Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera, in charge of every football decision for the last four seasons, gave a master class on how not to run a football organization in Sunday’s 28-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
The offensive line, which once included Trent Williams, Brandon Scherff, and Morgan Moses; all players on Super Bowl contending teams, all sent packing by Rivera, never gave quarterback Sam Howell enough time to look for an open receiver.
The defense, so long the focus of draft capital, once again gave up a huge second-half touchdown play in which defensive backs Benjamin St Juste and Kam Curl watched Cooper Kupp run past them untouched for a 62-yard touchdown to give LA a 20-0 lead and effectively end the game.
But the play that served as a perfect metaphor for Rivera’s tenure occurred with a little more than a minute to go in the first half.
Trailing 10-0 late in the second quarter, the Commanders lined up to punt after not getting a first down after a Rams fumble deep in Washington territory.
Long snapper Cam Cheeseman rolled the ball to punter Tree Way. Way had to fall on the ball, was hit by a Rams defender, and was evaluated for a concussion but was able to return for the second half. The Rams kicked a field goal and went into the half leading 13-0.
Way has arguably been the team’s best player for almost a decade, being named to the Pro Bowl twice.
Rivera traded up in the 2021 draft to select Cheeseman. The third-year long snapper has struggled all season with bad snaps but Rivera has stuck with him, almost costing the team its punter Sunday.
Howell finished the day 11 of 26 for 102 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was benched in the fourth quarter for backup Jacoby Brissett.
Brissett sparked a furious comeback, something that will increase the scrutiny on Howell going forward. Trailing 28-7 with less than nine minutes left in the game, Brissett hit Terry McLaurin on a 29-yard touchdown to cut the Rams lead to 28-14.
Washington got the ball back after a three and out and with 4:47 left, Brissett found McLaurin on another long pass that appeared to be a touchdown. Replay officials ruled McLaurin down at the Rams’ one-yard line.
While Brissett eventually found Curtis Samuel on a one-yard touchdown pass, it took the offense more than two minutes to do it. The drive included an offensive pass interference call on Logan Thomas after catching the ball in the endzone.
To make matters worse, the extra-point attempt was blocked because of a second bad snap by Cheeseman.
After an unsuccessful onside kick, Los Angeles ran the clock out, picking up two first downs to win the game 28-20.
Washington falls to 4-10 on the season, officially eliminated from the playoffs. Up next is a Christmas Eve game in New York against the Jets.
The only remaining question is whether Sam Howell can regroup from this performance and convince whoever might be watching that he can lead this team if given a competent offensive line.
Unfortunately, there are now legitimate questions about whether it’s his blockers, or Howell himself that isn’t up to the job.