Category: 2023 NFL Season

Commanders HC candidate led NFL in this type of TDs in 2023

If Ben Johnson is Washington’s next coach, the Commanders will run the ball.

In Friday’s Commanders’ head-coaching search came this tweet from John Keim.

Johnson is a prime candidate to become a head coach during this 2024 hiring cycle. One of the features of Johnson’s running game has been his play-action game. In fact, the Lions led the NFL in touchdowns from play-action while their quarterback was under center.

One memorable feature is that Johnson is content to not gain much yardage on many runs. He continues to call for run plays in the course of games when the Lions are actually having difficulty running.

Why?

He firmly believes that if you run it enough, the defense will take your run game seriously. Consequently, incorporating the play-action fake will increase your odds of hitting some key passing plays later in a game.

In 2022, late in a game against the Vikings, Johnson and the Lions led Minnesota 31-23 at the two-minute warning. However, the Lions faced a 3rd & 7. Johnson did not simply want to run the ball on 3rd 7, most likely giving the ball back to Kirk Cousins with more than enough time to score late.

Johnson had Pro Bowl tackle Penei Sewell go in motion and be the lead blocker for a simple off-tackle run that only gained one yard. On 2nd & 9, Johnson had a receiver go in motion for a simple dive play up the middle for a mere two yards, setting the stage for the 3rd & 7 play.

Johnson could have safely called for another run between the tackles, forcing the Vikings to use one of their remaining timeouts and then punt the ball deep to the Vikings.

Quarterback Jared Goff was again under center, sending Sewell again in motion. Goff took the snap, this time faked the between-the-tackles running play, looked up, and fired a pass to, of all people, Sewell, who was understandably wide open in the flat for the first down.

Move the chains, the Vikings use up their last time out, and the Lions run out the clock; Lions win.

Meanwhile, Washington offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. in 2023, came under heavy criticism for repeatedly choosing to have Sam Howell drop back, too often not employing a play-action fake, nor having Brian Robinson run the ball enough to take off some of the pass rush towards Howell.

 

Former Commanders coach Ron Rivera: ‘I put way too much pressure on him (Sam Howell)’

Ron Rivera expresses regret on his handling of QB Sam Howell.

Ron Rivera, speaking with John Keim, said he probably shouldn’t have put as much pressure on quarterback Sam Howell in 2023.

Howell got his first and only snaps of the 2022 season when Taylor Heinicke felt that Howell should start and play the final game of the season because the Commanders had been eliminated from the playoffs the previous week.

After Howell played well in the 2022 season finale against Dallas, Rivera then named Howell the QB1.

“I think that was probably one of the mistakes I made this year. The biggest one I think I made was I put way too much on him, and he didn’t deserve to have that put on him. He’s a good, young quarterback who has some talent and some ability. I think that’s something I should have backed off.”

Rivera told Keim he should have stated that Howell “was going to be the first guy to get the opportunity to be Q1, not that he was QB1.” Rivera continued that this put more pressure on Howell and he should have made it clear Howell had not been anointed the starter.

Rivera then emphasized to Keim that he felt Howell handled it tremendously well but that he should not have had to handle as much and that it was all on Rivera.

The recently fired Commanders head coach also pointed out he felt several in the Washington media were looking for the “I gotcha moments” to catch Rivera in contradictions or misstatements. He voiced in frustration that there were even times he would go back and read the transcripts to see what he had exactly said to the local media.

He recalled times he knew he could have said some things differently and admitted to Keim that he certainly realizes he is not infallible.

There is much more… here is the entire discussion between Rivera and Keim.

 

Postgame quotes following Commanders’ 8th straight loss

Postgame quotes from Brian Mitchell, Logan Paulsen, Ron Rivera, Terry McLaurin and Sam Howell and more.

Well, even the post-game show kicked off with a major error.

Bryan Colbert Jr., the Commanders’ postgame show host, began declaring the final score was 35-10.

Actually, Dallas had kicked a field goal, its final three points only 1:06 into the final quarter. Not sure, but wondering, “Did Colbert ever look at the scoreboard during the remaining 13:54 of the game?”

Here are some quotes from immediately following Sunday’s 38-10 loss to the Cowboys at FedEx Field.

