in their last three games, respectively.  That’s a paltry average of 11 per contest.

Yes, there is a chance after the bye that Washington and Heinicke could somehow right the ship against Tampa Bay. Perhaps the memories of Heinicke’s big game earlier this year could be inspirational.

Then again, no one really knew what Taylor Heinicke could do in that playoff game against Tampa Bay. That isn’t the case anymore. There’s tape on him and his weaknesses are being taken advantage of.

The Buccaneers won’t be caught off guard by Mr. Heinicke after a loss and a bye and they better not after he almost ruined things last year. This time around the way to go is just make things simple for the Tampa Bay Defense and difficult for Washington’s Offense. Follow the blueprint the rest of the league has discovered and formulated about Heinicke and it should lead to a comfortable Tampa Bay win over the Football Team.

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