The Washington Commanders finally play a game on Saturday. It’s the preseason opener when the Carolina Panthers come to FedEx Field.
Washington quarterback Carson Wentz makes his debut in the burgundy and gold, and fans are excited to see Wentz during a game. The narrative surrounding Wentz this summer is he can’t hit the broad side of a barn. Like anything, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. There have been accuracy issues this summer, but Wentz has also made his share of impressive throws.
Head coach Ron Rivera met with the media after Washington’s practice on Thursday and discussed what he wants to see from his offense in limited action against the Panthers.
“Well, you want to see some consistency out there,” Rivera said. “You want to see some consistency in the huddle, breaking the huddle, getting to the line of scrimmage and then being successful with the plays that are called. Operating things, doing things well. Hope we get all kinds of situational football going. We would love to see a couple of third downs, some red zone stuff obviously and then some short yardage and goal line.”
Those sound like reasonable expectations. After all, it is the first preseason game with a new quarterback. What Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner need to see are the basics. If the offense operates the basics, then you can expect more in the second game.
So how much will Wentz play? What about Taylor Heinicke and rookie Sam Howell?
Rivera discussed the plan for his three quarterbacks.
“All three quarterbacks will play,” Rivera said. “Taylor [Heinicke] will come in after Carson [Wentz], and then Sam will finish up. With Taylor, we will probably get him into the third quarter a little bit, and we will let Sam finish up. What will be really good and what we worked on, the last thing we worked on today, I would love to see Sam get a two-minute at the end of the game; that would be really cool. It would be real good experience for him as well. He still has a lot to learn. Just consistency is what you’re hoping. You’re hoping he has some success, hoping he controls things and is consistent with his ball placement when he throws it.”
Regardless of how many fans are at FedEx Field on Saturday, they will be excited to see the rookie passer from North Carolina in his first NFL action. The preseason has given fans some exciting yet meaningless moments over the years, such as the late Colt Brennan’s performance in the 2008 preseason.
