Commanders News: Sam Howell, Ron Rivera, Emmanuel Forbes and Magic Johnson
By Dean Jones
Which Washington Commanders news stories are hitting the headlines following an embarrassing loss against the Chicago Bears on primetime?
Well, that didn't exactly go according to plan.
The Washington Commanders got an absolute hammering for the second-straight time at FedEx Field - this time with the entire NFL world watching on primetime - against the Chicago Bears. Another slow start and suspect defense played a leading role behind their demise, which was extremely disappointing when one considers the visitors had yet to attain a single victory through four weeks of the 2023 campaign.
This was a crushing blow to the Commanders' chances of making waves under new ownership, so there is much hard work ahead on a mini-bye before traveling to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6. Until then, the stories causing conversation include Emmanuel Forbes' benching, Ron Rivera's thoughts, Sam Howell's brutal honesty, and Magic Johnson's harsh assessment.
Let's delve into each topic in more detail.
Commanders owner Magic Johnson's harsh assessment
While the likes of Josh Harris and Mark Ein were shown smiling throughout a dismal outing from their suite, one member of the Washington Commanders' ownership group cut a completely different figure. Magic Johnson looked far from pleased by what was unfolding in front of him, and the limited partner gave a harsh assessment of the team's performance on social media after failing 40-20 in front of another sold-out audience.
"Tonight the Commanders played with no intensity or fire. We didn’t compete in the first half and got down 27-3 heading into halftime. It was too big of a hole to climb out of and that is why we ended up losing 40-20."
- Magic Johnson via X/Twitter
Johnson is absolutely right. It seemed as if the Commanders came into the contest thinking they were guaranteed victory without putting in the effort, which doesn't fly in the NFL and came back to haunt them in the worst way imaginable.