Commanders News: Ron Rivera, Sam Howell, Emmanuel Forbes and Week 11

Which Washington Commanders news stories are hitting the headlines after their heartbreaking loss at the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10?

The Washington Commanders fought with everything they had and led for long periods, but Jack Del Rio's defensive unit once again fluffed their lines en route to a gut-wrenching loss at the Seattle Seahawks. Moral victories at this stage are moot - this defeat represents a significant dent in the team's hopes of making the wildcard spots in the first season under Josh Harris' ownership group.

In the wake of such a demoralizing reverse, the stories causing debate include Emmanuel Forbes' frustration, Ron Rivera's assessment, Sam Howell's accountability, and the Commanders' opening as heavy favorites in Week 11 against the New York Giants.

Let's delve into each topic in more detail.

Commanders vs. NY Giants odds for Week 11

The Washington Commanders have yet to win a divisional game this season. According to the opening betting lines, that could change when they take the field in Week 11 against the struggling New York Giants on home soil.

According to the latest odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, the Commanders are 9.5-point favorites to get one over on the Giants at FedEx Field.

• Washington -9.5 points: -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
• New York +9.5 points: -105 (bet $105 to win $100)

Anyone wishing to bet the Commanders' money line can get them with odds of -500 attached (bet $500 to win $100). After a torrid run of bad luck and poor form this season, the Giants are heavy underdogs despite their win over Washington earlier in the campaign at +385 (bet $100 to win $385).

FanDuel Sportsbook has set the over/under at 36.5 points.

• Over 36.5 points: -115
• Under 36.5 points: -105

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Commanders CB Emmanuel Forbes' frustration

Emmanuel Forbes' hopes of building on the best performance of his professional career were dented almost immediately at the Seattle Seahawks. The rookie cornerback was ejected for a late hit on wide receiver Tyler Lockett, which seemed harsh when one considers the speed at which he was going.

The Washington Commanders had to cope without Forbes and did miss the first-round selection - especially against Jaxson Smith-Njigba. He had to take it on the chin, but his frustrations were evident when speaking to the media in the locker room following another hard-fought defeat.

Forbes also took to social media in the game's immediate aftermath. The Mississippi State product stated he'd not had an explanation personally and had seen far worse hits this season that didn't result in an ejection.

This was one of multiple bad calls from the officials in this one. It's become a major complication around the league and calls for referees to become full-time professionals are growing - especially considering what's at stake in the modern-day game.

The defensive back can expect a big fine to go along with his ejection. Those within the NFL office normally double down on things like this, so he'll be out of pocket in addition to missing almost the entire game at Lumen Field.

Would Forbes have made that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things? Considering how easily quarterback Geno Smith was moving the football downfield late on, it's entirely possible.

We'll never know for sure.

Commanders HC Ron Rivera's assessment

This was another game decided by fine margins. For head coach Ron Rivera, it also came with more questions about why the Washington Commanders didn't go for a two-point conversion after in-form quarterback Sam Howell once again led his team on a game-tying drive.

When discussing the call post-game, Rivera stated via SB Nation that he liked his chances of going into overtime. However, it didn't matter considering the Commanders' defense allowed the Seattle Seahawks into field goal range on the next play with time running out, it didn't matter.

"You know, in talking and trying to get a feel for it, the biggest thing that you get concerned with is how much time was left. Because, again, they don’t have consequences, now the opportunity to move the call down comes into play, you know what I’m saying? They had two timeouts left. So, again it was one of those things I liked our chances going into overtime. I liked the way we moved the ball. We found a couple things we felt we could exploit, and we did. We did it twice the last couple drives. Felt good going into overtime."

Ron Rivera via SB Nation

Losing their close games has been the hallmark of Rivera's time as head coach. The figurehead seems to have found a franchise quarterback for the Commanders, but he might not be around to see out this project unless there's a huge turnaround down the stretch.

Commanders QB Sam Howell's accountability

This was another outstanding performance overall from Sam Howell. The quarterback is now No. 1 league-wide in passing yards following his latest 300-yard outing a the Seattle Seahawks, which also came with three touchdowns and no interceptions to further cement his status as the Washington Commanders' long-term option under center.

There was one fumble when Howell fought for more yardage that he'd like to have back, but aside from that it was extremely pleasing. However, the former fifth-round selection was keen to point out the flaws as an accountable leader when speaking post-game via SB Nation.

"Yeah, it’s tough. You got to go back and watch the film and look at the reasons that we had those few three-and-outs — I don’t know how many three-and-outs we had. Seems like a lot. You got to go back and look at why those things were happening. Obviously establishing the run helps, but I got to do a better job making quicker decisions, getting the ball out faster. Had a couple sacks. We just got avoid the negative plays and do a good job on first and second down so that way we have — we’re in third and manageable situations."

Sam Howell via SB Nation

Howell still has to navigate a daunting run of games down the stretch, but he's tackled every challenge seamlessly up to now. Something that means the Commanders might just have their first legitimate franchise presence under center since Kirk Cousins.

If there was one positive to take from the campaign, it's Howell. A player taking full advantage of his opportunity and making the entire league sit up and take notice.