“A quarter doesn’t win football games. You have to play four quarters and find some way of doing it…ultimately this game is about pride. It’s about passion, and it’s showing what you are about, and in some instances tonight, I didn’t see what a lot of people are about.” Brian Mitchell

“There is something disappointing about this. I understand and empathize with this. I’ve played in games like this when nothing matters. But, you would like to see the guys dig a little deeper, make some of those tackles, especially the corners. But I understand.” Logan Paulsen

“To see the juice that he brings, the bend that he has…not just today, but since Jamin Davis has been out. So it is nice to see that he deserves to be a part of this moving forward.” Logan Paulsen on Khaleke Hudson

“It’s the end of season that wasn’t very good, wasn’t what we thought it was going to be. But it’s also the end of an era in a sense. This is the end of the Dan Snyder era, where you had the last coach he hired… a lot of things are about to change.” Brian Mitchell

“It just gets very heavy. It makes your stomach uneasy. You just don’t know what’s going to happen to anybody. But that’s just the reality of playing.” Tress Way

“I am disappointed in how we played the second half. I thought we did some good things early on in the game. I expected us to play better in the second half, so that is disappointing.” Ron Rivera

“I’m not sure what to wait for, but I am going to meet with him (Josh Harris) sometime tomorrow. So, we’ll look forward to the conversation.” Ron Rivera

“To see how he overcame (cancer) and how he was still there for us — that’s much respect. That’s something you can’t forget about.” Antonio Gibson on Ron Rivera

“As it got away from us in terms of the score, it becomes difficult where you put so much on the quarterback to make something happen. That’s a little bit what it’s been like the last six weeks, seven weeks. It’s been tough. It’s been tough sledding. But he’s handled it well. You see certain talents and certain abilities.”  Ron Rivera on Sam Howell

“What Mr. Harris is doing with this group of investors, coming in and really spending the time, the effort, the money to do things the right way…that’s one of the pluses and one of the positives. It’s a very passionate fan base, and their expectations are big. I think these are the kind of people that can come in and lead that. This is what I think they (the fan base) should be excited about.” Ron Rivera

“He’s an incredible human being,”  Tress Way regarding Ron Rivera

“The one thing I know about Sam, the kid has guts.” Terry McLaurin on Sam Howell

“It was a lot of ups and downs, a tough year, not the year we expected to have, not the year we wanted to have. But that being said, I have learned a lot. I’ve grown a lot as a player, as a person. And for that, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” Sam Howell

“I think I’ll be more consistent. I think the main thing for me is just playing. I think at times I was playing some good ball. I’ve just got to do it more consistently.” Sam Howell

Commanders’ 2023 season is finally over

Another ugly start was a preview of things to come for Washington — sounds like the entire season.

How about those Commanders?

Well, they lost 38-10, wrapping up the second overall draft choice in next April’s NFL draft.

On very first possession, they faced a 3rd & 1 on their own 49. Just prior to the snap of the ball, tight end Logan Thomas lined up under center. The Dallas defense was ready and quickly adjusted, preparing for the QB sneak by Thomas.

But Thomas, when taking the snap, faked an inside right dive to Brian Robinson, then pitched to Sam Howell to his right. Howell then passed downfield to a wide-open Terry McLaurin. It was a wonderful play design, destined for an easy touchdown. Howell badly underthrew McLaurin by at least five yards. It was a surefire 51-yard touchdown, and Howell simply got tight and didn’t deliver the pass accurately.

The play was there for Sam Howell. It could have provided him with a significant boost of confidence. Sadly, Howell didn’t execute the play.

A moment later, on 4th & 1 at the Dallas 31, Howell looked to his left and threw a quick screen to Brian Robinson. Robinson caught the pass at his 37. Left tackle Cornelius Lucas was easily beaten on the play, not allowing Robinson to cut upfield upon catching the pass, and the play was blown up for a 2-yard loss.

The two plays were indications of things to come. Washington either would not make a few plays available to them, or they would be beaten by the quicker, more aggressive Cowboys.

Oh, did I mention the two teams entered Sunday’s contest with Dallas a +73 in points scored in the first quarter this season, while the Commanders were a -86? That speaks to team preparation, but that’s for another story.

The Commanders had started the season 2-0 but sadly lost 13 of their last 15 games to finish 4-13. Not one of us saw this bad of a season coming for Ron Rivera. Especially after such a big name like Eric Bieniemy was hired as offensive coordinator.

This season couldn’t have ended soon enough…what a disaster.

Now enters new owner Josh Harris…

 

Cowboys lead Commanders 21-10 at halftime in regular-season finale

A solid first half from a depleted Commanders’ team.

The Dallas Cowboys lead the Washington Commanders 21-10 at halftime in the regular-season finale from FedEx Field.

Washington began the game on offense, driving the ball down the field, and should’ve had an easy touchdown, but quarterback Sam Howell just missed an open Terry McLaurin. While the drive continued, the Cowboys stuffed the Commanders on fourth down.

The Cowboys immediately went to work, as quarterback Dak Prescott drove the length of the field and found wide receiver Jalen Tolbert for a touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead.

