The Washington Commanders suffered an ugly defeat on Thanksgiving when they went on the road to face the Dallas Cowboys. The game was competitive for three quarters, as Dallas held a 20-10 lead heading into the final stanza. But, the game got out of hand after that as the Commanders ended up losing 45-10.
That was the second straight embarrassing performance for Washington, who lost in Week 11 to the New York Giants 31-19. Now sitting at 4-8 on the season, a change has been made to the coaching staff.
Head coach Ron Rivera isn’t being relieved of his duties. Instead, it is two defensive coaches that have been given the pink slip. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer have both been fired.
With his head defensive coach no longer in the mix, Rivera is expected to take over the defensive play calling from here on out. There is some pressure on him to finish the season strong as a new ownership group headed by Josh Harris could look to bring in their own people in the offseason.
A shake-up on the defensive side of the ball is a good place to start. After having one of the most dominant units in the NFL on that side of the ball last season, Washington’s defensive production has fallen off a cliff.
They are last in points allowed in 2023 and 29th in yardage. Washington struggles to slow down anything but has been especially poor at stopping opponents through the air this season. In 2022, they were seventh in points allowed and third in yardage surrendered.
Tough sledding was expected for the Commanders’ defense following the trade deadline. Star defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young were traded to the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers, leading them short-handed in the pass-rushing department.
But, even when the pass rush got going, as they had nine sacks against the Giants, they were unable to come away with a win. Getting torched by Dak Prescott is one thing, but when undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito is lighting you up, it is time for a change to be made.
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