A routine post-game press conference ended in dramatic fashion for Commanders coach Ron Rivera after leading his team to a narrow 12–7 win over the Bears on Thursday Night Football.
Rivera’s time with the media took a sharp turn shortly after the presser began when he was asked to respond to a scathing ESPN report released Thursday morning regarding Commanders owner Dan Snyder. The question focused on a note in the report that stated Snyder, not Rivera, made the decision to acquire Carson Wentz in March despite a July 2021 agreement the owner had to step away from day-to-day operations.
Rivera, who drew heavy criticism earlier in the week for critical comments he made about his quarterback publicly, took clear exception with the pointed question and unleashed on a tirade in defense of Wentz and the team before abruptly storming away from the podium. Wentz gutted through an apparent injury to his throwing arm to play against Chicago and managed just 99 passing yards as part of another iffy offensive outing in a win that snapped a four-game losing streak for Washington (2–4).
“They’ve played their asses off, they have,” Rivera said, via video shared by ESPN’s Michele Steele. “They’ve played their asses off for everybody, they come out and they show up, they work hard, alright, they don’t complain, O.K., they hear all the stuff, and they got to deal with it. I get that. I respect them for that ’cause they’re resilient, they come back.
“Everybody keeps wanting to say I didn’t want anything to do with Carson, well, bull—-, I’m the f—— guy that pulled out the sheets of paper, that looked at the analytics, that watched the tape in freakin’, when we were in Indianapolis, and that’s what pisses me off ’cause the young man doesn’t deserve to have that all the time.”
Although Washington walked away from TNF with a win, Rivera’s passionate response at a time of celebration punctuated yet another challenging day for the franchise as a whole.
For Rivera, his Wednesday apology for answering “quarterback” when asked why the rest of the NFC East appears to be further along than the Commanders clouded his relationship with Wentz entering Week 6. That controversy took a backseat, however, to the continuing odyssey that is the league’s ongoing battle with the embattled Snyder.
Snyder, who is still facing various investigations regarding workplace misconduct allegations, reportedly told another executive he has enough “dirt” on other NFL owners, commissioner Roger Goodell and league officials that could “blow up” several people and organizations if released, according to ESPN’s report.
Despite sweeping calls for him to sell the team, Snyder has reportedly maintained his refusal, telling associates, per ESPN, that he does not plan to lose the team “without a fight that would end with multiple casualties.”
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