INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Commanders gave their fans an early Christmas present on Sunday afternoon in a 28-20 loss to the Rams, by freeing up their holiday calendar.
Christmas Eve against the Jets? Enjoy your uncle’s white elephant gift exchange. New Year’s Eve against the Niners? Get a good nap in before a long night of festivities.
The narrative entering this four-game stretch was that it was an opportunity to see which players could be foundational pieces for a future team. The answer was clear — not many. Enjoy your holidays, and check back in for some hope and change in January.
Washington’s offensive line continues to give Sam Howell little in the way of help. Sam Cosmi might stay, but the player with the most to prove — Saahdiq Charles — was largely disappointing.
Howell struggled, while Jacoby Brissett provided a quick spark, and quick throws, in relief, but with a top-five draft pick incoming, it would be irresponsible for this team not to examine all possible options at quarterback, no matter how the season plays out.
Next season’s tight ends aren’t on the roster, unless the new regime wants to keep Logan Thomas as a veteran voice.
Heck, there isn’t even a long snapper. Ron Rivera once traded a draft pick to draft Camaron Cheeseman. On Sunday, he got Tress Way injured with his errant snapping.
“I’ve been worried all year,” Cheeseman said of his job security. “Most places I wouldn’t be around still, so I’m taking every week as it is.”
Rivera said the long snapping on Sunday “wasn’t good enough, and we’re going to evaluate that.”
Look for an ad in Tuesday’s Times: “Wanted: New deck chairs for the Titanic.”
On defense, things haven’t been any better since the dismissal of Jack Del Rio. Washington continues to give up explosive plays at an alarming rate, and hasn’t had any semblance of a pass rush since trading Montez Sweat and Chase Young. Then there was the 62-yard touchdown by Cooper Kupp.
“We have two different ways of playing that, and we couldn’t get on the same page at that time,” cornerback Benjamin St.-Juste said. “Yeah, those types of plays, you just have to completely eliminate them.”
Here’s the bottom line: The Commanders haven’t quit. They aren’t phoning it in. They’re just plain bad.
That’s discouraging news for fans hoping for a quick rebuild, though in the NFL, with salary cap space and good draft picks, it’s never as far away as it seems.
It means the chances of Eric Bieniemy hanging around as head coach are exceedingly slim, no reflection on the man but rather the circumstance. Rivera, whose impending departure was breathlessly reported this weekend by The Athletic, will play out the string, as grim as it may be.
Rivera has to watch 180 more minutes of Commanders football. That doesn’t mean you do, though. Turn it on in the background, and carry on with your life — this team will be right where you left it come January, ready for a whole new cycle of optimism.
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