(Image Credit: Geoff Burke/USA Today Sports)
Written by: Nicholas Mullick
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mullick-354076184/
Twitter: @NicholasMullick
Well, Well, Well. I mean you talk about a difference a month makes, we have the Washington Commanders. Here was a team that one point was the 6th seed in the conference and has straight up collapsed. With their 24-10 loss against the Cleveland Browns they are now mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Such a disappointment for the Commanders and there are many reasons why the Commanders did not make the playoffs.
1. Carson Wentz is Done
If you thought last year when Wentz played with the Indianapolis Colts sealed his fate in the NFL, get ready for his time with the Commanders. Wentz has been terrible as a Commander and that pretty seals it for him being a starting quarterback. He just can’t be trusted to be a full time starter anymore. There was no excuses as Wentz has weapons surrounding him and he still can’t have convincing and consistent performances. Wentz is done and I really wonder what happens next for him once his awful contract is done. Washington really banked on Wentz being good again and it blew up in their face.
2. The Linebackers are terrible
The Defense overall has done a great job even without DE/EDGE Chase Young who was out a majority of the season due to recovering from his Torn ACL in 2021. One position that has been a weak point is at linebacker Jamin Davis while leading the teams with tackles has really struggled in coverage. Jon Bostic is past his prime and while he has been hurt, even when healthy he is showing signs of decline. I mean Cole Holcomb has been solid this year, but he has not been the greatest. The point is the linebackers in Washington are terrible and if the Commanders want to fix the defense, they need to fix the linebacker position.
3. WTF Was Ron Rivera’s Game Plan for Week 17?
Ok this has to be said now, but this Game Plan the Commanders had against the Cleveland Browms was heavily botched. Look I respect Ron Rivera, but this does not paint him well at all. The Commanders for some reason decided to make a QB change with Carson Wentz starting over Taylor Heinicke. That was there first mistake and all game the Commanders just looked unprepared at all against the Cleveland Browns. Well we got our answer, just look at the tweet and play the video below.
What? How do you not know you're going to be eliminated from playoff contention in a given week? You mean to tell me you were so unprepared that you did not realize the possibility of elimination? This has to be the most incompetent action I think I have ever seen Rivera ever do. It is clear that he did not gameplan properly this week and as a result it led to the Commanders being eliminated.
I really wonder if this gets Ron Rivera fired once the end of the season occurs. It is his third season coaching the Commanders and they have not won more than 7 games in his tenure. Yes he made the playoffs in 2020, but that division was garbage. If I were to guess what could happen, I am not sure. On one hand I don’t think Rivera is going to be fired as he is the only ethical and good hearted person in that organization, but I can really see him being fired for how he game planned against the Browns.
On The Bright Side - Dan Snyder may finally sell the team One thing about the Commanders that has been clear is that they have been heavily distracted due to the incompetence and disgraceful actions of Dan Snyder who is one of the worst owners in league history. I don’t want to say the worst as Hugh Culverhouse of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was bad, but Snyder is definitely arguably the worst. Well the good news is that it looks like he may finally be selling the team.
It could be finally happening that Snyder will no longer be owning this Commanders soon. So, Dan Snyder do us all a favor, SELL THE TEAM!!!. The longer you are the owner, the more disgrace you bring to not only the Washington Commanders and the NFL as a whole. With Snyder hopefully gone soon, it would finally have change happen with the organization.