Taylor Heinicke keeping Commanders QB job after winning 4 of 5

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Ron Rivera only had one word to explain why he is sticking with Taylor Heinicke.

Rivera said after Washington's victory over Houston that they were winning.

Rivera confirmed what had been reported before the game: Heinicke will continue to start even if he is able to play. The Commanders have won five of their past six games.

It's not clear how long that will last. Next week, Heinicke will start against the Falcons.

He doesn't need to perform. He doesn't need to play. Rivera said that they need to keep doing the things they are doing. I don't want to pull anyone. This isn't a competition at all. I'm not thinking about that last thing. We talked about doing it at a time.

Heinicke said it was a dream come true to be able to lead his team to victories. He doesn't think his mindset will change.

Heinicke said that he takes every chance he can and has fun with it. He's back in there if something changes in the next two weeks. Who doesn't know? I hope to get a win this week. I think I do my best.

Heinicke completed 15 of 27 passes for 191 yards in the win over the Texans.

The numbers were not great, but Heinicke has helped the team. Rivera said that he has been more consistent.

Rivera said that every now and then he's going to do something. I know what he does. We score points, and he leads us down the field.

Rivera said he was very pleased with the decision.

There is a sprained right ring finger that has kept him out of the lineup. Washington didn't think he was ready to come off IR.

Rivera said last week that he would take the mood of the locker room into account when choosing a quarterback. Washington's players like Heinicke a lot.

Rivera said there was an "underdog mentality" that people appreciated. They like how he does things. He's all-in whether he's the starter or the backups. It was important for us to bring him here because of his viability.

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Heinicke wants to keep this going. To be a clean quarterback, I need to get the ball in those people's hands and let them do their job.

Washington traded a third-round pick in 2022 and a third-round pick in 2023 to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a second-round pick and a third-round pick in 2019. Washington has a salary cap.

If Heinicke starts, the pick for Indianapolis could be affected. The Colts would owe the Commanders a second-round pick if they played 70% of Washington's snaps. The player has played 59.1% of the plays. If Heinicke starts one more game, the Colts will only get a third-round pick.

While playing in a new offensive system for the first time in his seven seasons, he has thrown 10 touchdown passes. He has been sacked 23 times because of the learning curve, inconsistent pass protection, and knee and back injuries. The Commanders have scored less than 50 points in four of the past five games.

Heinicke, who has spent parts of five seasons in this offense, has helped with his mobility as well as his penchant for connecting with Terry McLaurin. He has 44 targets and 28 catches in four games with Heinicke.

"He doesn't need to play well. He just needs to play. We just need to continue to do the things we're doing. I'm not looking to pull anybody. ... This is not a competition as far as a controversy. That's the last thing on my mind. That's why we talked about doing it one game at a time." Commanders coach Ron Rivera, on starting Taylor Heinicke over Carson Wentz

He threw at least 15 picks last year.

Heinicke said that last year he took those shots in unneeded situations and it cost him points. I'm trying to be a lot smarter with the ball with our defense playing the way it is.

He said that the player has been supportive.

Heinicke said that it was tough for him. He didn't do anything wrong." He has done a great job. He's helped me out whenever he can. When I get to the sideline, he is in my ear. He is a good leader for this team. I don't think that's going to fall apart.