Commanders News: Ron Rivera, Montez Sweat, trade talk and Sam Howell

Commanders HC Ron Rivera's reasoning

There was another contentious issue where Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera was concerned in Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles. This centered on not challenging the fourth-down catch made by wide receiver DeVonta Smith.

Many fans looked on in bemusement as Rivera kept the red flag in his pocket and allowed the Eagles to get a snap-off. Something that came in for criticism and only piled more pressure on the figurehead that could have been avoided.

When discussing the clear incompletion and his indecision when it came to challenging the call, Rivera stated via USA Today Sports that he didn't see the replay in time. Philadelphia was all too aware, getting to the line of scrimmage quickly and moving on.

"I didn’t see it on the screen. I was looking up at the screen to see if there was something that could help me with it. Then I was waiting to hear somebody upstairs on if they had seen it or not. We hadn’t seen the replay, so we weren’t sure. [The Eagles] did their hurry-up, ran up to the line, and snapped the ball. You almost think that in that amount of time, somebody else could have looked at it and saw if it was complete."

- Ron Rivera via USA Today Sports

This is yet another grave error in judgment from Rivera and one that doesn't do his chances of lasting beyond the current campaign any good whatsoever. Getting some help from the booth would also help, but this had a huge impact on the overall outcome.