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Washington Football Team: Studs and duds from Week 17 win over Eagles

By Jacob Camenker

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 03: Strong safety Kamren Curl #31 of the Washington Football Team celebrates with defensive end Chase Young #99 after an interception during the first quarter of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 03, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 03: Strong safety Kamren Curl #31 of the Washington Football Team celebrates with defensive end Chase Young #99 after an interception during the first quarter of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 03, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Jan 3, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera before action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera before action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Bonus Stud: Ron Rivera’s culture change

Forget the fourth dud, we’re adding a fifth stud this week. After all, it’s not every year that you get to win a division championship.

Ron Rivera deserves a lot of credit for what he’s been able to do for the Washington Football Team in such a short period of time. Rivera took an undermanned 2-14 team and turned them into a 7-9 squad. Sure, they’re lucky that they were playing in a bad division this year, but a five-win improvement is still a massive achievement, regardless.

Beyond Rivera’s accomplishments on the field, he has had some major ones off the field as well. He had to deal with a name change, a sexual harassment scandal created by the older regimes, the Dwayne Haskins conundrum, and more.

Most incredibly, Rivera battled cancer during the early stages of the season and beat it while coaching the team. His reason not for taking time off? He felt like he could do it and wanted to continue installing his system and culture in Washington.

That system has been a boon for the team. After their win over the Eagles, veteran tackle Morgan Moses said: “The positivity of the coaching staff is the difference, man.” That speaks to the impact they’ve made after the disconnect between the players and coaches during the Jay Gruden era.

Was the game against the Eagles Rivera’s best performance in charge of the WFT? No. But still, he has been instrumental in the attitude that this team has shown on the field, especially on defense. Given how well they played against the Eagles outside of the second quarter, he deserves some praise for that — even if he does have some work to do with the offense.

Washington still isn’t a true playoff contender yet, but with Rivera, they’re ahead of schedule and are poised to get some big-time experience against the Buccaneers. That’s a win for WFT fans and thanks to Rivera, they’ll get a chance to see something that hasn’t happened since 2015.

Next. QBs Washington could target during offseason. dark

That’s a playoff game in Washington.

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