Washington Football Team: Studs and duds from 2020 opening win
By Ian Cummings
Stud No. 4 – HC Ron Rivera
The first half gave the fanbase flashbacks to 2018 and 2019, and shades of Jay Gruden flashed on the same scoreboard that saw the Washington Football Team down 17-0 with the first half winding down.
But then, something different happened. Washington scored before the half. They came back out down 17-7, and they scored the final 20 points of the game.
One can only assume that the over-arching catalyst for the team’s turnaround was head coach Ron Rivera, who spent the offseason crafting a culture predicated on resilience, accountability, and persistence. Rivera’s unit came out of the locker room locked in, and they dominated the final two quarters, making the necessary adjustments, both mentally and operationally, to do so.
It was a meaningful win for Washington, a team that now has its first home opening win since 2014, and a team that now finds itself atop the NFC East standings, assuming the Giants fall to the Steelers tonight. But it was perhaps even more meaningful for Rivera, who needed affirmation in his new role. Some thought that maybe Rivera’s days of winning were over after Carolina fired him. On Sunday, Rivera gave an answer to those quandaries: “Not just yet.”
Next. Takeaways from Washington's Week 1 win vs. Eagles. dark
Rivera took a scheduled I.V. at halftime — a precipitant of his cancer treatment — and still managed to help guide his team to a victory with other things tugging at his focus. That resilience from the head coach trickled down to his players, and if that can carry on in the weeks that follow, then Washington could truly be poised to surprise.