The Washington Commanders fell to 2-3 on the season after Thursday’s embarrassing 40-20 loss to the previously winless Chicago Bears in front of a national audience.
Washington, which began the season 2-0, has lost its last two home games by a combined 54 points. The Commanders lost to the Buffalo Bills 37-3 in Week 3. Those two home losses leave the Commanders 1-2 this season at FedEx Field.
The good news for Washington is FedEx Field has been sold out for all three home games. That’s a far cry from recent seasons when the Commanders had trouble filling their home stadium.
But with the team in the middle of a three-game slide, including two straight blowout losses at home, could that sellout streak be in jeopardy?
According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, Washington managing partner Josh Harris is concerned with “the impact an emotional national loss may have on ticket sales.”
With the #Commanders coming off a 40-20 loss last week to the #Bears on TNF, I'm told as of today*, managing partner Josh Harris' perspective is to continue to allow things to play out when it comes to potential staff decisions, at this time, per source. Harris is a seasoned…
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) October 9, 2023
Harris, who also owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, is choosing to be more patient regarding the current coaching staff.
Let’s first talk about the current coaching staff. Harris and his partners didn’t take over until July 20. He wasn’t coming in and making sweeping changes because there was no time for that. Additionally, taking over in July allows Harris and his partners to take inventory of everything, from the front office to the coaches to the players.
Last week’s loss was ugly. Fans are fed up — and rightfully so. The problem with firing anyone now is that it doesn’t guarantee the Commanders will be any better. Head coach Ron Rivera has had hot streaks in each of his previous three seasons in Washington, and perhaps Harris is waiting for another of those.
Next, let’s touch on the ticket sales. Harris is the owner; of course, he’s concerned about ticket sales. The problem here is the fans would prefer ownership be more concerned with the on-field product than ticket sales.
Something else Anderson said was interesting regarding potential coaching changes:
“Now, while I’m told some of the other limited partners have their own thoughts–and you can read between the lines there– we’ll see how things settle as the season evolves,” she wrote.
I wonder if one of those limited partners is Magic Johnson. We know Johnson wasn’t happy with what happened on Thursday night.