Heinicke impresses, but Washington comes up short vs. Bucs

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Taylor Heinicke took on Tom Brady and the end result went about as expected. But even though Heinicke’s Washington lost its NFC wild-card game to Brady’s Bucs 31-23, the young and unknown QB earned plenty of attention for a head-first dive for a TD and some other strong plays. Heinicke was forced to play quarterback for Washington because of Alex Smith’s injured calf. This was Heinicke’s first NFL start since 2018 and only his second ever. He threw for more than 300 yards and one touchdown and ran for another score. But Brady and the Bucs were too much for Washington to overcome.