Rivera's Will Leads to Upset of Steelers

PITTSBURGH - The Washington Football Team, led by head coach Ron Rivera, did what many said they could not do.

Their 23-17 Monday night upset win ended the Pittsburgh Steelers' undefeated streak and bid for perfection, setting off an annual celebration by the '72 Dolphins and Hall-of-Famer Larry Csonka and mates ... but this time dedicated to Rivera's boys of burgundy-and-gold.

#WashingtonFootball #FinsUp #WASvsPIT pic.twitter.com/Ji824PF3P4
— Larry Csonka (@Larry_Csonka39) December 8, 2020

Rivera's will, leadership, purpose and determination to not give up on the season when Washington was 2-7 and could have packed it in, is just one of the big reasons why they are now winners of three straight and will be the talk of the NFL world this week.

"I told them it was well-earned," Rivera said after the game, mentioning that he told his guys that their reputation - not just their record - was at stake. "What matters is who plays the best and I thought our guys played pretty doggone good today."

Rivera was not taking credit for this win. He's said all along that if players did what he and the staff were asking of them, they would get the credit and - if they fall short - he would take the blame.

"In spite of some of the decisions I made today, they played their asses off," Rivera mentioned, presumably about the over-aggressive fourth-and-1 failure at the Washington-34.

Washington rolled the dice and lost, but then made up for it when Chase Young blew up the Steelers on a similar Steelers' roll of the dice at the Washington 1.

The WFT soon lost that momentum and found themselves down 14-0 - and in deep trouble. But they, like their head coach, were resilient.

READ MORE: Sweat & WFT Swat Away Steelers

"We talked about fighting. There's no reason to stop playing. It doesn't matter what the score is. I just think that's who they are," Rivera said. "These are a bunch of young guys that are learning how to play, with some veterans sprinkled in there at the right positions and I think we're growing and we're learning. We got a ways to go (he's right), but I'm very proud of the way they played."

Rivera said the locker room was one of 'euphoria' ... but the NFL also stands for "Not For Long'' and that's exactly the situation that Washington faces with a short week and a two-thousand mile road trip to Arizona this weekend for the San Francisco transplanted 49ers and ol' friends Kyle Shanahan and Trent Williams.

Washington overcame the early loss of Antonio Gibson, who lasted just four offensive snaps before being lost for the game and possibly more with a toe injury.

Brandon Scherff was banged up and had to leave only to return. The same for rookie safety Kam Curl, who also returned.

Now they have to try and heal up and muster the same energy and performance against a still tough defending NFC championship squad, despite a lot of injuries and issues on their end.

The Washington Football Team has a certain will about them this year..... A steely determination with youthful joy.

They've been bad in first halves of games and terrific in the second halves of their dozen games, outscoring opponents 165-76 cumulatively.

They don't give up. They don't give in. They don't quit. Just as their head coach said they didn't. Where do they get it from?

Perhaps Rivera himself, who has battled cancer this year while also dealing with a name change, organizational sexual harassment scandals and much more. Together they're figuring it out, slowly but surely. As Rivera says - his players will get the credit when they do things the right way.

That's why he greeted each of his players coming off the field.

"They earned it,'' Rivera said. "They really did. I'm just very proud of what they did today."

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