Washington’s Taylor Heinicke benched for Carson Wentz, position to be

Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera benched Taylor Heinicke for Carson Wentz in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s loss at the San Francisco 49ers, but Rivera said he isn’t yet sure if that’s a permanent move. Rivera said he’ll name a starting quarterback early in the week.

Wentz played the final two series in a 37-20 defeat that dropped the Commanders to 7-7-1. They remain in the seventh and final playoff spot.

Rivera said he would evaluate the situation, talk it over with his offensive coaches and make a decision. Washington will host the 6-9 Cleveland Browns next Sunday.

Commanders offensive coordinator Scott Turner said he would not make a “knee-jerk decision” but used the fourth quarter as a chance to evaluate Wentz’s game. Rivera also said he didn’t want to see the 49ers “tee off” on Heinicke.

“It was an opportunity for us to see where Carson was, and he did a nice job,” Rivera told reporters after the game. “We’re in a pretty good situation now.”

Wentz last played on Oct. 13, when he broke his right ring finger in a 12-7 win over the Chicago Bears. He returned to the active game-day roster last week and was close to entering the game in the second half.

Wentz completed 12 of 16 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown in two series of work.

“We’re all competitors. I won’t sugarcoat it: We all want to be out there,” Wentz said. “If we lose that in this position, we’ll be out of it real quick. So it would mean a lot [to start], but that’s out of our control. We’ll both prepare and work our tails off and nothing will change because of the circumstances. Whatever happens, happens.”

Heinicke said he is used to being in this situation — always an underdog or on the verge of losing his job, especially in the NFL.

“I’ve heard things like that my whole life,” Heinicke said. “I try not to pay attention to it. I control what I control and that’s going out and playing as hard as I can, and that’s what I feel I did. If they need to put Carson in there, OK. I’ll come to the…