Commanders News: Sam Howell, Ron Rivera, Emmanuel Forbes and Magic Johnson

Commanders HC Ron Rivera on potential changes

This looked like a winnable game for the Washington Commanders and hopes were high among the fanbase after their encouraging overtime loss at the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4. However, another flat start on home soil put them in a hole they were unable to get out of, coughing up 40 points to send their passionate support away from FedEx Field with far more questions than answers.

After a 2-0 opening to the season, the pressure is heating up on Ron Rivera as Josh Harris' ownership group continues to assess everything with the franchise. When asked about what went wrong and what comes next, the head coach stated via The Washington Post that there will be the usual assessment before deciding on any alterations that need to be made before Week 6 at the Atlanta Falcons.

"It starts at the top. We’ve got to be better. That’s on me. We’ll see. I’m not going to sit up here and talk about those things until we get an opportunity to break the tape down. We’ve got to look at the rotation of the players, look at what we do and make sure … we’re putting them in position to be successful. We evaluate everything."

- Ron Rivera via Washington Post

Rivera was clearly disappointed with how things unfolded, which is understandable in the circumstances. However, this once-vaunted defense is a shell of its former self, so it might be worth focusing on changing the approach in the hope it can unlock their obvious talent across all three levels.