Washington's Taylor Heinicke benched for Carson Wenz, position to be reevaluated

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Ron Rivera benched Taylor Heinicke in the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss to San Francisco but he's not sure if that's a permanent move. The starting quarterback will be named early in the week.

The Commanders lost to Washington 37-20 in the last two series, dropping them to 7-7-1. They are in the 7th and final spot.

Rivera said he would evaluate the situation and then make a decision. Washington plays Cleveland on Sunday.

Turner said he wouldn't make a "knee-jerk decision" but used the fourth quarter as a chance to evaluate the performance of the quarterback. Rivera did not want to see the 49ers "tee off" on him.

Rivera said after the game that it was an opportunity for them to see where Carson was. We're in a good position now.

He broke his ring finger in a victory over the Chicago Bears. He came back to the active roster last week and was close to playing in the second half.

The quarterback completed 12 of 16 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.

All of us are competitors. We all want to be out there and I will not sugarcoat it. We'll be out of it quickly if we lose that. It would mean a lot, but we can't do anything about it. Nothing will change because of the circumstances. What happens, happens.

Heinicke said he's used to being an underestimation or on the verge of losing his job.

Heinicke said he's heard things like that his entire life. I try to ignore it. I control what I do and that's what I did, I went out and played as hard as I could. It's fine if they need to put him in there. I will work hard and be the best I can be.

In the first two quarters, Heinicke completed eight of 11 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Washington failed to convert a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. He threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter.

Heinicke lost a fumbled ball at his own 11-yard line in the fourth quarter. He was picked off at the Commanders' 25-yard line, which resulted in a second field goal and a 27-21 deficit.

Heinicke was banged up and the last two drives were turnovers. Carson did a great job.

Rivera said that it would be difficult to pin all the turnovers on him because he played well in the first half. His issues were not those. We could have done better.

Rivera made the change to Wentz because of that. During Heinicke's first seven starts, the Commanders were 13th in total yards. They were ranked 25th in the red zone and 27th on third downs.

Rivera was happy with the play of the player.

Rivera said that he had good command of what he was doing, he stood tall in the pocket and threw some good balls.

Washington traded two third-round picks to Indianapolis and swapped second-round picks with the Colts to get Wentz. Washington could cut him without having to pay a financial penalty because he has no guaranteed money left in his pocket. The commanders want to know if he can be their guy in the future.

When he played in the first six games, the offense was more run heavy than it is now. The coaches are hoping that will lead to more success.

Rivera said that the ability to run the ball took a lot of pressure off the quarterback. The group he played with was a different one. When he has the chance to stand tall in the pocket, there are some things that show what he can do.