The slog has begun. There are now just three games remaining for the last link to the Dan Snyder ownership era.
Ron Rivera, his coaches, and front office hires will be relieved of their collective duties before the wildcard weekend is over and the Josh Harris Ownership Group will officially begin the rebuild of the franchise.
The 28-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams means little in the larger scheme of things. It means the Washington Commanders are now 4-10 on the year, flirting with a top-four draft choice and on the way to the worst season since 2019.
There are few things to take away from any one game; few, but important.
Sam Howell did not help his future.
Coming out of the bye week, the zeitgeist in Ashburn was simple, the rest of the year was about the development of quarterback Sam Howell. That future is murkier today than it was last week.
Once again, Howell struggled to make quick reads and get the ball out on time; and this was magnified by the two quick touchdown strikes by Jacoby Brissett after Howell was benched.
Three of Howell’s five worst PFF grades have come in the last five weeks. Howell’s final line Sunday, 11 of 26, 102 yards, one interception, and one touchdown earned hm a quarterback rating of 27.8. That’s not a neighborhood you want to be in with three weeks left in a lost season.
The defensive line misses Montez Sweat and Chase Young.
The hope was the line would benefit from addition by subtraction. Sources in Ashburn thought Young in particular was too undisciplined and didn’t play the scheme while Sweat wasn’t an all-pro type impact player.
Sweat has 6 ½ sacks with Chicago since being traded and Young’s absence can be felt in how the line has played overall.
KJ Henry, Andre Jones Jr., and Casey Tohill have been average but average isn’t good enough. Henry’s stat line was the best; 5 tackles, 4 solo, and one for a loss but none have made a game-changing impact.
To make matters worse, the depth has disappeared as well. Phidarian Mathis and John Ridgeway, two of Rivera’s handpicked backups, are the two worst performers on the defensive side of the ball. A position that began the year as the best on the roster has sunk to the depths of the rest of the team.
Did it take THIS long to cut Cam Cheeseman?
The third-year-long snapper is a good guy, very nice and approachable, but that’s not enough in his profession.
Bad snaps that result in missed field goals and extra points are bad enough but his ground ball to Tress Way nearly knocked the all-pro punter out of the game.
It’s another example of Rivera trying to fix something that wasn’t broken. Two years ago, he cut long-snapper Nick Sundberg, a fan favorite and as dependable as a clock. Then spent a draft pick, one he traded for, to select Cheeseman when he would have probably been available as a free agent.
It’s a rare breed, a head coach who can also run the personnel department, and Rivera simply hasn’t been one.
Of the best players on the roster, only one, Kam Curl was a Rivera draft pick. The roster isn’t better than when he came to town and in three weeks, someone else will go to work on a full-blown rebuild.