The Washington Commanders had a big opportunity to further solidify their position in the playoff hunt Sunday night against an NFC East rival.
But after a 20-12 defeat to the New York Giants stole most of their margin for error, head coach Ron Rivera said it is an all-hands-on-deck situation with just three games left to play.
“We’re in a very precarious situation right now,” Rivera told the media Monday. “We’ve got a half-game lead over a couple of teams and the key though is we gotta focus in on taking care of them one and a time.”
Does this mean that there is an increased sense of urgency to get a player like defensive end Chase Young on the field for the first time this season?
“Absolutely, I think so… And for everybody, for that matter,” Rivera said referencing other injured players.
“We got a big game coming up this Saturday,” he added. “We got a couple of key guys that are hopefully ready to come back from injury and get them out on the field, so they can help us out.”
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The Commanders face a trip to San Francisco before hosting Cleveland and Dallas to close the regular season. They currently occupy the third and final NFC wild-card spot ahead of the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions
“We need all hands on deck, this is what you live for, this is the crunch time of it and you gotta want to be there and gotta wanna be a part of it and do whatever you can to get on the field,” Rivera said. “And hopefully, some of these guys are healthy enough and ready to go.”
Rivera added the team won’t “expose anybody who’s not ready, but if a guy can come and make it and be out there to help us, we’d sure love to have him on the field.”
And needing a win over a solid 49ers team, the Commanders could do with Young (who hasn't played since last November) having a major impact down the stretch.
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