Following a victory over the Atlanta Falcons on November 27, the Washington Commanders were 7–5, winners of six of seven games, had a catchy song made by two fans honoring them gaining popularity, and were in complete control of their playoff destiny heading into the final month and two weeks of the season. What could possibly go wrong for the burgundy and gold
The Commanders went on to tie with the New York Giants, have their bye week, lose a close Sunday night game at home against that same Giants team, and then travel to the West Coast and lose a Christmas Eve matchup against the San Francisco 49ers; leading to a 7–7–1 record. Without registering a win in the month of December and losing all momentum, head coach Ron Rivera decided to switch back to QB Carson Went from Taylor Heinicke, whom he took pride in trading for this off season.
With their playoff hopes fading but still in control of their own destiny, the Commanders came into today facing a Cleveland Browns team that has already been eliminated from playoff contention and virtually “nothing to play for.” How well did that go?
The 2022–2023 regular season and their playoffs hopes are over. After this 24–10 loss and wins by the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, the Washington Commanders are now officially eliminated from playoff contention. After starting the season 1–4, rallying to get to 7–5, the team is now 7–8–1 and is all but guaranteed to finish 7–9–1 with a highly motivated Dallas Cowboys team coming to town next week.
The Carson Went experience as a Washington Commander is over. After back to back 300 yard passing games to begin the season, Went’s play has been mostly a disaster. With the ability to move on from Went at the end of this season without owing him any more money than he has already made, the writing is on the wall for not only went time in Washington, DC, but possibly also for his career as a starting QB in the NFL.
Frack to back years, the then Washington Football Team and now Commanders entered the final month of the season in a playoff slot with the task of winning games to guarantee that they will be in the playoffs. Last season they went 1–4, and this season they are 0–3–1 so far in these very important games.
With the high possibility of three straight seven wins, losing record seasons staring head coach and de facto GM Ron Rivera in the face, under normal circumstances it would be safe to assume that he would be on a serious hot seat with his job security looking very bleak. However, due to the potential sale of the franchise, it is highly unlikely that any decision that would lead to Ron Rivera being relieved of his duties will be made.
Questionable roster personnel decisions. Time mismanagement. The team coming out unprepared in big games. All of these have been consistent knocks against coach Rivera. However, no knock against him may be more appalling than not knowing how important it was for them to win today’s game:
Once again, it’s over. As previously stated, it is highly unlikely that Ron Rivera will be fired in the next few weeks. However, it is clear by the boos in the stadium and the negative tweets and posts on social media that Rivera has lost the support of the fan base. The Ron Rivera era won’t officially be over for another year most likely, but after imploring fans to come out and support them during the stretch run for back to back seasons, letting those same fans down each and every time will not sit well for those fans in the DMV area starving for consistent success.
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