Washington Commanders' Ron Rivera Reveals Terry McLaurin 'Talk' After Poor Outing vs. Miami Dolphins
The Washington Commanders were again beaten down, this time by the Miami Dolphins in a 45-15 loss as they now slump to 4-9 on the season.
While the scoreline for some wasn't surprising, but receiver Terry McLaurin's stat line certainly was. "Scary Terry" was targeted just three times (lowest of the season) and failed to make a catch.
Given that McLaurin is the Commanders' best offensive weapon, it would make sense to feed him the ball. Naturally, McLaurin was feeling rather frustrated at how his Sunday panned out (despite making a cardio joke), and head coach Ron Rivera has revealed that there were talks between himself, McLaurin, and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
“Yeah, I've talked with Terry before and we've talked about those things and I know he's talked to Eric and he's gone in and he and EB have good conversations from what I understand," Rivera said. "That's then to me that's the way you handle it is you go in and you talk directly. I think that's big of what he's been doing. It’s been big of him to come in and fight the frustration and talk about it if that's what needs to be."
Commanders Terry McLaurin didn't have a catch in the loss to Miami.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel, and running back Antonio Gibson all had five targets in the game, yet McLaurin only had three. That does seem a little odd.
McLaurin was targeted twice in the first half and on the Commanders' opening drive of the third quarter, on a first-and-10 he was also targeted, but it fell incomplete. After that, McLaurin didn't see a ball thrown his way at all.
There will no doubt be frustration at how Washington's season has gone and with back-to-back blowouts, that will only grow.
But the one thing Rivera can't afford is to have unhappy players and McLaurin not sulking on the sidelines, and instead talking about his problems with Bieniemy, is one way to keep everyone pulling in the right direction.
