Ron Rivera Defends Washington Commanders CB Benjamin St-Juste's Penalties
Washington Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste found himself at the center of criticism after Week 10’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks. At 4-6, that pressure is only amplified.
On Seattle’s penultimate drive, St-Juste was penalized twice for 21 of the Seahawks’ 75 yards. He was beaten by receiver Tyler Lockett to end the drive with a score. The touchdown put Seattle up 26-19. While Washington battled back, they would eventually fall 29-26 on a last-second field goal.
Few will argue the merits of St-Juste’s facemask penalty, but the defensive pass interference call that receiver DK Metcalf drew has been a point of contention. On fourth-and-five, he put his arm in front of Metcalf, who was running a slant route. It wasn’t obvious, but it was enough to warrant the flag—at least in the eyes of the officiating crew—and extend the drive.
St-Juste attempts to defend a touchdown pass to Philadelphia Eagles receiver A.J. Brown.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
It’s not the first time the Commanders secondary has been diced up by opposing passing offenses, and certainly not the first time crucial penalties have changed the equation of a game. Even so, head coach Ron Rivera defended his cornerback.
“Well, you let him work through it for the most part,” Rivera said. “You just tell him, ‘Just continue to compete.’”
His words of encouragement were followed by comments about the league’s officiating, especially on such game-changing plays. A no-call would have given Washington the ball with over four minutes to play in a tie game. With how well quarterback Sam Howell looked, Commanders fans would have liked those odds.
The only thing to do now is move forward, gain clarity, and hope the flag doesn’t fly next time.
“I've got about three or four that I'm going to send in and ask if I can get explanations on these as to why they weren't called or why they were called,” Rivera said. “Just so I can see where the consistency is.”
Furthermore, Rivera’s gripe had to do with physicality before the catch point. How much hand-fighting is allowed on a given play and what constitutes significant contact or a catchable pass can feel exceedingly arbitrary.
“I think for the most part is just the fact that there was contact,” Rivera said. “The thing I struggle with is if you look at it, you'll see that the receiver [D.K. Metcalf] puts his hand on him just as much. Again, as you sit there and you talk about is he getting an edge? At what point is the contact leading to an individual having an advantage over the other?”
His questions are fair, even if a good answer isn’t adding a win onto the Commanders’ record. St-Juste and his Washington teammates will look to rebound against a lowly New York Giants team in Week 11, a game that shouldn’t be played close enough for a penalty to decide.
