WASHINGTON — Ron Rivera's Washington Commanders are officially out of the playoffs, which, with a record of 4-10, is not a shocker.
This was a season of promise with a young quarterback in Sam Howell and a brand new offensive coordinator in Eric Bieniemy.
"I think not getting to where I wanted to be is the biggest thing, you know," said Rivera. "Because, again, a big part of it is you come in with some aspirations and you say, 'OK, if we can play to this level, it gives us a chance,' and we didn't."
While reflecting on the season, Rivera pointed to one game in particular that he believes was the beginning of the end.
"I think probably one of the things that really took the wind out of sails could be looked at is the loss to Philadelphia, in Philadelphia," Rivera said.
Backup quarterback and veteran leader Jacoby Brissett made his first appearance this year after Howell threw a bad interception on Sunday. Brissett threw two touchdowns and made the game close. Rivera decided on the move, hoping to protect Howell from the Rams defense who had their ears pinned back knowing the Commanders had to throw.
"I have to take care of the quarterback, and that's what we have to look at it as," the head coach said. "And, you know, when you have the savvy veteran that you do in Jacoby, a guy that you know, you can see how he uses that experience to go out, perform in those type of situations. You know, that's a good thing, and it's a good lesson for [Howell] to watch and learn."
With three games left, and most likely the end of Rivera's coaching career in D.C., he believes there are three things left to play for this season.
"We're all professionals. We have a job to do. We're paid to do a job," Rivera said. "Secondly, with personal pride, I want to go out and I want to perform. I want to do things well. I put good tape out there and third is you want your teammates to be able to build that trust that you're going to need. No matter what the situation is."
WUSA9 will sit down with Commanders Head Coach Ron Rivera every Monday throughout the 2023-2024 season. The one-on-one moments will premiere on WUSA9 at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. and again on Get Up DC every Tuesday morning. The full interview between Rivera and Chick Hernandez will be available on WUSA9+
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