Washington turned the ball over on the first play of the next series, giving the Cowboys excellent field position. However, Washington’s defense stopped Dallas, forcing a field goal. Commanders rookie defensive end Joshua Pryor blocked the Brandon Aubrey kick, allowing cornerback Jace Whittaker to pick it up and return it 66 yards deep into Dallas territory.

Howell found Robinson for a touchdown a few plays later to tie things up.

On the next series, Washington rookie cornerback Quan Martin intercepted Prescott. Howell found Curtis Samuel for what looked like a touchdown, but officials ruled Samuel didn’t get both feet down, which was the correct call. The Commanders would settle for a field goal.

Dallas was impressive on its next drive, as running back Tony Pollard finished it with a short touchdown to run to give the Cowboys a 14-10 lead.

The Commanders were driving again, but Demarcus Lawrence hit Howell as he threw the ball, which was intercepted. The Cowboys quickly turned that turnover into another touchdown when Prescott found CeeDee Lamb to make it 21-10.

Howell completed 14 of 21 passes for 109 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the first half. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin caught three passes for 37 yards. He entered the game needing 54 yards to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth consecutive year.

Dallas had 241 total yards in the first half, while Washington finished with 141.

The Cowboys will open the second half with the football.

 

When they last met: Commanders and Cowboys

The Commanders kept it close until the Cowboys blew it open in the 4th quarter.

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

Dallas 45, Washington 10 – Week 12, November 23, 2023

Washington had trimmed the Dallas lead to four points with 1:51 remaining in the half and still managed to lose 45-10 in a Thanksgiving Day massacre at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Dak Prescott passed for four touchdown passes, Tony Pollard ran for a touchdown, and DaRon Bland intercepted a Sam Howell pass, returning it 63 yards for the game’s final touchdown.

Washington entered the game already written off by the NFL fans as the Cowboys were a 13.5-point favorite at kickoff.

Washington scored on Sam Howell’s one-yard run with 1:51 remaining in the half, narrowing the Commanders deficit to four points (14-10). However, the Washington defense permitted the Cowboys to drive 75 yards to a virtually uncontested touchdown drive, extending the Dallas lead to 20-10.

The Dallas pass rush hurried Howell most of the day, eventually sacking the former Tar Hell quarterback four times. Howell’s pick-six was the only turnover of the day for either team.

Washington actually owned the time of possession statistic holding the ball for 36:54 seconds to only 23:06, being the time the Cowboys had possession of the ball.

However, what the statistic does not reveal is how easily and quickly the Cowboys scored on three of their possessions.

Brian Robinson rushed for 53 yards on 15 carries, while Curtis Samuel collected 100 receiving yards on his nine receptions.

Prescott finished 22 of 32 for 331 yards and his four touchdown passes to no interceptions nor sacks. Pollard accumulated 79 rushing yards on 13 carries. Brandin Cooks, CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Tolbert generated 72, 53 and 49 receiving yards, respectively.

Washington fell to 4-8, while Dallas raised its record to 8-3.

5 worst losses of the Ron Rivera era for the Commanders

The Giants appear on this list more than once. But which loss tops the list? And what is your pick?

On Friday, Commanders Wire offered the top-5 wins of the Ron Rivera era in Washington.

Now we ask, what were the top 5 worst losses of the Rivera era in Washington?

A couple were horrible but didn’t make our top-5 list.

For instance, on Dec. 26, 2021, Washington went to Dallas and was embarrassed and humiliated by the Cowboys 56-14. In addition, on Oct. 31, 2021, at Denver, Washington had numerous chances to do something, but Scott Turner’s offense repeatedly was ineffective in a 17-10 loss.

Here are the top-5 worst losses for Ron Rivera during his Washington era.

 

Bieniemy believes difficult season has helped Commanders QB Sam Howell grow

The offensive coordinator believes Washington’s plan with Sam Howell this season will help his long-term development.

Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was challenged Wednesday and he didn’t hesitate to defend his decision.

Bieniemy was asked if he thinks the increased passing game was the best way to develop Sam Howell this past season.

“I think going back, looking at it, yes, in order for a quarterback to play, you got to give him an opportunity.”

It was a rather interesting response, seeing he had just talked of how Patrick Mahomes did not have to play but could learn from Alex Smith during the 2017 season in Kansas City.

Perhaps in Bieniemy’s defense, he meant that because Howell was already declared to be the QB1 in the offseason, then this was the best way for Howell to learn, because he still had Brissett behind him being supportive.

“Now, obviously, you could look back at situations and say he did something different, but a lot of that is predicated on the score, the situation that presents itself. Yeah, there’s a number of things that you can do to change everything, but it worked out the way it did.”

