Commanders 'Going to Ride' With Carson Wentz & His Interceptions, Says Coach Ron Rivera
The Carson Wentz era got off to a fast start for the Washington Commanders, with the veteran quarterback tossing a pair of touchdown passes on his first two drives at the helm.
Up 14-3 on the Jacksonville Jaguars at halftime, everything appeared to be flowing well for Wentz and the Commanders offense ... until it wasn't.
A quick five-play possession out of the half resulted in a Washington punt, and the Jaguars stormed 80 yards down the field in just six plays to cut the score to 14-9, following a failed two-point conversion.
In need of momentum, the Commanders couldn't get back into their rhythm, posting another five-play drive before a Tress Way punt. Jacksonville put together an 11-play drive that ended with a field goal, trimming the margin once more to 14-12.
After holding a commanding advantage at the half, Washington came out of the tunnel with two quick, point-less offensive series and allowed a pair of scoring drives defensively. As the fourth quarter began, Wentz felt the need to make a play; what resulted was an interception by Jaguars corner Tyson Campbell, giving Jacksonville the ball near midfield.
The Jaguars put up another field goal to regain the lead, holding a 15-14 advantage in the final quarter. Certainly forcing the issue, Wentz threw an interception on the Commanders' first play of the following series.
Two plays, two throws, two interceptions. To make matters worse, Jacksonville ran the next play in for an 11-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 22-14. On the sideline, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner sat down with the frustrated Wentz and quickly turned the page.
“He comes to the sideline after the second one and kind of beat the ground a little bit," Rivera said postgame. "But we both looked at each other and I said ‘Hey, we’re gonna have to win this.’ And he said ‘Yeah, I will.’ And just walked away. He said it so confidently and that was good to see. Watching him with Scott and Scott just going over and talking to him like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get past this. We’ve got more football left.’"
Suddenly down eight points with under 12 minutes to play, Wentz led a quick-strike touchdown drive, finding receiver Terry McLaurin for a 49-yard score to cap the series in just over two minutes. The two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, but Washington's defense hunkered down, forcing a Jacksonville punt from near midfield.
Faced with 90 yards and just under seven minutes on the clock, Wentz went to work, methodically moving the offense down the field before finding rookie wideout Jahan Dotson for his second touchdown of the day to give Washington the lead with under two minutes to play.
The Commanders' defense once again stood tall, intercepting Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence to all but close out the 28-22 season-opening win.
In the end, it was a tale of two stories for Wentz - a scorching hot start and an equally as impressive finish, but a handful of mistakes littered in between. After the game, the former Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts signal caller broke down the interceptions.
“It was an ugly stretch, obviously," Wentz said. "Any time you get back-to-back turnovers, that's never fun. First one I threw, the guy made a good play, but that was (a) bad decision. The second one, made a play, came outta nowhere. Tough break, ideally just dirt that one, but yeah, it's a tough stretch there to bounce back from but guys did a good job. Everybody was rallying around each other and obviously we got it done.”
Rivera had his own assessment on the first interception, but also took solace in knowing that Wentz proceeded to respond in a big way.
"I do know he was late on one of the picks," said Rivera, referencing Campbell under-cutting Wentz's pass. "He took a little extra hitch and you can see it on the video when I looked up at it. But he knows, and he took full responsibility and that’s huge. The guy played his butt off and did a lot of good things. Really happy for him and really excited for him.”
The game provided the Commanders with the full Wentz experience - lots of ups, and lots of down. Wentz finished 27 of 41 for 313 yards and four touchdowns but threw the two game-altering interceptions.
Ultimately, neither proved to matter, as Washington came out on top. In the meantime, Rivera knows he's in for a rollercoaster ride with Wentz under center, but he's planning on riding until the wheels fall off.
“Take antacids," Rivera joked when asked how he'll handle Wentz's streaky play. "We’re going to ride with him. No matter how you look at it, we're gonna ride with him. We’ll go with the good, we’ll go with the bad, but that’s the truth of the matter ... He’s got some courage and will step up into the fray and accept responsibility. I'm very proud of what he did tonight.”
Rivera added that Washington did a lot of work on Wentz and felt that he was the right man to lead the franchise moving forward. As such, they'll take the bad with the good, knowing that's just apart of the Wentz experience.
And if that means getting in the win column like the Commanders did Sunday, they'll be more than happy with the decision.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft
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