LOVERRO: After lost opportunities, Commanders’ season reduced to bad football and coaching

Remember the last time the Washington Commanders made their way to SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles?

They were the Washington Football Team then, and it was the famous TMZ stadium tour in May 2021 with Dan Snyder, his chief blunder officer Jason Wright, and a group of other paid sycophants.

“We’re touring stadiums,” Snyder told TMZ. 

“We’re coming to the West Coast and touring. There’s about 12 of us and we’re just looking to build a new venue back home … So, we’re everywhere. Jason, our whole group, 12 of us, we’re having some fun and looking at the future.”

Just the boys having fun on a road trip. Those were the days, eh?

I bring that up as a public service reminder. However dysfunctional Sunday’s 28-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams was — and this one put the “D” in dysfunction — the sight of Snyder and Wright fantasizing about their new football stadium was far worse for Commanders fans.

Now it is just down to the dwindling days of bad football and bad coaching, with the countdown until the season ends on Jan. 7 and Ron Rivera, Eric Bieniemy and the rest of staff that has directed this team to a 4-10 record are gone on Jan. 8. Or maybe Jan. 9. After all, Jan. 8 is Elvis Presley’s birthday, and you don’t want to compete for the attention of the final cleanup of the Snyder house of horrors with Elvis.

Reportedly, new owner Josh Harris was at SoFi Stadium Sunday to conduct his own informal stadium tour. After the District flubbed the negotiations with Transparent Ted Leonsis, who announced last week he hopes to move his basketball and hockey teams to Northern Virginia, Harris should be able to walk into Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office, slap a photo of SoFi Stadium down on her desk and say, “Here — I want this. Only better.”

He also was able to gather more evidence to make the case to move on from Rivera — as if he needed more. Harris is no neophyte to the NFL. He still reportedly owns a 5% share of the Pittsburgh Steelers, so he is aware of what NFL coaching is supposed to look like. He’s seen Mike Tomlin in action.

Did I just mention Mike Tomlin? Did I forget to point out that he did not get a contract extension from the Steelers and is going into the final year of his agreement next season? Never mind.

The days of the joy of the search for the next coach are ahead for Commanders fans. Unfortunately, there is still football to be played and opportunities to miss.

“We’re just going to go and evaluate,” Rivera told reporters after Sunday’s loss. “One thing I thought we did pretty well at times is that we ran the ball … if you run it efficiently, it helps and gives you an opportunity to do some different things.”

There it is. Opportunity. It’s been like a greased pig for this football team. It’s there, they can see it, but they just can’t get their hands on it.

Jacoby Brissett got his hands firmly around the opportunity he was given Sunday when the backup quarterback took over for benched starter Sam Howell. Brissett completed 8 of 10 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns, nearly pulling off a remarkable comeback.

He didn’t get much help from the coaches — the same ones who kept him on the bench all season.

Washington took nearly three minutes to score on a first and goal against the Rams, with penalties and play calling wasting valuable time. By the time the Commanders scored and tried an onside kick, there was just 1:46, and a Rams first down sealed the game for Los Angeles.

Maybe by that point, new owner Harris was pointing across the field at Sean McVay on the Rams sideline and asking, “So we once had him?”

Instead of McVay, the Commanders have a coach who traded up for a long snapper in the 2021 draft who seems to have caught Steve Sax disease and can’t consistently snap the ball long, which is kind of the point of the position. He nearly cost the team its most valuable player, punter Tress Way, with one bungled snap and then cost them an extra point on another.

When this problem came up earlier this year, Rivera tried out several other long snappers but decided to stay with Camaron Cheeseman. After all, how foolish would he look if he cut a typically undrafted position player after moving up in the draft to select him?

This foolish — he cut Cheeseman Monday.

Rivera made another foolish commitment after last season, handing Howell the starter’s job and dedicating this season to developing the young quarterback. That meant a wasted year for players like receiver Terry McLaurin who might have flourished under Brissett at quarterback, based on what we witnessed Sunday.

Rivera said Monday Howell — who apparently was benched Sunday out of compassion — will remain the starter. So let’s play this out in the final three weeks, get the high draft choice for the new coach and front office and select a first-round quarterback. Rivera meanwhile, will go home and wait for ESPN to call.

And if his roster wins the title next year, Rivera says everyone can thank him then.  

“I don’t worry about being on the hot seat. If we go 8-8-1 this year and he (meaning Josh Harris) fires me, and next year they win the division with 40 of the 53 players we drafted and the same quarterback? I’m vindicated, send me my Super Bowl ring.”

Make sure to get his address.

⦁ You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.