They call Tom Brady the G.O.A.T., and statistically, he has earned that title as perhaps the greatest football player ever. As Brady and the reigning Super Bowl champs are in the D.C. area today to face the Washington Football Team, it comes in the shadow of the passing of the great Sam Huff. Not only was Huff a great football player for Washington, he was also one of the radio voices of the Redskins for decades. Win one for Sam!
Tampa arrives with a 6-2 record this season, and Washington is the polar opposite at 2-6. Just 11 months ago these teams were fighting it out in the playoffs and narrowly won by one score. The quarterback for Washington was Taylor Heinicke.
HEINICKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!@budlight | #BudLightCelly pic.twitter.com/UPKj8sjql6
— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) January 10, 2021
This is a new season, and Washington is all but out of it at this point. They are playing for pride and draft position at this point. Players are auditioning for next year. Heinicke still has a lot to prove. He faces a 44 year old QB who has seven Super Bowl rings, and is a living legend. Heinicke was so close to the miracle last year. Washington actually played Tampa tougher than the Chiefs did in the Super Bowl as the Bucaneers won that game in a 31-9 blowout.
If you recall, Heinicke was with Tampa for three weeks last season as a reserve quarterback. He got to watch Brady up-close.
“I was only there for three weeks, so it was a very small sample size. In those three weeks, I understood why he’s so great, that the attention to detail, not just on the field but in meetings, during walkthrough, everything. It was very impressive to be around. I learned a lot from him in that short stent.”
— Taylor Heinicke on Tom Brady
Of course Brady is the responsibility of Washington’s defense since Heinicke technically won’t be lining up against Brady. Can the WFT defense step up today and dominate? After a bye week, everyone should be rested and ready.
Head coach Ron Rivera made a move during the bye week and corrected the mistake he made in signing kicker Chris Blewitt. The team brings in Joey Slye who has ties to Rivera as they overlapped in Carolina. His numbers are a bit underwhelming which is one reason why he was unemployed. With the Panthers in 2019 and 2020, he went 54-of-68 on field goal tries (79%) and 64-of-71 on PATs (90%). This year, the 25-year-old kicked for the Texans and 49ers in a combined six games. He went 11-of-13 on field goals (84.6%) but a mind-boggling 9-of-12 on extra points.
“Well, probably the biggest thing we want Taylor to do is go out and play with his personality. And again, we’ll see how things go as we go forward, and we’ll continue to work as a football team and try and get better.”
Head Coach Ron Rivera on Taylor Heinicke
Unfortunately the team will be playing without Montez Sweat for a while as he suffered a fractured jaw. The edge rusher was having another good season, and once again, other players will get opportunities and the hope is someone can step up.
Game information:
Who: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Football Team
When: Sunday, Nov. 14, 1:00 p.m. EDT
Where: FedEx Field — Landover, Maryland
Broadcast:
TV: FOX 5 in the DC market
Radio: Washington — The Team 980
SiriusXM NFL Radio
Announcers:
Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth, Shannon Spake
Vegas Lines:
Tampa favored by +9.5 with a 51 point over/under
