The Washington Football Team looks in disarray from the outside, and coach Ron Rivera admitted that the team is dealing with a lot.
Washington lost 56-14 to Dallas on Sunday night. The team played without a number of players, including its top two quarterbacks, due to COVID issues. On top of that, in the leadup to the game, defensive back Deshazor Everett was the driver in a fatal car crash. Tensions boiled over during the game, when two Washington players got into a significant altercation on the sideline.
Rivera felt that all of those issues contributed to Washington’s blowout loss to Dallas.
“You have to deal with those things, and it’s tough,” Rivera said, via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. “It’s not easy to try to separate and compartmentalize situations like that. It spills over. It’s human nature. These guys are more than just robots. These guys have feelings. These are players; these are people. They got a teammate going through something right now. It’s tough.
“You have an opportunity, and you don’t have everybody playing. That’s hard on them. That’s not normal s—. That’s real-life s—, and that’s what they’re dealing with. These are young men, and we’re just trying to help them along the way.”
Rivera downplayed the sideline fight, as did the players involved. Perhaps the head coach is right about how many issues were caused by the team’s rocky week. That is inevitable, but it does not look like they were able to push it aside enough considering how badly Sunday’s game went.
Photo: Sep 26, 2021; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera walks on the field prior to the game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
