Watch the New York Giants @ Washington live Sky Sports NFL from 1:20 pm early Friday morning.
Taylor Heinicke was once the training team’s quarterback, whom a perplexed Tom Brady might have thought was an intruder as he strolled into the cinematography room at 5am during their time with the New England Patriots.
Six years and five NFL teams since he left Old Dominion in 2015, Heinicke is the starting quarterback for the NFL. The job may not have come as intended due to Ryan Fitzpatrick’s absence from an injury that opened up an opportunity for him, but it won’t feel any less special.
In truth, it felt like he might have a chance in 2021, whether Fitzpatrick was injured or not. But not so soon.
“This is what I have dreamed of my whole life, to be a starting quarterback in the NFL, and here we are,” Heinicke said this week. “I really try to do it every day, one meeting at a time, one piece at a time. It seems to me that if I just live in the moment, everything else will take care of itself. ahead of you. “
Heinicke kicks off the game at center Thursday night as Washington hosts the New York Giants, replacing Fitzpatrick during the first week defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers after the 38-year-old was out with a subluxation of the hip that, is expected to overshadow it. within a few weeks.
Entering the game, Heinicke made a steady 11-of-15 pass for 122 yards and one touchdown, and also dashed 17 yards three times.
“It’s his coolness in his pocket,” said Washington-based knight Chase Young. “You can see that he never gets nervous, even when he runs and gets the guys out of the way. He still gets the ball across the field and even when he did these games he looked like he was used to these games.
“He could have started on any other team in the league.”
The 28-year-old burst out of the shadows to declare himself heroic in the 31-23 Wild Card defeat last season to the ultimate Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which he threw 306 yards and also landed. like miraculously dodging pressure and diving behind a pylon to get quick results.
