The Washington Football Team is currently in an uncertain situation as quarterback Alex Smith recently experienced soreness in his calf in the lead up to their Wild Card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He will still be evaluated for matchup but there is a growing possibility that backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke will start in his place on Saturday, per NFL Network‘s Ian Rapoport.

Heinicke already saw action for Washington as he entered the fourth quarter of their Week 16 slate against the Carolina Panthers. Down by 14 points after a poor performance by Dwayne Haskins, Heinicke couldn't do much to alter the outcome of the game for Washington.

The former XFL quarterback finished the game with 137 yards on 12-of-19 passes completed along with a score on the endzone en route to a 20-13 defeat against the Panthers. Coincidentally, Heinicke also played for Carolina back in 2018 before finding himself in Washington's practice squad a couple of weeks prior to his first appearance on the field.

If Smith is indeed ruled out, Heinicke will all of a sudden have the opportunity of a lifetime, squaring off against Tom Brady in an NFL playoff game. Despite the lack of experience, he will have to impress and deliver for Washington if he wants to lengthen his stay in the league moving forward.

Head coach Ron Rivera can only hope that Taylor Heinicke is ready to shock the world with a huge performance and emerge as an unlikely hero for a Washington Football Team side that is raring to upset the Buccaneers on Saturday.