One thing that has remained steady since Ron Rivera took over as Washington’s head coach in 2020 is that the team sticks together during the toughest times.
After another ugly home loss, these would qualify as tough times. Quarterback Carson Wentz was sacked nine times, leading many to see the negative side of Wentz after two strong weeks for the quarterback.
While the defense performed better in the loss to the Eagles, Washington still allowed too many explosive plays. One day after watching the film of the game, head coach Ron Rivera spoke to the media about what needs to improve.
“I’m optimistic,” Rivera said. “I’ve told you guys that yesterday I’m an optimistic person. But what has to happen is the guys that need to play better got to play better. That’s the truth in the matter because you go back and look at some of the things that happened. We had some opportunities in that game.”
That seems rather simplistic. But that leads many to question, hasn’t this been the case for a while? Doesn’t Montez Sweat know he needs to rush the passer better? Doesn’t Kendall Fuller know he can’t continue to allow big plays, even after playing eight yards off?
Fans will wonder why they should expect Washington to play any better now. After all, there is a rather large sample size suggesting otherwise.
To his credit, Rivera isn’t the type of coach to single out players.
“I think the thing that’s really difficult for me is that if I do make an issue of something and in all honesty, some of you will make it a bigger issue and that’s what I don’t need because I’m trying to get our guys to understand what we’re trying to do and get them to understand that they have to play better,” Rivera said.
“They know that, but just understanding what we’re trying to do is important and what I have to do also. I’m not gonna get out here and start calling players out. You know, I mean they know, they understand, they get it. They’ve heard from their coaches today. Shoot, I sat in most of those meetings.”
Rivera remains optimistic the Commanders will figure things out, telling the media Sunday that there are 14 games remaining and there is no need to panic.
Next up for the Commanders is the Dallas Cowboys in JerryWorld.
