Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera made a questionable decision in Sunday’s game against the Eagles. After scoring a touchdown with no time left on the clock, Rivera made the decision to go for the tie rather than go for two. While the Commanders did receive the ball first in overtime, they ultimately were not able to come away with the win. After the game, Rivera explained his decision.
Washington Commanders Ron Rivera Explains Two-Point Decision
Rivera thought his players were tired. “Yeah but you know what. Those guys, they were gassed, they really were. It was a long-ass drive. They hurried, they were hustling,” Rivera said after the game. He decided to trust his team and go for the win in overtime when the team was more well-rested. The Commanders were out of timeouts so there really was no way to get a rest unless you gambled that the Eagles would want to talk things over. Even with the excuse, many analysts still questioned the decision.
A Questionable Decision
Do you know what makes players more tired? Having to play another ten minutes of football. The Commanders won the toss but went three and out. I get that the offense was tired but they really couldn’t muster up the fortitude to get through one play that might win them the game? These are the best athletes in the world. While that still means they get tired, I have a feeling they could dig deep for one play if it meant coming away with the victory. A decision like this is always hard to judge. If the Commanders won, we wouldn’t be talking about this at all.
The Washington Commanders and Ron Rivera still sit at 2-2 on the year. It was also a positive that Sam Howell was able to lead that game-winning drive. There were a lot of positives from Sunday and the hope is the team can build on that moving forward.
