Ron Rivera Presser: “We still control our destiny. That’s the truth of the matter.”

Washington Football Team | Postgame Press Conference https://t.co/eokPuP4UUI

— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) December 28, 2020

Rivera, asked why he didn't bench Haskins sooner pic.twitter.com/wiylIvOCLp

— michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) December 28, 2020

Ron Rivera said he didn't make a QB switch at halftime because last time Haskins was able to bounce back in the second half.

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 28, 2020

Ron Rivera says because they moved the ball out of the half last week - that's why didn't pull the plug at halftime. #WashingtonFootball

— Chris Russell AKA The Rooster (@Russellmania621) December 28, 2020

Ron Rivera said he considered benching Dwayne Haskins earlier, but wanted to see how he responded after halftime since Washington scored last week against the Seahawks in the second half. QB1 is TBD for next week.

— Matthew Paras (@Matthew_Paras) December 28, 2020

Rivera thought the sum of the parts where what led to him benching Dwayne Haskins.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020

Rivera, on whether Haskins' escapades impacted the team today pic.twitter.com/IcCRSDk3Ny

— michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) December 28, 2020

Ron Rivera: "I haven't had a chance" to talk to Dwayne Haskins since the decision was made.

— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) December 28, 2020

Rivera on Taylor Heinicke's day pic.twitter.com/PD42UnRDng

— michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) December 28, 2020

Rivera thought Taylor Heinicke played gutsy after being put in the game during the fourth quarter. He gave Washington a chance, which is all he could ask for.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020

Rivera on Taylor Heinicke: "I thought it was gutsy. I thought he was taking advantage of what they were doing in terms of them playing soft." Heinicke completed 12 of his 19 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. Also rushed 3 times for 22 yards.

— Kyle Stackpole (@kylefstackpole) December 28, 2020

Ron Rivera when asked if Taylor Heinicke would start if Alex Smith can't play next week in Philly: "We'll have to see. We'll have to see how Alex is doing and go from there."

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 28, 2020

Ron Rivera said Alex Smith "had a good day" Friday, but on Saturday morning "he wasn't feeling it." That's why Smith ended up being inactive after practicing fully Friday.

— Kyle Stackpole (@kylefstackpole) December 28, 2020

Rivera, on why he didn't go for it on fourth-and-2 near the end zone. pic.twitter.com/R1Iem8S4nP

— michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) December 28, 2020

Rivera: "We still control our destiny. That's the truth of the matter."

— Matthew Paras (@Matthew_Paras) December 28, 2020

Ron Rivera on what he told @WashingtonNFL after the game: "We still control our destiny."

— Kyle Stackpole (@kylefstackpole) December 28, 2020

Ron, what do you want to see from Dwayne Haskins this week? pic.twitter.com/KswUY8bpvw

— michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) December 28, 2020

Ron Rivera on what he wants to see from Dwayne Haskins after this performance: "Just improvement."

— Kyle Stackpole (@kylefstackpole) December 28, 2020

Ron Rivera said the explanation he got on the fumble by Mike Davis was that his forward progress was stopped, blew the whistle.

His thought on that "I disagreed."

— Washington Football On SI.com (@WSHFootballSI) December 28, 2020

Washington Football Team | Player Press Conference https://t.co/8Vdv8gTbZE

— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) December 28, 2020

Update: Team PR was unable to get in touch with Haskins.

So he will not be talking. https://t.co/5T2bzAKayr

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 28, 2020

Sims said Heinicke played well and moved the ball and made plays with his feet.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020

Cam Sims on Taylor Heinicke: "He's a QB, so you know you got to talk to the QB and be friends."

— Kyle Stackpole (@kylefstackpole) December 28, 2020

Facing a win-and-in situation against the Eagles, Sims said the team plans to take advantage of all their opportunities and move forward.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020

Taylor on what he was trying to do: "Trying to move the ball and put points on the board."

— George Wallace (@GWallaceWTOP) December 28, 2020

Taylor Heinicke is addressing the media. His message to the offense after he came in the game was to play clean and move the ball down the field.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020

Taylor Heinicke got permission from his professors to wait and take his finals in January so he could come be an NFL quarterback for a few weeks. pic.twitter.com/Y4iN0OQuYc

— michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) December 28, 2020

Before Washington signed QB Taylor Heinicke, he was taking online classes at Old Dominion, where he played in college, and was preparing for final exams.

— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) December 28, 2020

Taylor Heinicke was getting ready for finals for his online classes at ODU before he was signed to Washington's practice squad Dec. 8.

He was activated Dec. 19 and in the game Dec. 27.

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 28, 2020

Taylor Heinicke's course load at Old Dominion:

Number Theory and Discrete Mathematics
Partial Differential Equations
Applied Numerical Methods
Mathematics in Nature

Sounds like a lot of numbers!

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 28, 2020

Heinicke did not have to learn a new offense with Washington. He had been familiar with the system for three or four years. The biggest challenge for him was to get used to his teammates.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020

Kamren Curl is addressing the media. He said the loss hurt, but they have to put this week behind them and move on to the next week.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020

Kam Curl says he's fine after hitting his head after a play that caused him to go into medical tent. #WashingtonFootball

— Washington Football On SI.com (@WSHFootballSI) December 28, 2020

Chase Young is addressing the media. He said the team needs to take accountability for what happened on the field and refocus for next week.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020

Washington has struggled all year to have strong starts. He said the team can't afford to wait until the second half to start fast.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020

Young said the team didn't play complementary football team. It can't play like that and expect to win.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020

Young was named a captain before today's game, which he said was an honor. He sees that as a motivation to keep getting better in his young career.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020

Chase Young on his chat with Taylor Heinicke during a time out.

"I said, OK, he got some swag." pic.twitter.com/CnCHLuhEAn

— michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) December 28, 2020

Chase Young said he came out to talk to Taylor Heinicke when he first came in, and Heinicke told him: "This is what I do."

Immediately, Young thought: "OK, he got some swag to him. OK."

— Kyle Stackpole (@kylefstackpole) December 28, 2020

Chase Young on Heinicke: "I love Taylor."

Young said he gave Heinicke some encouraging words when he took the field in the fourth quarter.

"He was like, 'I got you bro. This is what I do.' After that I was like, 'OK, he's got some swag to him.'"

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 28, 2020

Young said the team will put this loss behind them. They still have a chance to get a win and into the playoffs against the Eagles, and that's the only thing they need to focus on.

— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) December 28, 2020