5 winners and losers from the Commanders defeat vs. Eagles in Week 8

Loser No. 2

Ron Rivera - Commanders HC

Things are going from bad to worse for Ron Rivera. The head coach is under significant strain regarding his long-term job prospects, which don't look especially promising after the Washington Commanders suffered their fifth loss in six following their 2-0 opening to the campaign.

In fairness to Rivera, the Commanders performed much better in this one. However, the bar was on the floor after such a woeful display during their complete capitulation at the New York Giants.

This was a game decided by fine margins. In particular, the fourth-down catch from Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith that Rivera didn't challenge.

When asked about the call following Washington's loss, Rivera stated that he didn't see the replay in time. Whether this was a communication issue with the booth or simple mismanagement is debatable, but even the slightest doubt should have led to him throwing the red flag.

If it doesn't go their way, so what? But it was complete malpractice not to at least try whether he'd seen the replay or not given the reactions of his players at the time.

Again, this probably won't go unnoticed by Josh Harris' new ownership group. The Commanders' winnable run of games is rapidly coming to an end before a daunting gauntlet to conclude the campaign, so it's going to take a monumental turnaround to convince the higher-ups he's worthy of another year.