One of the criticisms of Bieniemy this season has been his apparent unwillingness to run the ball more often, keeping the defensive pass rush more honest, rather than always rushing Howell.

But Bieniemy sounded firmly convinced Thursday that he believes Howell is further along, having been pushed to drop back more often in 2023.

“I think what has happened throughout the course of the season, it’s helped Sam to grow. Like I said, he’s had some highs, he’s had some lows, he’s had some challenging situations, but the thing that is not only testing him as a talent, is testing his character, and he’s finding out more about who he is as a person.”

Indeed there were times this season when teammates such as Terry McLaurin and Jonathan Allen both spoke publicly, praising Howell for his arm talent and leadership. Unfortunately for Howell, his play and confidence have both swooned in the last six weeks of the season.

Yet, Bieniemy proclaimed Thursday, he still believes in Howell. “The thing that I love about him is his behavior has not changed. If anything, going through this adversity has made him even more hungrier. It’s given him even more of a passion to want to perfect his skillset. So, that’s the thing that excites me about Sam, and that’s what you want from a quarterback.”

Commanders Ron Rivera facing the reality of what awaits him

Ron Rivera focused on Sunday, not anything that happens afterward.

Ron Rivera was asked Wednesday, “Do you still want to be a head coach in the league?”

Rivera was asked this because every single person following the team in the DMV is well aware, as is Rivera himself, that Sunday is it for him as head coach of the Commanders.

“Well, I know this, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it on Sunday,” replied Rivera. We all know it is coming, and so does Rivera, but that doesn’t make it any easier for the veteran NFL head coach to respond to such questions. But Rivera was direct, displaying he is not at all living in denial.

Rivera was asked if he was driving home the fact that his team can play the role of spoiler this week because Dallas is attempting to win the division, earning one, perhaps two, home playoff games.

“They’re very much aware of it. I really don’t have to,” expressed Rivera. “I think they understand this is one of the top rivalries in the NFL I don’t think it really matters what your record is. This is really about the opportunity to play against a team like this.”

Knowing he will be fired, Rivera was asked about his being able to focus on the day-to-day and not think of the big picture that awaits him next week. Without hesitation, Rivera responded, “Because I can’t control anything beyond what we do here. More so than anything else, that’s the truth of the matter.”

“That’s what I’m here for is to coach. I’ve gotten an opportunity to coach. There was a long period of time I did a lot of managing. In the last four to five weeks, it’s really been about coaching.  So, just keeping focus on that has been something that I’ve tried to do and just stay where I am. You know, the old expression ‘be where your feet are’.”

Rivera first became part of an NFL coaching staff in 1997 (Chicago Bears). He became an NFL head coach with the Carolina Panthers in 2011 and was fired during the 2019 season. He has been Washington’s head coach since January of 2020.

Commanders’ Rivera: ‘We’re going to stick with Sam’

Sam Howell will be the first QB to start every game under Rivera.

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera announced Wednesday that Sam Howell will be the starter Sunday against the Cowboys at FedEx Field.

The first question directed at Rivera was regarding who would start Sunday, and Rivera’s succinct reply was, “Yes, we are going to stick with Sam.”

When asked if it was due to his play last Sunday or Jacoby Brissett’s hamstring injury, Rivera responded, “Well, I think it’s a little bit of both. But I thought what Sam did, he did the things that we were hoping he would be able to do. He did some really good things. I thought he managed a couple of the drives very well, very nicely. I want to see him get an opportunity to finish it out.”

Rivera expressed that he thought early on Howell had been able to connect with Terry (McLaurin) and that was something he wanted to see, and that this Sunday gives them a chance again to do some more of that.

Rivera pointed out that Howell took his benching well during last week’s game preparation. “He handled it no differently than I thought he would. He’s a very solid young man, a very mentally tough guy, and I thought he handled it nicely”, expressed Rivera.

With this decision, it means it could most likely become the first season of Rivera’s four seasons where he was able to start the same quarterback all season that he desired to start in preseason.

Last season (2022), Carson Wentz was the starter for whom Rivera had traded in the offseason. Wentz started seven games last year, struggled at times and also suffered a broken finger on his passing hand against the Bears. Taylor Heinicke started nine games, with Howell starting the season finale against Dallas.

In 2021, Rivera made the decision to sign free-agent Ryan Fitzpatrick to be Washington’s starter. However, in the opening half of the opening game, Fitzpatrick badly injured a hip and was lost for the season. Heinicke then started the other 15 games.

In Rivera’s first season in Washington, he started Dwayne Haskins in the first six games, Kyle Allen received four starts, and Alex Smith made the other six starts. Heinicke then was the starter for the playoff game.