Washington head coach Ron Rivera says a QB rotation might be coming vs. Tampa Bay
Washington may rotate quarterbacks in their Wild Card game against Tampa Bay, but it might just be crazy enough to work
After missing Week 15 and Week 16 with a right calf injury, Alex Smith returned to action in Week 17 and did enough (22-for-32, 162 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT) for Washington to win and clinch the NFC East. The Eagles sacked him three times, and he was clearly limited dealing with an injury to his surgically-repaired leg.
Editor’s Note: If you can find ESPN’s “Project 11”, chronicling Smith’s recovery from his serious leg injury, it’s worth watching.
Washington will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round on Saturday night, and to the surprise of no one the Buccaneers are 8.5-point favorites. So all options could be on the table for Washington, and head coach Ron Rivera hinted at one.
Via JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington:
Rivera suggested Smith and Taylor Heinicke could rotate against Tampa Bay.
Heinicke played in one game this season, coming in for Dwayne Haskins in Week 16 and going 12 of 19 for 137 yards and a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers. Heinicke has one career NFL start, for the Panthers under Rivera and with Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner on staff in 2018. He has 77 regular season pass attempts on his resume.
Tampa Bay finished sixth in total defense during the regular season, with the No. 1 run defense in the league (80.6 yards per game). But they were more vulnerable through the air, with the 21st-ranked pass defense (246.6 yards per game) in the league. That’s a partial function of having the fourth-most pass attempts against them (617; 38.6 per game).
Via Finlay, Rivera was clear in reinforcing that a quarterback rotation isn’t necessarily going to happen.
“I didn’t say I was going to do it, I said it’s something we maybe need to think about,” the coach said.
Via ESPN’s Washington beat writer John Keim, Rivera acknowledged they are facing a “very aggressive defense” this week. And he’s right.
Per ESPN Stats and Info, via Keim, the Buccaneers blitzed the second-most times in the NFL this year (262, behind only the Baltimore Ravens). They got 24 of their 48 sacks off blitzes, with 10 of their 25 takeaways coming when they sent extra people. On the flipside, Tampa Bay surrendered a league-high 14 touchdowns against the blitz.
Pro Football Reference also credits Tampa Bay with the second-most blitzes this year, albeit 268. They registered the fourth-highest blitz rate (39 percent), with the eighth-highest hurry rate (10.2 percent), the most quarterback knockdowns (65, with the third-highest knockdown rate) and the second-most total pressures (184, with the second-highest pressure rate).
It all adds up to defensive coordinator Todd Bowles’ MO—the Buccaneers are going to come after Smith (or Heinicke) on Saturday night without prejudice or restraint.
In terms of a counter for Washington, it’s pretty clear. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin will surely get plenty of targets as the No. 1 guy in the passing game. But tight end Logan Thomas and running backs Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic are lined up for plenty of action too, as the game plan will have to center on quick throws.
Tuesday’s practice was only a walkthrough, so it’s not necessarily a indicator of his status for Saturday night’s game. But Smith was listed as a non-participant, and his practice participation as things ramp up over the course of the week will be worth watching.
Assuming he plays, a physically-limited Smith’s best asset will be his brain on Saturday night. He’ll have to recognize where Tampa Bay is bringing people, or where they’ll show blitz and ultimately not come to bait him into throws, and make the right decision with the ball. Any turn to Heinicke, even if it makes a level of sense due to Smith not being able to move well, will create a disadvantage in that chess match for Washington.
The general refrain is if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one. But Washington has nothing to lose against Tampa Bay, since no one expects them to win. So a quarterback rotation, even if that ultimately means mixing Heinicke in only for a series or two, might just be crazy enough to work.