Ron Rivera Made Two Unforgivable Mistakes To End the Season

Ron Rivera Made Two Unforgivable Mistakes To End the Season

Last week, the Washington Commanders fell to the Cleveland Browns, 24-10. Carson Wentz threw three interceptions and did not eclipse 150 yards. That loss, combined with the Packers’ Week 17 defeat of the Vikings, knocked the Commanders out of playoff contention heading into Week 18. Head coach Ron Rivera made two unforgivable errors that contributed to Washington’s demise. Here’s what he had to say following the loss:

#Commanders HC Ron Rivera found out during his postgame press conference that they could be eliminated from playoff contention in a few hours.

(🎥 @ChadwikoTWW)pic.twitter.com/HQUPm3uHk2

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 1, 2023

Mistake No. 1: Failing to Know the Situation

Postgame, Rivera said he did not know it was possible for Washington to be eliminated that week. I’m sorry, but how do you not know that?

Let’s walk through the logic of what Rivera is saying here. If he did not realize that Washington could be eliminated from the playoffs in Week 17, that implies he was not treating the game as a must-win situation. However, the fact that Washington had not yet clinched the playoffs by Week 17 should have indicated that some more winning needed to occur. The Browns are not a good team. If you coach that game knowing you absolutely have to beat them, I feel like things probably go differently.

Rivera later clarified that he was only focusing on what would happen if the Commanders won. That’s great, but I refuse to accept this answer given that his second mistake is the type of thing someone does if they are intent on losing.

Mistake No. 2: Starting Carson Wentz in a Must-Win Game

Here’s a little life hack for anyone thinking about becoming an NFL head coach one day. If you are about to play a must-win game, you do not start Carson Wentz under any circumstances. That’s not something we just learned either. Remember last season when all Indianapolis needed to clinch the playoffs was to beat Urban Meyer and the 2-14 Jacksonville Jaguars? Carson Wentz choked and they lost. Same thing this time around. Season on the line and he can’t get it done. He wasn’t the answer when Washington signed him and nothing has changed. For Ron Rivera to turn to him after Heinicke went 5-3-1 as the starter is indefensible.

Is Taylor Heinicke an unbelievable talent at the quarterback position? No, but you don’t need one of those guys to beat a Cleveland Browns team already eliminated from playoff contention. Heinicke may not be some freak athlete with a big arm, but he gets the ball out quick and wins games. Carson Wentz does neither of those things. He stinks. Rivera doubled down on his decision to start Wentz, which makes things even worse.

Wentz intercepted again pic.twitter.com/Jma5g3MJYR

— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) January 1, 2023

Even the opposing players knew it was the wrong call to start Carson Wentz.

“If you know football, you know [Wentz] has a slow release, and you know Heinicke gets the ball out fast. Like some of the guys I know on the team, they would’ve preferred Heinicke because they know he gets the ball out. You can see it on film too, though. They play different with each quarterback.”

Reggie Ragland, Cleveland Browns Linebacker, quote via Defector

Key words: “IF YOU KNOW FOOTBALL.” Anyone with eyes can see that Wentz just doesn’t have it. RON RIVERA EVEN SAID SO EARLIER IN THE SEASON.

"Why do you think the teams in the division are farther ahead at this point?"

Ron Rivera: "quarterback"

👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/aNJjKIEuZp

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 10, 2022

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this stuff out. I compared Wentz to Mitch Trubisky a while back. While that take may have been a slight reach at the time, it’s aged very well since.

Mistakes happen over the course of a season, but these two are simply unforgivable. Ron Rivera coached this team right out of playoff contention in failing to understand the situation and rolling with the worst quarterback on Washington’s roster. What an abject failure.

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