Commanders biggest flaws from 2021 already coming full circle

The leaves on the trees aren’t even falling in this young October, and the Washington Commanders are already staring down the barrel of a season spiraling beyond recovery. After dropping two straight divisional matchups, Ron Rivera’s 1-3 squad is in a rapid search for answers.

Walking off the field of a cold and rainy MetLife Stadium in Week 18 of last year, Ron Rivera entered the offseason with a laundry list of needs after the 2021 Washington Football team finished a disappointing 7-10. To start that list, the quarterback position was yet to be occupied by a long-term solution, and it was the team’s number one priority going into free agency.
The quarterback was far from the only thing this team needed.

The Commanders lacked depth in the secondary, linebacking corp, tight end room, and at wide receiver. Not to mention, the team lost valuable depth on the defensive line with the departure of Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidis and lost former first-round guard Brandon Scherff to free agency on the offensive line.

Let’s fast forward to right now.

It’s October of 2022 and every major problem this team faced a calendar year ago remains, and there doesn’t seem to be a good answer on the way.

The Commanders are in trouble. Can Ron Rivera save them?

Ron Rivera spent most of the offseason preaching confidence in his group. So much of the conversation leading up to this season revolved around the acquisition of Carson Wentz, and how many tools he would have in his arsenal to take this offense to the next level.

What few fans seemed to mention, however, was how quiet Washington was in free agency, and how little they did to help bolster a defense that ranked as one of the worst in the league just a season ago. Few questioned what kind of impact losing Brandon Scherff would be on the offensive line, and what exactly the plan was for replacing Settle and Ioannidis on a now thin defensive line?

For better or worse, this was the plan, and the results are beginning to show. Sadly, they paint a very bad picture for Rivera and the Commanders.

This isn’t fantasy football. There isn’t a draft next week. A hero won’t be walking through the doors in Ashburn to save the season. These are the cards that Rivera and his staff chose, and these are the cards they have to play with. If these cards can’t lead to winning football games, it’s only fair to start questioning the evaluation process.

This is year three for Rivera. His coaching staff and his roster are falling behind, and he is going to have to find answers fast.

This offensive line has to give them more. Carson Wentz has to give them more. This coaching staff has to give them more. This team, in the words of Rivera, “Needs to play better.”

The problem is, they aren’t playing better. After a Week 1 opening day victory, they are somehow playing worse. Other than the second-half offensive explosion against the Detroit Lions, this team has been completely dominated on both sides of the ball.

If Washington has a chance to turn this ship around, it has to start right now. The “slow start” and “fast finish” plan this team used in 2020 and 2021 isn’t going to cut it. The division is simply too good, and this team hasn’t proven itself to be capable of keeping pace.

A home tilt against the Titans and a Thursday Night Football matchup against a very poor Bears team might be enough to get the ball rolling in the right direction. If not, this could be yet another painfully long season of football in our nation’s capital.