With a little bit of time left in the 3rd quarter, trailing by 8 points, Washington backup QB Taylor Heinicke, who was just signed to the roster midway through December, was put in a position to do something special.
He dropped back, felt the pressure from the outside, and started to improvise. Almost as if he’d done it before, Heinicke scrambled up and out to the left side, picking up the first down, and then making a last ditch effort, leaping towards the endzone with the ball outstretched. His hands hit the pylon, and his teammates went wild.
What happened next on Twitter was fun to watch.
TAYLOR HEINICKE TAKES IT ALL THE WAY 😱
(via @NFLBrasil)pic.twitter.com/w9Pd8lv65f
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 10, 2021
Quickly going from “Wow, Taylor Heinicke is playing well” to “Taylor Heinicke needs to get a chance to start next year.”
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) January 10, 2021
Taylor Heinicke being a free agent in two months is fantastic little bit of chaos to throw into the offseason.
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) January 10, 2021
John Elway watching Heinicke tonight pic.twitter.com/7BmBoCEeur
— WJP II (@BillPeskar) January 10, 2021
We demand Taylor Heinicke does this if Washington wins!
🏈 (via @XFLBattleHawks) pic.twitter.com/03xalzr9ML
— #RingerNFL (@ringernfl) January 10, 2021
Taylor Heinicke reached a top speed of 19.29 MPH on this 8-yard TD run, traveling 39.1 yards from snap to the moment he crossed the pylon.
Heinicke is responsible for the two fastest speeds by a ball carrier in tonight's game (19.29 & 19.25 MPH).#TBvsWAS | Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/dTT5ClukWf
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 10, 2021
somehow Washington started:
Dwayne Haskins for 4 games…
then Kyle Allen for 4 games…
then Alex Smith for 5 games…
then Dwayne Haskins for 2 more…
then Alex Smith for 1 more…before ever giving Taylor Heinicke a chance to start
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 10, 2021
Get you a friend that celebrates you like Chase Young celebrates Taylor Heinicke. 💯@WashingtonNFL #TBvsWAS | #SuperWildCard pic.twitter.com/hWVWmXQOeA
— #SuperWildCard on NBC (@SNFonNBC) January 10, 2021
