The honeymoon is long over for Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera. Rivera’s first season, in which he surprisingly led Washington to an NFC East title, albeit with a 7-9 record, is a distant memory. On Sunday, the Commanders dropped their third consecutive game, falling to the Dallas Cowboys, 25-10, in Week 4 action from FedEx Field.
Now 1-3 on the season, Washington returns home next week to host the Tennessee Titans. The Commanders desperately need a win or face another long season of questions about the coaching staff, quarterback position, etc.
As for the loss to the Cowboys, here are five takeaways from Washington’s 25-10 loss.
Carson Wentz getting worse
Two positive plays stood out in this game from Washington quarterback Carson Wentz. His touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson was a beautiful throw. There was a play in the second half where Wentz escaped pressure, moved up in the pocket, looked downfield and found Dotson for a 31-yard gain. That’s about it.
Yes, Wentz was under pressure, but he doesn’t help himself. How many times could Wentz step up into the pocket or slide to his left or right? He shows no pocket presence. And it is not going to get better. This is who he is. There was a 3rd-and-4 in the fourth quarter with the game still close, where offensive coordinator Scott Turner called a draw. Wait, what?
Is this a bigger indictment on the coordinator or the quarterback? We’ll let you decide. Either way, it’s a bad look.
What was Rivera doing at the end of the first half?
Near the end of the first half, Washington has scored its first — and only — touchdown. There was some positive momentum, and the hope was the defense could force another punt, and the Commanders could get another opportunity with the ball before halftime.
Washington’s defense didn’t cooperate, thanks in part to another busted Kendall Fuller coverage on third down. The Cowboys get inside the 10-yard line eventually, and Rivera calls timeout with under two minutes remaining. That made sense. Rivera’s offense had some momentum, and he wanted time for another possession. However, Dallas scored a touchdown, but the PAT was blocked, and it was 12-7, Cowboys.
The Commanders get the ball back with still over one minute remaining in the half and two timeouts. The Commanders essentially give up. They don’t even try to push the ball down the field. They’ll tell you they didn’t want to make a mistake against Dallas’ pass rush that deep in their own territory, but that’s a lame excuse. What they are telling you again is they don’t trust their own players.
The problem is Washington coaches don’t know what they want to do. There is no plan. And if you want to complain about the players, remember, the head coach picked the players.
Terry McLaurin a non-factor
Cowboys’ fans will beat their chests on how cornerback Trevon Diggs “locked up” Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin. Diggs played well; let’s not mistake that fact. However, he wasn’t matched up with McLaurin the entire game. McLaurin was bracketed by a safety at times, and he had little help from his quarterback. There was also the play in the end zone, on fourth down, where Wentz lobbed one into the corner to McLaurin. Diggs made a great play to knock the pass away and force a turnover on downs.
Upon further review, Diggs got away with contact on McLaurin when he made his break. At the most, it was pass interference; at the least, it was illegal contact. Officials were calling everything on Washington, and this one should’ve been called. There was also the blatant pass interference against McLaurin on the Commanders’ first drive [this was not on Diggs].
It was a frustrating day for McLaurin and the entire offense. He finished the day with two receptions for 15 yards.
Penalties
The Commanders were called for 11 penalties for 136 yards. Meanwhile, Dallas had four penalties for 20 yards. I look forward to rewatching the game to see how many flags were questionable or flat-out missed. Head coach Ron Rivera was not happy with an illegal contact penalty on cornerback Benjamin St-Juste that wiped out an interception. In fact, Washington picked off Cooper Rush twice, and both were nullified due to penalties on the Commanders.
Now, let’s not completely excuse the Commanders. The offensive penalties were legit. On three straight drives in the first half, a penalty put the Commanders behind the chains and facing third-and-long each time. There was no way Washington wanted to put Wentz in obvious passing situations against the Dallas front. All ended promising Washington drives.
The Commanders have issues on the offensive line. Veteran Trai Turner was benched for Saahdiq Charles and center Nick Martin was playing in his first game for Washington. Right tackle Sam Cosmi was beaten multiple times and called for at least two penalties. At some point, perhaps the Commanders should bring Cornelius Lucas in at right tackle and kick Cosmi inside to guard. Cosmi is a dominant run blocker but pedestrian as a pass blocker.
Another long season ahead for Washington fans
Washington fans deserve better. This is year three of Rivera’s regime and the team is going backward. Meanwhile, the Giants are in year one of the Joe Schoen/Brian Daboll era and showing improvement with the same quarterback who many determined was a bust. Remember when the Commanders and Rivera could’ve hired Schoen but instead chose a pair of retread GMs in Martin Mayhew and Marty Hurney?
Wentz is not the long-term quarterback. Rivera bought himself more time with the acquisition of Wentz. This isn’t advocating for a quarterback change because it’s early for that, but how much do you need to see? Wentz’s traits aren’t going to change. If you are out of contention by next month, do you let rookie Sam Howell play? What do you have to lose?
There are organizational issues that start from the top. This isn’t about the owner. We know his issues, but there’s nothing you can do about him. Rivera is over everything. This is his mess. Fans are right to question coaches and players. Both coordinators appear to show an inability to adjust to the other team adjusting to them. Once the opposition adjusts, Scott Turner and Jack Del Rio have no answer.
The Commanders do have talent, but lack talent in key areas, particularly at quarterback, offensive line and cornerback. It’s not going to improve during the season. Considering all the investments made into the defense, it should be a dominant unit. It’s nowhere close. Why are there so many breakdowns in the secondary? In year three, how does that continue to happen?
All I know is fans deserve better.
