The final time Washington visited AT&T Stadium, the place the Commanders will tackle the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Ron Rivera’s group gave up the primary 21 factors and trailed 42-7 at halftime of an eventual 56-14 loss in prime time. No less than Washington put factors on the scoreboard within the first half of that debacle, one thing it didn’t do whereas being outscored 46-0 within the first two quarters during the last two weeks.
Washington
No team digs a 20-point hole like the Commanders under Ron Rivera
Sluggish begins and three-touchdown first-half deficits have been alarmingly frequent for Washington in Rivera’s two-plus seasons on the helm. When the Philadelphia Eagles scored on the ultimate play of the second quarter to take a 24-0 lead into halftime final Sunday, it marked the seventh time in 36 video games below Rivera that the burgundy and gold have allowed the primary 20 factors. That league-leading whole consists of the earlier week, when the Commanders noticed the Detroit Lions a 22-0 halftime lead earlier than mounting a comeback that fell brief.
“Are you aware how inconceivable that’s to tug off?” The Workforce 980 host Kevin Sheehan mentioned on his podcast this week. “In a league that’s designed for all of those groups to be pretty shut, to be down by 20 or extra in 20 % of the video games you’ve coached up to now by halftime? … It’s troubling.”
The Lions and Houston Texans have allowed the primary 20 factors of a sport 5 instances since 2020, and the Jacksonville Jaguars have finished it 4 instances throughout that span, in accordance with information from TruMedia, however Rivera’s Commanders are in a category of their very own in relation to digging themselves early holes. Not surprisingly, they’re 0-7 in video games through which they fall behind 20-0 or worse during the last three years.
The frequency with which Rivera’s groups have fallen behind 20-0 or worse during the last three years is staggering, particularly in comparison with Washington’s different coaches within the Daniel Snyder period. Mike Shanahan additionally noticed his Washington squad fall behind 20-0 seven instances, however that was over 64 video games. Jay Gruden’s groups trailed 20-0 or worse 5 instances over 85 video games. Washington had much less frequent ugly begins below Steve Spurrier, Marty Schottenheimer, Joe Gibbs and even Jim Zorn.
Throughout Rivera’s 9 years as coach of the Carolina Panthers, his groups allowed the primary 20 factors of a sport solely 5 instances. It occurred in his first loss with Washington, a 30-15 defeat in Week 2 of the 2020 season that noticed the Arizona Cardinals take a 20-o lead into halftime.
“We damage ourselves within the first half whenever you return and have a look at it,” Rivera mentioned after that sport.
Rivera’s groups have a historical past of beginning the season sluggish, record-wise. Throughout his tenure in Washington, that pattern has prolonged to particular person video games. Since 2020, Washington has scored first 11 instances, the second-fewest whole within the league, and trailed at halftime in 22 of 36 video games, the fifth-most within the league. Washington has trailed by at the least 20 factors at halftime in a league-high 5 video games. Regardless of having solely the ninth-most losses (21) during the last three years, Washington has trailed at any level within the second-most video games (33).
Say this for Washington: It’s finished a good job of not getting blown out. The Commanders’ 11 double-digit losses since 2020 are the eighth-most within the league. Their three 20-point losses during the last three seasons are fewer than 13 groups, together with the Lions, Jaguars and New York Jets, who’ve 9 apiece. Final 12 months’s residence sport in opposition to the Cowboys, through which Washington trailed 24-0 at halftime and misplaced 27-20, is an ideal instance of the group’s tendency to rally to at the least make issues attention-grabbing after falling behind by a number of scores.
“I really feel like I let [the fans] down,” Rivera mentioned after that loss. “I wished them out right here to cheer for us, and we must always have given them a greater first half. We gave them an excellent second half, one thing to cheer about. … However that’s soccer, and that’s what occurs.”
It simply doesn’t often occur like this, and so typically.
On Sunday, Washington will look to keep away from being shut out within the first half of three consecutive video games for the primary time since 1965.
“You’re not going to win too many video games with out placing any factors on the board within the first half like we’ve in the previous couple of weeks,” extensive receiver Terry McLaurin mentioned after Sunday’s loss. “Everyone knows that, and all of us need to take particular person accountability for that and enhance.”