I think the offense as a whole was set so far back for numerous reasons that it's hard to TRULY judge Heinicke. That said, I think we saw enough to draw certain conclusions.
I've been very supportive of Heinicke, and I love a lot of what he does. That said, I don't think he's the reason we won those 4 games. We won consecutive games 17-15, not exactly an offensive juggernaut. You can make arguments in each one of those games, like the Logan Thomas TD that got overturned should not have, and Heinicke did enough there but got jobbed, but Seattle wasn't playing at an elite level so that defense was able to be had. Looking at some other games that resulted in losses.
Multiple games we have been a 4th quarter drive away from winning, and simply couldn't get it done. If you look back on our season, the biggest memories are not Heinicke throws (or at least not because of his throw). Gibson took a screen pass 75 yards. 19 play extended drive to beat TB (if you include Heinicke scrambles) consisted of 13 runs. Vs Denver we had 2 shots in their redzone to tie and couldn't get it done.
Again, if the team is 100% healthy, we're probably looking at things a bit differently. Heinicke has elite mobility and i'm not speaking in hyperbole there, i truly feel that way. He's just limited in the pass game. How much easier would the offense run if the defense had to defend over the top? YES part of that is the fact we didnt have the weapons to threaten, but the other part is they didnt have to respect Heinicke's arm, they knew they could get back over the top. I don't think it's an accident that McLaurin led the league in contested catches, because he consisently had to slow down to make the catch allowing the defender to recover. They look great on the highlight package, but how many more TDs do we have?
I think you CAN win with Heinicke, but all things have to be 'right'. If he was on the 49ers, I think they win the same amount of games as they did with Jimmy Garapolo. If he's on the Bengals, I don't think they win as many as they did with Burrow, same thing with the Rams. I think he can truly help out your offensive line because of his ability to escape (sometimes to much and he just needs to eat it). I don't think he can overcome a lot of the other issues a team can have on a regular basis. I think he's able to get that 'clutch' gene because we saw it. There were a few times where we got the ball and you could feel us about to drive the field... then we get to the Redzone and it stalls. Is that a lack of weapons, or is that because the defense was playing soft zone while we drove, and it got too crowded in the Redzone? I love the diving for the pylon and the way it makes you feel, but more often than not he's limited to the plays he makes with his legs, and is much less capable of making the play with his arm.