The Washington Commanders starting Jacoby Brissett versus the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday isn’t surprising. The bigger surprise is what took coach Ron Rivera so long?
Rivera’s failed tenure in Washington, which likely ends on Jan. 8, has been long caused by poor quarterback decisions. Every year was a new passer and none of them worked. Rivera thought he was a quarterback whisperer. Instead, he proved tone deaf.
Rivera spent the whole year saying Sam Howell was the starter after one good effort to end last season. Brissett was never given a chance. Maybe this season would have turned out differently with an experienced passer. Then again, maybe Brissett’s two excellent relief efforts were simply playing defenses with large leads.
Rivera repeatedly justified his decision on Wednesday by saying Howell needed “to take a breath.” That’s because the recent five-game losing streak saw Howell repeatedly failing in last-gasp attempts to carry the team after persistent defensive collapses.
But after a solid first half of the season, Howell’s growth became stunted. Maybe opposing defenses finally saw enough tape to solve Howell. Perhaps the constant sacks and hits took their toll. Why, even the team’s overall collapse contributed to Howell’s downfall. Most likely, it was all three and more.
Rivera repeatedly praised Howell and said he has a future in the league. To say otherwise would mean Rivera made a mistake. Developing a good young quarterback was Rivera’s only hope of staying next season, and it was a slim one at best. Now, there’s absolutely no reason to keep Rivera. Same goes for offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, as Washington’s next coach goes quarterback shopping with his own OC.
Howell will likely remain given two more years of a cheap contract. He’s a safety net should the incoming first-rounder fail, which a quick look around the NFL shows is very possible. But Howell will also need to learn his third offensive system in three years. That tends to doom young passers.
Brissett becomes the team’s 36th starting quarterback since its 1991 Super Bowl victory. He’s a long shot to return in 2024 as a free agent. The team will have a first-rounder and Howell so Brissett will find a better home by playing well in the last two games.
How does changing to Brissett help the Commanders rebuild? It doesn’t. It’s not protecting Howell, either. Rivera spent the whole season saying Howell needed to play late in bad losses to develop. Now Rivera is saying the opposite because he knows Howell can’t win against San Francisco or Dallas in the finale. No coach wants to exit his career with eight straight losses so Rivera is making a desperate move that won’t work anyway.
The clown show has two last acts, neither of which look to be pretty. The changing of passers is simply another smoke-and-broken-mirrors move to distract fans for a hot minute.
This season is headed for the dustpan of history. Who throws the final passes matters not. It’s just something to pass the time.
