Washington Commanders Head Coach Ron Rivera apologized to his quarterback, Carson Wentz, after blaming him for the team’s lousy start to their season.
Following Washington’s 21-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Rivera was asked during a press conference why other teams in the NFC East were further along than the Commanders. Rivera blamed his quarterback for the team’s lack of success.
A reporter asked, “Why are the other NFC East teams ahead of you?”
“Quarterback,” Rivera responded.
“Why are the other NFC East teams ahead of you?”
“Quarterback.”
Ron Rivera threw Carson Wentz straight under the bus 😭pic.twitter.com/CD1oIZsPaU
— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) October 10, 2022
Rivera later apologized for publicly bashing and placing the weight of the team’s failures this season onto the quarterback’s shoulders.
Rivera seemingly made amends with Wentz after the low blow comment saying, “Carson and I had a nice conversation, so I think we’re ready to roll,” according to ESPN. He also apologized to the rest of the team saying, “I told them I said some things that were misconstrued; I didn’t present them properly. That’s on me.”
“I took accountability, told the guys I should know better. S—, I had a bad day so I figured I was feeling better today, let’s move forward,” Rivera added, according to ESPN. (RELATED: Washington Commanders Fine Coach $100,000 For Saying Fiery 2020 Riots Were Bad)
Rivera did the right thing by chalking it up to having a bad day, but he should look up from his last place standing in the NFC East and look at how other teams, like the Dallas Cowboys, are doing even with a backup quarterback in their lineup. Cooper Rush and Dallas have been undefeated since Dak Prescott was injured in week one, according to Yahoo! Sports. They’ve played great even though no player on their offense thought that Rush would see the field this season.
Dallas played better despite the chaotic situation they were put in. Their success is a testament to how football is a total team sport. As a head coach, to blame all the team’s misfortunes on one guy was a crappy thing to do.
Kudos to Rivera for apologizing, but he’s been bad as a coach whereas Wentz has been leading their offense.