Rivera proud of Washington's resilience: 'Nobody was panicking'
Ron Rivera was certainly pleased with the Washington Football Team's comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, but he was even more proud of his squad for battling adversity in an eventful 2020.
"Without a doubt. To me the biggest thing, more than anything else, I've been trying to tell everybody, just don't judge us on where we've been," Rivera said, according to MMQB's Albert Breer. "Judge us on where we're going. I get it. We've made some mistakes in the past, this organization, this team. We're trying to correct those things. We're trying to go forward. People keep wanting to be pulling us back. So I said to the guys, 'Don't go backwards with anybody.'
"Let's just keep going forward. Let's worry about what we can do. Let's talk about what we can impact and how we can make things happen as opposed to what's already happened."
Washington's offseason was among the most tumultuous in recent memory. The team changed its name. The NFL is investigating after several female ex-employees said the organization was a toxic work environment in which male employees sexually harassed them. The team's minority owners reportedly tried to sell their stakes, then pressured Dan Snyder to sell the franchise.
Though Washington was down 17-7 at halftime Sunday, the head coach didn't see his players succumb to pressure.
"What's kind of interesting was I looked around and I realized nobody was panicking," Rivera said, describing the team's reaction to a 17-0 deficit in the second quarter. "Really, honestly, nobody was screaming or pointing fingers or MFing anybody. They were all just like, 'OK what's going on? Let's settle down. Let's calm down.' So I just got on the headset and I just said, 'Hey fellas, we don't have a 17-point play. So why don't we just take it one play at a time and see what happens. Let's get back to the basics.'"
Rivera himself was recently diagnosed with squamous cell cancer. Though the disease is treatable, the veteran coach will be forced to take IVs at halftime this season.
"I got a little tired at the end, I did," he said. "It was pretty good though. Getting the IV was a good move on our part. It just helped me sustain and make it through. And then afterwards, I got a chance to relax, and have a little something to eat before I left the stadium."