It was perhaps the worst “You had one job” moment for any NFL coach in the 2022 season. After the Washington Commanders lost, 24-10, to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, they needed the Green Bay Packers to lose to the Minnesota Vikings if they wanted any hope of making the playoffs. If the Packers won (which they did decisively, 41-17), the Commanders would be out.
That apparently came as a surprise to head coach Ron Rivera, who seemed to express legitimate surprise when he was informed by Washington D.C. radio host Grant Paulsen. This was in the context of who Rivera would start at quarterback in Week 18 — Carson Wentz, who threw three interceptions and nearly four in the game, the recently benched Taylor Heinicke, or rookie Sam Howell.
Here is the video. I wanted to know if Howell is in consideration for next week. Turns out Rivera coached the entire day not knowing that WSH could be eliminated by night’s end.pic.twitter.com/3K2108VKYY.
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) January 1, 2023
People wanted to give Rivera the benefit of the doubt, because he’s a justifiably highly-regarded veteran coach. Maybe he was being sarcastic? Maybe he was just overwhelmed in the moment after a tough loss? Maybe he just had a temporary brain cramp? Hey, it happens to all of us.
Sadly, there’s another moment in the same postgame press conference which proves that Rivera had no clue.
At 1:05 into this video, Rivera was asked about the importance of controlling your own destiny as it pertained to postseason possibilities.
LIVE: HC Ron Rivera speaks to the media https://t.co/EYpjCARsbl
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) January 1, 2023
“Now, we’ve got to count on somebody else,” he said. “That’s not the position we want to be in. What we want to do is to take care of our business. You want to win football games when you have a chance to, and when they’re important. And we didn’t do that.”
The reporter asked Rivera a follow-up question — what was his message to the team?
“Well, it’s exactly that. We now have to count on somebody. If we don’t win on Sunday next week, then it’s over, obviously, but if we win, we’ve got to hope somebody else wins. Or loses, excuse me.”
In this context, Rivera’s reaction to the Paulsen question at 4:05 in this video becomes more clear. Rivera wasn’t being sarcastic — he was surprised that based on his understanding, his team could actually be eliminated from the postseason in Week 17, as opposed to Week 18.
How this affected his decision to keep Wentz in the game when Wentz clearly didn’t have it, as opposed to the more desperate situation the team was in? That’s something only Rivera knows, but a coach who goes into a game with a misunderstanding of his own team’s playoff possibilities can make all kinds of situation errors.
Whether this was the power of positive thinking or not, a coach has to understand all the scenarios.
Ron Rivera clarified his postgame remark about not knowing they could be eliminated. Said he was frustrated by the question; said he didn't know they could be eliminated because he thought they would win & only focused on what would happen IF they won. Didn't consider alternative
— John Keim (@john_keim) January 1, 2023
As previously said, Ron Rivera is a justifiably respected head coach and leader. The Commanders had gone on a 6-3-1 run before the Browns gave to even get into playoff contention after a 1-4 start to the season, and that’s just as much on Rivera as the bad stuff is. This, though, is the kind of mistake that’s tough to live down, because of the possibility that your in-game strategy might be completely different if you’re aware of what’s actually going on.
